Cloud service providers offer access to innovative technologies such as IoT, AI, Blockchain and Analytics. Let’s explore how the Cloud supports and enables these technologies.
IoT on the Cloud
The Internet of Things is a giant network of connected things and people, whereby the smart devices and sensors track and collect data continuously.
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| The data collected through IoT devices are stored and processed on the Cloud.(https://www.e-zigurat.com/innovation-school/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/03/20190326-iot-in-five-years2-1.jpg) |
The data collected through IoT devices is stored and processed on the Cloud. The Cloud enables quick collection, processing of data and response back to the IoT, even when the IoT device is in transit.
Industrial IoT (IIoT) is a huge area of development in industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, transport, retail, etc. Just like Iot is making the lives of consumers more efficient, IIot is doing the same for businesses. Sensors are embedded in machinery, jet engines, hospital beds, etc to enable business to track the usage of these equipments and manage them better. Most businesses are using IIot for predictive maintenance, tracking energy usage, shop floor/warehouse management, etc.
Artificial Intelligence on the Cloud
The Cloud provides the computing power needed by AI to analyze data and generate insights.
There is a three-way relationship between AI, IoT, and Cloud.
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| The 3-way relationship between AI, IoT, and Cloud.(https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:IBM+CC0101EN+2T2020/course/) |
The Cloud provides the scalable, on-demand computing resources needed by AI to analyze the data. The IoT collects and delivers it to AI for analysis. And AI, in turn, generates insights and sends the response back to IoT. Finally, IoT’s actions are driven by the insights received from AI.
An example would be a Smart Assistant, a common IoT device, which learns the user preference, such as favorite songs, over time and anticipates the user action based on the user’s history.
Blockchain on the Cloud
Blockchain is a distributed ledger that brings transparency and traceability in transactions.
Blockchain, AI and the Cloud also share a three-way relationship, much like the relationship between IoT, AI and the Cloud.
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| The 3-way relationship between AI, Blockchain, and Cloud.(https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:IBM+CC0101EN+2T2020/course/) |
Blockchain provides the trusted, decentralized source of truth. AI consumes the data from the blockchain to derive insights. The Cloud provides the computing resource needed by blockchain to house the huge amount of data as well as the processing power needed by AI to draw insights.
Analytics on the Cloud
The Cloud provides the integrated environment and the scalable computing resources needed for analytics technologies to leverage the data to produce actionable insights.
Predictive Analytics uses real-time data (from IoT) to identify warning signs before failures. Businesses can use this information to perform predictive maintenance and avoid performance issues and expensive downtime.
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| Using predictive analytics to identify early warning signs. (https://www.kone.com/en/Images/Corporate_site_elevator_escalator_doors-Selected_highlights-688x376-04_tcm17-87597.jpg?v=1) |
For example, KONE manufactures and maintains city infrastructure such as elevators, escalation, automatic doors, etc. All of these devices are connected to the cloud and monitored 24/7. The data from these devices feed into predictive analytics which identifies potential machinery problems in advance and intimates the staff to perform predictive maintenance. This predictive maintenance ensures high availability of the building infrastructure.
Please follow this link for the beginner’s guide to Cloud Computing.
Reference: Introduction to Cloud Computing