How can SMEs benefit from big data? Challenges and a path forward

Big data is big news, and large companies in all sectors are making significant advances in their customer relations, product selection and development and consequent profitability through using this valuable commodity. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have proved themselves to be slow adopters of the new technology of big data analytics and are in danger of being left behind. In Europe, SMEs are a vital part of the economy, and the challenges they encounter need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. This paper identifies barriers to SME uptake of big data analytics and recognises their complex challenge to all stakeholders, including national and international policy makers, IT, business management and data science communities. The paper proposes a big data maturity model for SMEs as a first step towards an SME roadmap to data analytics. It considers the ‘state-of-the-art’ of IT with respect to usability and usefulness for SMEs and discusses how SMEs can overcome the barriers preventing them from adopting existing solutions. The paper then considers management perspectives and the role of maturity models in enhancing and structuring the adoption of data analytics in an organisation. The history of total quality management is reviewed to inform the core aspects of implanting a new paradigm. The paper concludes with recommendations to help SMEs develop their big data capability and enable them to continue as the engines of European industrial and business success. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Industrial Internet of Things based Collaborative Sensing Intelligence: Framework and Research Challenges

The development of an efficient and cost-effective solution to solve a complex problem (e.g., dynamic detection of toxic gases) is an important research issue in the industrial applications of Internet of Things (IoT). An industrial intelligent ecosystem enables the collection of massive data from the various devices (e.g., sensor-embedded wireless devices) dynamically collaborating with humans. Effectively collaborative analytics based on the collected massive data from humans and devices is quite essential to improve the efficiency of industrial production/service. In this study, we propose a Collaborative Sensing Intelligence (CSI) framework, combining collaborative intelligence and industrial sensing intelligence. The proposed CSI facilitates the cooperativity of analytics with integrating massive spatio-temporal data from different sources and time points. To deploy the CSI for achieving intelligent and efficient industrial production/service, the key challenges and open issues are discussed as well

The role of big data analytics in industrial internet of things

Big data production in industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is evident due to the massive deployment of sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. However, big data processing is challenging due to limited computational, networking and storage resources at IoT device-end. Big data analytics (BDA) is expected to provide operational- and customer-level intelligence in IIoT systems. Although numerous studies on IIoT and BDA exist, only a few studies have explored the convergence of the two paradigms. In this study, we investigate the recent BDA technologies, algorithms and techniques that can lead to the development of intelligent IIoT systems. We devise a taxonomy by classifying and categorising the literature on the basis of important parameters (e.g. data sources, analytics tools, analytics techniques, requirements, industrial analytics applications and analytics types). We present the frameworks and case studies of the various enterprises that have benefited from BDA. We also enumerate the considerable opportunities introduced by BDA in IIoT. We identify and discuss the indispensable challenges that remain to be addressed, serving as future research directions. © 2019 Elsevier B.V

The role of big data analytics in industrial Internet of Things

Big data production in industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is evident due to the massive deployment of sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. However, big data processing is challenging due to limited computational, networking and storage resources at IoT device-end. Big data analytics (BDA) is expected to provide operational- and customer-level intelligence in IIoT systems. Although numerous studies on IIoT and BDA exist, only a few studies have explored the convergence of the two paradigms. In this study, we investigate the recent BDA technologies, algorithms and techniques that can lead to the development of intelligent IIoT systems. We devise a taxonomy by classifying and categorising the literature on the basis of important parameters (e.g. data sources, analytics tools, analytics techniques, requirements, industrial analytics applications and analytics types). We present the frameworks and case studies of the various enterprises that have benefited from BDA. We also enumerate the considerable opportunities introduced by BDA in IIoT.We identify and discuss the indispensable challenges that remain to be addressed as future research directions as well

Overcoming the Challenges of Big Data Analytics Adoption for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in the Manufacturing Industry

Advanced manufacturing technologies that enable big data analytics can boost productivity, increase efficiency, and enhance innovation. However, small and medium sized factories face unique challenges when implementing that technology. Plant managers of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are often unsure of how to overcome those challenges in order to reap the benefits of big data analytics. This project examined the opportunities that have arisen due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0; how small and medium sized manufacturers in the United States can move from traditional methods of manufacturing to advanced manufacturing, and how the additional data generated can enhance decision-making, specifically for plant managers. An investigation of the factors affecting big data analytics adoption in manufacturing SMEs was conducted, and case studies were examined in order to identify the unique challenges that exist and provide recommendations. The results of the investigation suggest that production managers should prioritize a specific area to focus on, use a big data lifecycle management framework, seek help to build and secure their operation systems, train and encourage employees, and collaborate with others in the industry

(So) Big Data and the transformation of the city

The exponential increase in the availability of large-scale mobility data has fueled the vision of smart cities that will transform our lives. The truth is that we have just scratched the surface of the research challenges that should be tackled in order to make this vision a reality. Consequently, there is an increasing interest among different research communities (ranging from civil engineering to computer science) and industrial stakeholders in building knowledge discovery pipelines over such data sources. At the same time, this widespread data availability also raises privacy issues that must be considered by both industrial and academic stakeholders. In this paper, we provide a wide perspective on the role that big data have in reshaping cities. The paper covers the main aspects of urban data analytics, focusing on privacy issues, algorithms, applications and services, and georeferenced data from social media. In discussing these aspects, we leverage, as concrete examples and case studies of urban data science tools, the results obtained in the “City of Citizens” thematic area of the Horizon 2020 SoBigData initiative, which includes a virtual research environment with mobility datasets and urban analytics methods developed by several institutions around Europe. We conclude the paper outlining the main research challenges that urban data science has yet to address in order to help make the smart city vision a reality

Visual Analytics in Software Maintenance:Challenges and Opportunities

Visual analytics (VA) is an emerging science at the crossroads of data and information visualization, graphics, data min-ing, and knowledge representation, with many successful applications in engineering, business and finance, security, geo-sciences, and e-governance and health. Tools using visualization, data mining, and data analysis are also prominently present in a different field: software maintenance. However, an integrated VA is relatively new for this field. In this paper, we discuss the specific challenges and particularities of applying VA in software engineering, highlight the added value of a VA approach, as distilled by us from several large-scale software engineering industrial projects. 1