The Internet of Things is capturing an immense amount of data. However, for enterprises to realize business value, that data must be processed and analyzed to gain valuable insights – and then it must be acted upon in a timely fashion. The advent of the Internet of Things is a fascinating catalyst for IT organizations to revisit three basic questions they should have been asking all along. If you can answer these questions today, you will better position your organization to be competitive tomorrow.
1. What are the key data sources across the ecosystem of the enterprise? Data Matters. No matter what the source is – application, system, software, hardware, storage, devices, humans – the data that is resident and captured on that entity matters. It is the foundational unit of IT that enterprises have to work with – and has been so ever since the dawn of IT. IoT is just augmenting the universe of data sources with a whole new set of devices, wearables, and sensors. The explosion of such devices in the consumer-driven world requires enterprises to revisit their enterprise data architecture and Information strategy.
2. How is information gleaned out of these data sources with context? Information Matters. Data by itself goes only so far. Connecting these data sources with context is absolutely vital to generate the information that matters to the enterprise. As Gartner Vice President Massimo Pezzini indicates, shake up your integration strategy to enable digital transformation.
3. Do the technological initiatives align in lockstep with the business objectives? Business Matters. Information generated must align in lockstep with key business drivers. Technology changes at a much higher frequency than an organization's core business. However, the enabling technology – regardless of how “cool” it is – adds value only if it is aligned with the business. The introduction of newer and cooler “things” in the Internet of Things challenges enterprises to make the right business-driven decisions for technology adoption and enablement.
What say you? Are there other questions Enterprises should be asking themselves to make IT matter to the Business of IoT. Please let me know.
