In a world increasingly driven by the internet of things, the seamless integration of edge-to-cloud technologies is revolutionizing industries across the board.

The balance between old and new tech, as well as the innovative use of synthetic data, is reshaping the way companies approach efficiency and sustainability.

“If you look at SAS’ [long] history, we’ve been dealing with sensor data the whole time,” said Jason Mann (pictured), vice president of internet of things at SAS Institute Inc. “The big change with IoT, and this is a journey that we started internally about five years ago, was to be able to inject ourselves into these ecosystems, get closer to the source of data, make a determination if this is where you need to make a decision and act on it at that point.”

Mann spoke with theCUBE industry analysts Dave Vellante and John Furrier at SAS Explore, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how transporting analytics to the source of decision-making is a game-changer for industries that operate on thin margins or have high-stakes environments. (* Disclosure below.)

The evolution of IoT toward outcome-based analytics

IoT technology now aims to insert analytics closer to the source of data and make instantaneous decisions, according to Mann. As such, there’s been a shift from IoT as a technology initiative to a more outcome-based approach.

“It’s really starting to change to: What are the outcomes we can affect?” he added. “Now we’re able to … help resolve those same problems but do it in an innovative way.”

Mann’s role focuses on “transporting analytics to the source of information and decisioning.” This is a crucial pivot for a technology that has evolved far beyond its initial scope of simply connecting devices to the internet.

The digital revolution: Unlocking the future of manufacturing

One of the most intriguing points Mann raised was about the role of synthetic data and digital twins in sparking major innovations in manufacturing.

“My background’s industrial engineering. So, the idea of creating this simulated environment has always been this Holy Grail,” he said.

Generative artificial intelligence combined with synthetic data can make simulations more precise, allowing for better “what-if scenario analysis” without affecting real-world operations, he added. But what has enabled this sudden leap? It’s the advances in computing power and the ability to feed many parameters into data sets, according to Mann.

“There’s scale, and within the synthetic data side, just how many parameters that you can feed into these data sets,” he said. “The compute power that’s there and being able to expand what’s impacting the data set has been the big change for us.”

IoT and sustainability

When asked about IoT’s relationship with sustainability, Mann was optimistic.

“Sustainability continues to be a focus. We’re starting to see a crossover between sustainability and environmental concerns,” he said.

By aiding in energy forecasting and management, IoT has a critical role to play in addressing global challenges such as climate change. For example, SAS recently launched a floodplain management solution, providing real-time data for cities to make more informed decisions on flood risks.

Sustainability and environmental concerns are often two sides of the same coin. SAS has a role in bridging that gap through its IoT solutions, according to Mann.

Reflecting on the most important takeaway from SAS Explore, Mann emphasized the significance of decision-making right at the source.

“What we’re finding is this real focus on the importance of making the decision as soon as it can be feasibly made,” he said. “And I think that’s one of the economies of scale that we’re getting out of deployments for IoT solutions at the highest level.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of SAS Explore:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the SAS Explore event. Neither SAS Institute Inc., the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE