Power of the Big Data: Industry

Welcome to the third part of the "Power of Big Data" series, in which we describe how Big Data tools and solutions support the development of modern businesses (why do I think that  Big Data will become an indispensable future of business, you can read here). The new world of data will force everyone on the market to jump as it whistles— generating and processing data will become the future of many organizations and businesses. If you want to read previous posts from the Power of Big Data series, you can find the links below:

• Power of Big Data: Marketing - a post showing how Big Data tools and solutions can help in modern marketing.
• Power of Big Data: Sales - find out how to increase sales opportunities and facilitate sales processes thanks to Big Data solutions and tools.

In the third post in the series, we will look at the industry and the ways in which Big Data solutions can be used in it. Undoubtedly, the amount of data collected in industry is huge and there will only be more of it. As in other cases, will Big Data become the future of the industry? The changes taking place in the world indicate that this is the most likely path, especially with the rapidly advancing computerization of industry. Along with digitalization, data will be generated, and that data will need to be stored, analyzed and used. Analytical platforms, real-time analytics in the cloud, all this will sooner or later become indispensable.

Industry 4.0.

It is through the emergence of Industry 4.0 that Big Data solutions will become so popular in this branch of business (we are already seeing an increase in such interest, and soon - as it can be assumed - it will be even greater. Before we move on to the possibilities that Big Data can actually bring, we need to answer one important question. What exactly is Industry 4.0 and what is it characterized by?  Since the inception of the industry, it has used the latest technologies available. Industry 3.0 was the first to use computerization to improve production. Along with the development of technology and enabling communication between machines using programs, Industry 4.0 was created, which is the optimization of computerization processes of its predecessor. Although the year is 2021, there are still voices that many industry representatives do not need transformation in Industry 4.0. However, it should be clearly stated that the most radiant representatives of this branch of business are already after or in the process of transformations.

So what is Industry 4.0? In its simplest terms, it is an industry that uses highly specialized machines and programs to achieve its goals. Industry 4.0 departs from traditional solutions, undergoing an evolution related to the transition to the smart formula. This industry is characterized by a clear digitalization and robotization, as well as the use of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) as a tool helping to optimize internal and external processes.So to sum it up, Industry 4.0 uses IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology), to create a "cyber-physical environment". 

This description is probably enough to indicate how much Industry 4.0 will be based on Big Data solutions and tools, for example from cloud solutions or data storage. 

Big Data for Industry 4.0.

Now that we know what Industry 4.0 actually is, we can ask the main question of how Big Data works in it. Of course, assuming the way Industry 4.0 works, the transformation would not be possible without Big Data solutions. Below, it indicates the most important areas in which data storage, analysis and management solutions support the industry:

1. Managing IIoT - Industrial Internet of Things is the name given to tools and processes that help automate production by managing the communicating equipment that is responsible for it. Given the amount of data generated, there is undoubtedly a need for platforms that will not only analyze it in real time, but also detect problems that may arise in order to react as quickly as possible.
2. Creating Self Service System with use of Big Data Analytics - Big Data analytics can help create precise visualizations using the data collected in real-time, and provides information that helps to make CxO's decisions based on data. Taking into account the speed with which data analysis is carried out, the company can react to any changes immediately, which helps to save on the given processes.
3. Automatization of the processes - This is probably one of the most important role played by Big Data in the entire Industry 4.0, i.e. automation, which is, after all, the main aspect of this latest form of industry. Thanks to the use of Big Data solutions, it is possible to automate product management, thanks to which we exclude the human factor, which is more unreliable in production processes and prone to errors. Thanks to the analysis of data collected from previous processes as well as data provided in real time, the master software is able to change, optimize and even start completely new processes without any help from the human side.
4. Managing lots of data - Do you imagine storage, management or analysis of such a huge amount of data? The computing power and the space needed for such processes becomes a really big problem, which is why most of such activities are often carried out in the cloud. Building a cloud environment capable of analyzing such data, putting it together and controlling parts of IIoT is another important Big Data task in Industry 4.0.

Of course, there are even more important issues to which Industry 4.0 helps Big Data, but one benefit can be drawn - without Big Data solutions, this type of industry is simply impossible, and Big Data solutions are simply an integral part of it. The very assumption that was already mentioned, i.e. the combination of IT and OT, forces business developers to use solutions that enable data management, i.e. the broadly understood Bi Data solutions.

Towards the full exploitation of data with Big Data tools.

Like all other industries, the industry is increasingly taking advantage of data governance, and as mentioned at the beginning of this article. The implementation of Big Data solutions, such as Data Lake Platform, Cloud Analytics Platform, or Complex Event Processing Platform is the first step to transform the industry into a completely new form, its evolution towards Industry 4.0. And for many, it will be one possible path, because failing to do so often means leaving so much and losing the possibility of functioning in the new world of data.