The combination of Big Data, Internet-of-Things, and fast analytics is creeping into our personal and business lives. CIOs need to pay attention and develop strategies for their companies to take advantage of the possibilities, writes Wikibon Analyst, Founder and Managing Consultant of The 1610 Group, and former CIO Scott Lowe in his recent Wikibon Alert, “The Internet of Things, Big Data and Fast Analytics Provide the Ultimate ‘What If’ Outcomes for CIOs”.

An estimated 8 billion to 10 billion devices are connected to the Internet today, and more are being added every day. He counts at least 12 connected devices in his own house including personal computers (laptops and desktops), gaming consoles, portable electronics, smartphones and a Nest thermostat. A Boeing 787 generates half a Tbyte of data on each flight. Cars, trains, busses, bridges, factory machinery, IT systems such as HP Gen 8 servers and Nimble hybrid storage arrays, and a huge amount of other devices, are already churning out tremendous amounts of data.

This is opportunity knocking at the door of every business, Lowe writes. HP and Nimble, for instance, analyze the data coming back from their systems in customer IT shops to identify and react to problems at their inception, before they become system failures. Boeing and the airlines that fly its planes can use the data from them to similarly identify problems at their inception and have spare parts and technicians waiting at the plane’s next destination to make the repair in minimum time, saving time and money while increasing safety. On the personal level, Nest sends him a monthly report on his heating and air conditioning use that he can use to make decisions to save money, and he expects that to grow over time to include electrical use as well. That is the service that Nest sells, and it justifies the cost of its thermostats on the basis of what the homeowner will save over time.

These, he writes, are only examples of how companies can use Big Data, Internet-of-Things, and fast analytics to empower and in some cases reinvent their businesses. Each industry, and each business, is different, and CIOs, as Chief Innovation Officers, should step up to the challenge of imagining how their business can create value for itself and its customers using Big Data and then build business strategy around the most promising of those scenarios. What he does not say is that those companies that fail to grasp those opportunities will be left behind, playing catchup, and in many cases losing their markets to more agile competitors.

Like all Wikibon research, this Alert is available in full without charge on the Wikibon Web site. IT professionals are invited to register to join the Wikibon community. Membership allows them to post their own questions, tips, and research, as well as comment on published research on the site. Members also receive invitations to the periodic Peer Incite Meetings at which their peers present on how they are using advanced technologies to solve business and technical challenges.