{"id":1178,"date":"2020-05-11T09:35:36","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T07:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serengeti.pepwebdigital.hr\/?p=1178"},"modified":"2021-04-20T15:37:14","modified_gmt":"2021-04-20T13:37:14","slug":"once-again-what-is-iot-really-all-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serengetitech.com\/de\/business\/once-again-what-is-iot-really-all-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Once Again, What Is IoT Really All About?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sometimes it is good to look back and remind ourselves what some contemporary tech terms really mean and what new technologies bring us in reality. When talking about topics related to the Internet of Things<\/a>, different business domains display various perspectives, needs, and contexts. Sometimes there are construction machines somewhere on a field, a production line, an energy plant, a business building, a sports car, even livestock, or a cornfield. Each of them deals with various implementation specifics and challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things Simplified<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The object of business interest can be any place or object where it is possible to read information over sensors or remotely start an individual device or technical system. It seems that we understand what the term Things<\/em> stands for. For each kind of these Things<\/em> there is a diverse data set to be collected, but also specific technical equipment like sensors, controllers, and network connecting devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays everyone knows what the Internet is. In the context of our IoT story maybe they still do not.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the Internet<\/em>, we generally mean the global communication network, mainly consumed over Internet browsers or mobile apps. But here we have to set our mindset in a whole different way. What we need is a heterogeneous data transfer channel which consists of just one simple segment or complex mutually interconnected local and wide area networks based on standard or proprietary protocols and hardware. Simply put, sometimes for an IoT connection to be established, Internet as we usually see it is not needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally speaking, machines are the already-mentioned Things<\/em>. On the other side, there are other kinds of artificial entities \u2013 mostly IT systems \u2013 composed of hardware and software, intended for ingesting, processing, and storing data sent by machines located on the business operation site. Once processed, this data can be used for generating a wide range of standard reports and graphic visualizations, and most importantly for statistics and predictive analysis purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah sure, as usual, here is where a new abbreviation has emerged \u2013 M2M, which stands for Machine to Machine<\/em> communication. It\u2019s important to note that there is no human intermediation nor direct intervention, except monitoring and technical maintenance of the set course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This level of autonomy and automatization brings to each IoT project a few specific challenges which do not exist to such an extent in other types of IT projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expect the Best, Be Aware of and Ready for the Worst<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Edge devices, actuators, and sensor installation and maintenance, especially in manufacturing and construction domains, means collecting data from systems exposed to all kinds of weather conditions, mud, dust, heavy dirt, and other various hazards. Device mounting, configuring, and maintenance in such environments could be complicated, sometimes even dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides physical devices that have to be installed and maintained, handling control over a huge data stream, without careful planning and skilled engineers might cause a blockage of one or more layers or even the whole system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where a few questions emerge from the very start:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n