In years gone by, analytics and reporting have been a function of looking at the past to gain insight into what has occurred. Advanced analytics, however, is forward-looking; projecting what is ahead, allowing businesses to develop strategies more confidently.
It is worth noting that prior to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) era, many businesses had equipment connected to systems that collected data. However, this data was often stored in a siloed manner, or contained in incompatible systems. In other cases, data was merely retained in raw data format, which, until it is processed, organised and contextualised into information, offers…