Without analytics processing the big data collected from the IoT, many of the benefits of the technology is lost. Screen shot of the Analytics Builder. (Image courtesy of PTC.)
Though ThingWorx has had analytical tools in the past, PTC explains that this new tool will enhance and democratize the big data computational abilities of the IoT platform.
The democratization aspect of the Analytics Builder comes in the form of a simplified user interface (UI). The aim is to allow engineers to start processing their data faster so they can start using the distilled analytics to improve their development cycles and business decisions.
Considering the rate at which IoT is expanding (we’ll reach 20 billion connected things by 2020, according to Gartner), it’s inevitable that the rate and size of an organization’s big data collection will grow in turn. As a result, engineers will need tools that can assess and interpret this data quickly and accurately. PTC hopes that tools such as its Analytics Builder will meet the needs of engineers in this department.
“Implementing a comprehensive analytics operation should be at the top of the priority list for any company pursuing an IoT strategy,” said Ryan Caplan, general manager at ThingWorx Analytics. “ThingWorx takes the complexity out of the analytics process and now with ThingWorx Analytics Builder, it’s easier and faster to realize the true value of IoT: understanding the data.”
Since PTC’s acquisition of ColdLight’s predictive analytics software, it’s had to put a heavy focus into technology that will make sense of the big data collected by the IoT. This is because the analytics software has multiple uses for engineers in multiple disciplines.
For instance, it can be used to predict equipment failures for preventative maintenance. This is certainly in line with PTC’s push into the industrial IoT (IIoT), which brought the company’s investment into the IoT to a grand total of around $750 million.
Analytics can also help engineers better understand a product in the field and feed that information back to the design team through a digital twin. To help in the development of the digital twin, PTC also gives engineers the ability to plug the software’s analytics directly into the Thing model.
To learn more about PTC’s IoT platform, read: Engineering IoT Experts Can Now Become ThingWorx Certified.