The Other Side of ‘The Internet of Things’ – Smart Database Apps

Thirty years into the Internet revolution, there are now more than a half-a-billion Internet-connected devices in the U.S. alone, according to data from the NPD Group.

While computers, tablets and smartphones comprise the bulk of these devices, new technologies in TVs, refrigerators, thermostats, vehicles, and almost anything with a sensor are also communicating as uniquely-identifiable devices –  generating the concept of “The Internet of Things” (IoT).

Gartner’s definition of the Internet of Things is the network of physical objects that contain embedded technology to communicate, sense, or interact between their internal states and external environment.

A good example is the Nike+ FuelBand. The band is able to track the wearer’s physical activities and communicate all relevant information to the mobile app and online community. Beyond consumer products, IoT also holds great promise for B2B industries like manufacturing, retail, transportation, healthcare and cleantech.

Aside from network connectivity and embedded sensors, one other critically important aspect of the Internet of Things is online data management. Take the FuelBand example. The device collects information about your physical activities and sends it to Nike’s web servers where the data is uploaded, stored and presented back to the website for viewing.

Another example can be found, surprisingly, in the age-old milk production industry. Robots equipped with sensors actually milk the cows, integrated software collects the data — such as how much milk each cow is producing — and the stats are uploaded for farmers to retrieve online from their computers and mobile devices.

These examples illustrate how much IoT is dependent on databases and sophisticated data management. And the trend is accumulating with more and more “things” inter-connecting, churning out enormous amount of data for routing, storage and analysis.

As a cloud database pioneer and industry leader, Caspio can help companies seeking online data management for IoT technologies. The following features and capabilities make the platform a viable solution for such projects.

• Robust and Scalable Database – Built on Microsoft SQL Server, Caspio’s online database scales for the most demanding requirements, both in terms of the number of records and transactions per second. Hosted on Amazon Web Services, the infrastructure provides for the highest level of performance and reliability. Operating since 2001, Caspio has proven its platform reliability and performance, powering applications for thousands of organizations including government entities and Fortune 500 companies.

• Visual App Builder – Caspio’s point-and-click app builder simplifies the human interaction aspect of database application building, making it easy for users to create data visualizations and analysis, an important component of IoT projects.

• Embedded App Deployment – With Caspio’s unique “embed anywhere” deployment, you can display your database apps and reports on any website, portal, content management system, blog, or Facebook page. Apps embed seamlessly by pasting one line of deploy code, similar to how you embed a YouTube video.

• Data Integration and Extension – Caspio also provides Web Services APIs that make it easy to integrate database applications into any outside application or web property. Developers can also extend applications built with Caspio using widely known languages such as JavaScript and PHP.

• Scheduled Data Import and Export – Caspio DataHub allows you to easily schedule data import/export tasks between Caspio and third-party locations. For example, the IoT device could upload data to an FTP site or Amazon S3 cloud storage site, and Caspio can import the data every day at midnight (or any schedule you desire).

• Real-Time Data Reporting – All data is hosted on the cloud and rendered from the database in real-time so the end user always sees the most updated information from their browser or mobile device.

Looking to innovate along the Internet of Things trend? Request a project consultation with one of our application architects.

If you don’t already have a Caspio account, start with a free trial.