Most IT professionals understand the definitions of Big Data, but what they often struggle with is understanding how to monetize Big Data to deliver new insights for their organization. Ninety percent of all data was created in the past two years and continues to grow without limits. Truth be told, most IT departments focus on keeping the lights on by making sure that the hardware in their data centers stays up and running to keep the business moving. Big Data analytics are often times a “nice to have” and not a “need to have” solely based on limited internal resources, direction from the C-suite, and investment from the business. However, as IT transforms, IT becomes the business!

The Internet of Things, or “IoT,” is constantly evolving and taking on new meanings as technology penetrates industries that generally have not relied on IT to grow. At its fundamental definition, IoT can be seen as the convergence of multiple technologies, including wireless communication, real-time analytics, machine learning, commodity sensors, and embedded systems. IoT is also the inter-networking of physical devices, vehicles, buildings, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity. These objects collect and exchange data, resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy, and economic benefit, in addition to reduced human intervention.

CMBD, also known as a Configuration Management Database, acts as a data repository warehouse of sorts for IT installations. They are used to keep track of the state of assets such as products, systems, software, facilities, and people at a specific point in time. IT directors are charged with keeping track of these assets to gauge how long they’ve been in service, service levels, end-of-life dates, and latest software versions, etc.