What is big data and how does it benefit you? If you are like many security integrators the subject of big data may barely be on your radar yet. However, looking to the future of the industry, it seems inevitable that as more and more devices become both smarter and more connected (think Internet of Things), the desire to do more than just sit on all of that information will prompt users to demand more from their security system, their integrator — and, increasingly, their data that may go way beyond the scope of “security” today.
With a job position that literally looks toward “what’s next,” Rob Martens, futurist and director of connectivity platforms, Allegion, Carmel, Ind., says big data is poised to take off. “Big data means extremely large data sets that can be analyzed by computers to reveal patterns, trends and associations, especially relating to human behavior or interactions. It is literally terabytes of data. You and I would look at that and say ‘I don’t even know what to do with that.’ Yet we are collecting all this data right now that ultimately just sits there and wastes away. With the low cost of sensors today and the capability to generate more and more data, the key thing to understand is that processing power is so accessible and inexpensive we are now actually able to actively analyze data to see patterns in it that before just looked like chaos.”