Real-time data monitoring analysis and DevOps tools company Splunk Inc. today announced the release of its Splunk Connected Experiences and Splunk Business Flow products that will allow customers to access data and information from mobile devices.

Aside from making the dashboard and access to insights more available on mobile, Splunk is reaching into augmented reality, a technology that uses the camera on a mobile device to overlay images on reality. In the case of Splunk’s product, dashboard information about server loads and other analytics can be seen hovering directly over servers and racks.

“The way people work and the way they expect to work has rapidly changed because of mobile and augmented reality technologies,” said Tim Tully, chief technology officer at Splunk. “Which organizations should be adopting in order to stay competitive now and in the future.”

The Connected Experiences product will take data gleaned from server logs and other data sources to provide at-a-glance information about servers and actionable insights about the activity within the servers being looked at. Business Flow provides operational intelligence driven by data from networks in order to help visualize end-to-end business life cycles based on server use.

The Splunk AR interface allows anyone with a mobile device to scan a quick response, or QR, code or a Near Field Communication tag pasted onto a server rack — or any other real-world object. Afterwards, pop-up information delivered from the Splunk dashboard appears overlaid in real time as the customer looks at the machine, rack or other equipment.

Having the Splunk dashboard also available on mobile devices means that technicians in the field can double-check information without needing to pull over a keyboard and a display. All that’s needed is to point the phone or tablet at a rack or machine and get instant information.

From there, the app also allows the dashboard to be pulled up on the device permitting a deep dive while standing right in front of the machine in question. The AR interface would be excellent for displaying information such as current processing use, input/output rates, processor temperature and other health data — and having the dashboard available means deeper analysis, especially information reliant on a network view, could be quickly brought to bear.

“Our vision is to give people access to data with the power of Splunk through these key technologies, whenever and wherever they need it,” said Tully. “Our latest innovations, built on Splunk’s powerful platform, open up investigative capabilities by simplifying access to data”

Industrial and enterprise applications of AR have been put to use in numerous use cases, including assisting workers with operational information such as how to fix or configure equipment, as part of a platform built by UpSkill. It even allows distant experts to provide technical support, such as via Scope AR’s remote assistance platform.

Splunk’s AR app fits into this use case by providing additional information for field technicians, who are more likely to run into an issue while they’re out looking at servers directly.

For example, a change in data flow or processor temperatures might be visible in a visualization on a dashboard. But when going hands-on in a server farm, having that information pop-up out of the machines themselves provides a new level of situational awareness.

The AR app is available now for iPhone and iPad as a free download through the App Store.

Photo: Pixabay