The View From Here: The Machines Speak Up

March 16, 2009

I recently wrote a feature for Information Technology Business Edge that focused on the growth of machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. As the name implies, M2M refers to messages passed between devices that are not being controlled by people.

There are two levels of M2M. On one level, M2M-based devices perform functions as close to consumers as empowering refrigerators to send messages to the manufacturer with an alarm saying that the motor is operating outside of parameters and needs attention. Another example is a GPS device that is programmed at a certain time of the day to check if the owner’s normal route home is free of traffic jams and, if there is a backup, provide an alert and alternative route for the customer.

There is a deeper level of M2M in which industrial devices, not people, are the senders and receivers of information. For instance, trucks now can notify a central data center of the speed, fuel consumption and route of the vehicle. That sensor, or another, can relate information on the temperature of an on board refrigeration unit. The truck’s electronic nervous system can call ahead to machines at customs that log in the truck’s manifest. This makes crossing the border far faster and efficient. Another example is a farm that uses M2M to monitor the status of the soil and turn the irrigation system on only when necessary – not simply at predetermined times. It’s obvious that this is an extraordinarily promising area on a number of different levels.

This area is growing today because the traditional pitch – that greater efficiency tends to reduce costs – has been joined by the related desire for green operations. The reduced time spent at customs can be seen as both a cost saver and as an aid to the environment. Sending an oil truck out with the precise amount of fuel oil customers require means that the vehicle will run a bit lighter — and consequently use less fuel itself.

Business intelligence has a great role to play in this. The messages are not only more numerous, but their average length is growing. It is a certainty that BI and data analysis tools will be necessary to sift through the unimaginable amount of information that M2M generates to find the data that is of value to the consumer or organization. Indeed, it is likely that M2M will be one of the key drivers of BI and related platforms in the years ahead.

–Carl Weinschenk

Posted by Carl · Filed Under Business Intelligence, Promo