The Internet of Things

4Data Platforms: Interoperability and Insight

John Davies and Mike Fisher

British Telecommunications plc, Ipswich, UK

4.1 Introduction

The power of data and information to improve many aspects of commercial processes, public services, the environment, and peoples' quality of life is one of the major technology trends of recent years. The “data revolution” is a key component of the UN Sustainable Development Goals [1], for example, which define the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The data revolution is based on the observation that there is

… an exponential increase in the volume and types of data available, creating unprecedented possibilities for informing and transforming society and protecting the environment.

This data includes ever increasing amounts from the Internet of Things (IoT), as it becomes easier and less expensive to deploy networked sensors to measure any parameter of interest. The potential to gather relevant information in a timely way to support any application is increasing dramatically.

There have been numerous initiatives exploring the potential of new information and communication technologies, including IoT. These have covered a range of industry sectors and application scenarios – including smart cities, transport and logistics, the retail sector, and future industry, among others. In addition to the more obvious advantages of digital transformation in improving existing processes, there is a growing appreciation of the potential value of sharing ...