Today, the typical enterprise is experiencing a sea change when it comes to Big Data in manufacturing, and the transformative potential it offers. As a result, we seem to be hearing an awful lot about Big Data, from vendor claims to the industry press.
It’s understandable that the level of noise keeps getting louder. Manufacturing generates about a third of all data today. In the face of the Industrial Internet of Things, this rate is expected to increase significantly in the future.
For today’s enterprise, Big Data forms the backbone of all Digital Manufacturing technologies, which are emerging as the centerpiece of the strategy for advancing Manufacturing in the 21st century.
But as we look around the marketplace, it can be difficult to sort though Big Data “fact from fiction.”
Big Data Fact, Fiction
When we meet with manufacturers, we hear them talk about the importance of separating Big Data “fact from fiction” given the often-misleading information that is now so abundant.
To help gain clarity, we often discuss with our manufacturing colleagues the two biggest myths in today’s market – involving both oversimplification and vendor claims.
The first myth is one of over-simplification. Good analysis requires more than a lot of data. The scientific method involves observing the world, formulating hypotheses, gathering data, testing and interpreting results, publishing and replicating studies, etc. Each of these steps brings new and important information to the analysis.
A second major myth is one being propagated by legacy software vendors who suddenly claim to offer the benefits of Big Data. A company enables its users to see a report on the Web, and automatically considers itself a “cloud” company. This is NOT a Big Data company.
How can you tell the difference?
Big Data in Manufacturing
Our team feels strongly about separating Big Data “fact from fiction” so we assembled an overview paper to provide insight.
The paper also highlights a Big Data framework noting what Big Data is and isn’t, and what makes Big Data so challenging for the manufacturing enterprise.
Download the paper entitled “Big Data B.S. Myths and Misinformation About Big Data for Manufacturers” to distinguish the many claims, gain understanding as to what Big Data truly is, and how it impacts your business.
