The Internet of Everything: How the Network Unleashes the Benefits of Big Data

ROBERT PEPPER JOHN GARRITY Cisco Systems Exabytes (1018) of new data are created every single day. Much of this information is transported over Internet protocol (IP) networks. First described by Clive Humby as the “new oil,”1 this data growth is fueling knowledge economies, sparking innovation, and unleashing waves of creative destruction. But most of these data are unstructured and underutilized, flowing at a volume and velocity that is often too large and too fast to analyze. If data do, in fact, comprise the new raw material of business, on par with economic inputs such as capital and labor,2 then deriving insight and added value from this new input will require targeted transmission, processing, and analysis. A rising share of this data growth is flowing over IP networks as more people, places, and things connect to this Internet of Everything (IoE). Proprietary networks, built on industry-siloed standards such as those in manufacturing or electric utilities, are increasingly migrating to IP networks, facilitating the growth of big data, and fast becoming the key link among data generation, processing, analysis, and utilization. How can we effectively maximize value from this data explosion and avoid the pitfall of diminishing marginal data value? This chapter details how IP networks underpin the IoE and can accelerate big data’s transformational impact on individuals, businesses, and governments around the world. After first highlighting four major trends driving data growth over IP networks and detailing how networks are central to maximizing analytical value from the data deluge, the chapter identifies critical technology and public policy challenges that could either accelerate or encumber the full impact of big data and the IoE.