The Internet of Things is growing exponentially and shows no signs of stopping. We’ve all heard the statistics. By 2020, there will be billions of connected devices. And these devices are generating explosive volumes of data. The good news is that IoT devices are transforming the way we do business and helping to create a safer, more efficient, more innovative future. The bad news? If all that data has to be transported to the cloud for processing and analyzing, networks will be massively overwhelmed — leading us to a world of delayed results.
But not bad news for long. Smart, connected “things” are getting smarter. And a more intelligent edge is becoming capable of doing more complex analytics. In fact, IDC predicts “by 2019, at least 40 percent of IoT-created data will be stored, processed, analyzed, and acted upon close to or at the edge of the network associated drivers.”1
Think of a factory using smart devices to monitor the work environment and send notifications if conditions reach unsafe levels. The devices can sense the issue and process the data—enabling time-critical alerts so workers can be evacuated safely. Think of an oil or mining company using sensors and edge computing to monitor conditions and control heavy equipment to automate and optimize operations in remote locations. These are just two examples of how an IoT system with more compute power at the edge can speed the movement of data from insight to action.
Intel is driving smarter devices and a more intelligent edge with cloud and edge technologies that drive greater business value, edge analytics, deep learning and machine learning capabilities.
To further these efforts, we have created a joint reference architecture with Amazon Web Services (AWS)* and are launching an Enterprise IoT Developer Kit. The architecture incorporates AWS Greengrass software, which works seamlessly with the Intel® IoT Platform. With Greengrass, Intel® devices can ingest, process, and store data locally and make local decisions, paired with leading cloud-based capabilities.
The developer kit provides integration of sensors and the middleware protocol stack, shortening time-to-market from prototyping to deployment. The kit includes: Intel® IoT Gateway Technology, AWS* IoT and Greengrass-specific plugins, development boards and starter kits, IDEs to support a variety of programming languages, libraries to support I/O and sensor interactions, documentation, and code samples.
Intel has been implementing the reference architecture across their ecosystem, working with IoT Equipment Builders for validation and testing to ensure compatibility. There are already a number of Intel-based IoT Gateways validated for Greengrass, provided by leading IoT Equipment Builders, who are members of the IoT Solutions Alliance. With the backing of an extended IoT community, these and other IoT solutions are driving real-time insights to help businesses increase revenue, cut costs, and improve business outcomes.
Smarter things that are part of a more intelligent edge will fuel the growth of the IoT and its capability to bring meaning to data and benefits to business. To learn more, visit intel.com/iot/aws.
1IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Internet of Things 2017 Predictions, November 2016.