Mar 16, 2016

Data Visualization for Internet of Things

When you can create socks that can communicate with your TV, you know that things are changing. Internet of Things is here, and it’s expanding fast. Since...

When you can create socks that can communicate with your TV, you know that things are changing. Internet of Things is here, and it’s expanding fast. Since...

When you can create socks that can communicate with your TV, you know that things are changing. Internet of Things is here, and it’s expanding fast. Since it’s just as much about the data as it is about the “things”, data visualization is becoming an integral part of this revolution.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”. Does this Charles Dickens quote capture the age of internet of things? Time will tell. IoT is promising a well-run, Jetson-like future where appliances, buildings, cars and whole cities will be so smart that you will be able just to sit there and enjoy yourself. Indeed, the world is already hearing and enjoying the benefits of IoT – it has already made homes more comfortable, businesses more productive, industries more efficient…also made some cows healthier. Yet revolutionary changes are never smooth sailing. They create new risks, unintended consequences and challenge our way of doing things.

One of the challenges for IoT industry is and will continue to be data analysis and interpretation. However, when it comes to the presentation of real time data and relevant information for your IoT business, ZoomCharts data visualization tools are just the solution you’re looking for.

Is it booming yet?

The industry started to take off a few years back and seems to now be on a roll. Gartner forecasts that in 2016 there will be 6.8 billion connected things worldwide. By 2020 internet of things will triple and consist of 20.8 billion things meaning that on average 5.5 million will have to be connected every day. So, turns out smart machines will take over pretty soon…at least numerically. McKinsey estimates that in 2025 the economic impact of IoT could reach $3.9 trillion to $11.9 trillion a year.

Yes, no wonder more and more companies are jumping on board and embracing IoT – Gartner predicts that 2016 is the year of IoT going mainstream with 43% of organizations already using or planning to implement internet of things this year. What’s more, industry survey show that this year organizations will be more focused on improving customer experience. Connecting things and creating data in and of itself are not achievements, the data must be analyzed and translated into a language that is easy to understand and present on dashboards – visual language. For IoT data visualization is not a choice, it’s a necessity.

The challenges of Internet of Things

Internet of Things will us allow to monitor and control everything. In time that will lead to automation as machines learn more and more about people, their habits and the surrounding environment. However, for now, there are obstacles that stand in the way of businesses fully embracing IoT and unleashing its full potential.

Lack of standards. As internet of things expands one of the pressing issues is that of the establishment of consensus-based standards, which currently is a bit of a Wild Wild West situation. Common standards are needed to ensure interoperability, greater safety and reliability of IoT devices and pave the way for further development.
Lack of visual context. Businesses lack data visualization methods that allow self-exploration of the big data that is created to see the underlying patterns and gain new insights. This is the reason why ZoomCharts exist and we are constantly brainstorming and working on new approaches for displaying data.
Security issues. With more and more devices connecting to the IoT, more devices become vulnerable to cyber attacks, more data can be hacked, more personal information can be stolen. Just think, for instance, about the possibility of someone hacking an implanted heart device. In fact, people are thinking about it. Former US Vice-President Dick Chaney had the wireless function in an implanted heart device disabled precisely for these kind of security reasons.

While ZoomCharts isn’t a silver bullet for the challenges IoT industry faces, it is built to help business better navigate them. ZoomCharts cross-platform and cross-device data visualization can bring the sought-after clarity and interactivity to your big data.

Seize the IoT data with ZoomCharts

What ZoomCharts offers in the era of IoT and big data is a powerful data visualization library for any platform and device. ZoomCharts javascript graphs and charts don’t just visualize data, they allow users to interact with it and discover the thrill of drilling down on data. The library includes a wide variety of HTML5 charts and graphs but there are two types of charts that should be specially highlighted as they are just destined for the IoT industry.

One of a kind NetChart that allows users to explore networks and relationships
Map-based GeoCharts that enhanced with charts-on-charts technology allow users to experience network interaction geographically

It is also the way ZoomCharts is built that makes it a natural choice for businesses invested in IoT.

ZoomCharts works on any device – it’s touchscreen oriented and pointer device compliant. The ‘things’ aside, it can’t be forgotten that there’s an orchestra of different devices (smartphones, tablets, computers, TVs) that are involved in managing the whole Internet of Things.
ZoomCharts is pure Javacsript. Written from scratch, it can be used with any framework.
ZoomCharts offers a rich library of API allowing for easy integration and thousands of customizations.

In short, ZoomCharts can help you create highly interactive visual data IoT interfaces that will come alive on any kind of touch screen device.

To sum up

Internet of Things is an exciting industry to work in right now – one of endless possibilities. Yet it is also in some respects an inefficient industry because only a fraction of the big data created by IoT is ever used. So, as more things come online and curiosity about the unexplored IoT data universe grows, expect to keep hearing about the need for more thorough data analysis and clear and engaging delivery of information and insights. Sign-up for ZoomCharts services to keep ahead with world class data visualization.