IBM has made its bed with Big Data and the Internet of Things in it. Big Data and the Internet of Things, A Smarter Planet. That sounds familiar doesn’t it? IBM has been focused on building a smarter planet (at least by name) since 2008. I’m sure you’ve also heard of IBM’s renowned supercomputer Watson. Not only is Watson showing humans how smart machines are, but it’s making Big Data cheaper too.

Businesses are just now being able to analyze data that they have been collecting for years as technology and software catch up. Not only are they analyzing data they’ve been collecting, but with the new trend of connected devices, there is even more data available. The technology world is experiencing and influencing massive market shifts in some key industries, such as retail, financial services and healthcare. IBM is both continuing to bring its technologies forward and integrate them while keenly listening to the needs of its market.

In seven years, both Cisco (2011 report) and SAP (2013 report) estimate that there will be 50 billion ‘things’ connected to the Internet. For example, farmers are now equipping their cows with sensors which alert them if the cow gets lost or becomes sick. The Data Revolution will optimize everything and dwarf any understanding of data mass that we have today.

In today’s Profile Series we hear from Scott Hebner, Vice President of Cloud and Smarter Infrastructure Marketing, IBM. Below is a recent interview with Scott, who gives us the inside scoop on his IBM’s vision of the second phase of the Internet of Things.

The interview focused on three key areas: enterprise cloud and the enterprise + consumer cloud. Hebner believes we’re already into phase two of the Internet of Things and that one challenge is determining the minimum security and privacy features required for low-cost consumer data storage.

Enterprise Cloud

How will the internet of things impact storage infrastructure?

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We’re seeing the second phase of the Internet of Things— new sensors are cropping up and organizations are now starting to analyze data, that in some cases, has been collecting for years. This phase brings a wealth of opportunities for businesses such as a more personalized customer experience or safer, more efficient infrastructure, while also creating new data management challenges. Data streams from sensors may have value in and of themselves, or the value may come from aggregating the data. Organizations need to decide what to save, how to store it, and for how long.

A power company executive recently commented about his Smart Meter data: “If I don’t store it, I don’t have to preserve it for 7 years for the regulators.” So, they only save exception data. Some sensor data may have value for future data mining, but has no immediate value; so it is preserved on low-cost storage tiers. Some sensor data is highly valuable in the very short term, and needs to be stored in memory or flash storage for a period of time. So, the Internet of Things will help organizations think about the value of data, and make appropriate storage tier and retention decisions. Automated storage tiering and policy-based data retention become essential technologies in the Internet of Things.

The Internet of Things means more sensors and devices, and thus more data — where does security lie at the storage level? With the user, or with the IT department?

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The Internet of Things creates data with a full range of security needs. Some sensor data streams require no security, such as temperature data from a freezer in a grocery store. However, some data streams contain highly sensitive information including streams from physical security systems and those that contain private data that becomes part of a medical record. So, the Internet of Things helps organizations think about the security and sensitivity of data streams, and apply appropriate policies. The Internet of Things will require organizations to set and enforce flexible policies about data security, if they don’t have such policies today.

Enterprise & Consumer Cloud

How does the consumerization of IT impact the cloud storage market? What will be the security, privacy and infrastructure challenges?

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Consumerization of IT typically creates a new, lowest cost storage tier that often lacks the security and privacy features required by businesses and governments. One challenge is determining the minimum security and privacy features required for low-cost consumer data storage. Some organizations will need to support multiple security tiers, depending on the type of data. Effective, audible security policies need to be in place for every tier as the potential liability for security and privacy breaches could change, impacting business risk.

How can storage services & marketing be used to attract the consumer market at both the enterprise and/or consumer cloud?

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Storage services and marketing to attach both enterprise and consumer cloud customers does differ somewhat. The critical success factors for consumers appear to be simple on-boarding, an attractive menu of services, and competitive costs. The complexity needs to be hidden from consumers to ensure that the solution can be used by anyone no matter the skillset.