New SAS^® Analytics for IoT makes it easier to tap streaming data torrent

Analytics improve operations and boost profits for sensor-enabled enterprises

Long before the Internet of Things (IoT) became trendy, analytics leader SAS was probing data from sensors and other devices. SAS^® Analytics for IoT is a new package of proven software products that applies SAS’ core expertise of analyzing massive amounts of data to IoT connected sensors and devices.

SAS Analytics for IoT helps organizations interpret rapidly moving and accumulating data, and confidently make decisions based on that data. The resulting gains – such as improved safety and reduced injuries or enhanced product quality – translate into healthier profits.

For example, Finnish global industrial crane manufacturer Konecranes uses SAS to influence decisions made with sensor data. “The use of analytics supports our vision of knowing how millions of lifting devices and machine tools perform in real time,” said Juha Pankakoski, Chief Digital Officer at Konecranes. “We use this knowledge around the clock to make operations safer and more productive. With SAS, Konecranes analyzes equipment and customer data plus usage and impact data. Combining big data with reliability analysis and simulations enhances our ability to make predictions. We’ve gone from being able to predict failures on a single piece of equipment with data history for five variables for a few minutes, to predicting maintenance needs and failures for our entire equipment fleet with hundreds of variables and a data history as far back as four years.”

“For 40 years, SAS has uncovered meaningful patterns in what appears to be data noise,” said Jason Mann, SAS Director of Product Management for Internet of Things. “We’ve done it by listening to our customers. Now they’re telling us they’re struggling to see value from IoT. By focusing our considerable capabilities toward this business challenge, we’re making it easier for customers like Konecranes to extract meaning out of that data flood.”

Other companies using SAS to analyze IoT sensor data include:

• CPS Energy. Texas-based CPS Energy is building a flexible, sensor-dense power grid for San Antonio, and SAS analyzes its data all along the network - from the “edge” where the sensors generate the data to the database inside their network.
• Geneia. By analyzing sensor data with SAS, Geneia-supported care teams can interpret contextual changes in a patient’s condition, intervene earlier and possibly prevent further deterioration.
  
• Navistar. The heavy truck, bus and military vehicle manufacturer uses SAS to maximize its OnCommand Connection (OCC) system which monitors vehicles in real time. OCC sensors continuously stream multidimensional data from customers’ vehicles, including engine and fault codes. This capability allows Navistar to empathize with customers in ways that were impossible before.
• Town of Cary, N.C. Using SAS analytics to monitor data received from its Aquastar water-meter-infrastructure system, the Town of Cary has transformed its customer service model from reactive to proactive, resulting in earlier detection and communication of unusual customer water patterns.
• Western Digital. Production engineers at data-storage manufacturer Western Digital use SAS to identify possible failures early in the production process, then make timely decisions to avoid quality issues.

SAS Analytics for IoT benefits manufacturing, energy, retail

SAS combines streaming technology, analytics and domain expertise to turn IoT data into insight. Providing a secure path for predicting maintenance needs, personalizing offers on the spot, and triggering actions that deliver bottom-line business value, SAS helps organizations:

• Discover data that matters. SAS’ intelligent filtering focuses enterprises on what’s relevant and helps avoid the costly temptation of store everything.
• Understand the signals within the data. Organizations can mine and analyze IoT data throughout the connected ecosystem. Combining IoT data with other contextual data makes it easier to detect patterns of interest.
• Act with speed, scale and confidence. SAS Analytics for IoT injects powerful analysis into the data stream itself. Organizations base real-time action on signals as they occur, from simple alerts to complex automated responses.

"The IoT market is evolving globally,” said Dan Vesset, IDC Group Vice President for Analytics and Information Management. “To meet the needs of enterprises engaged in creating sensor data, it’s important to keep analytics front and center. Without predictive analytics at the edge and in the enterprise network, it will be difficult for any organization to realize the full potential represented by the IoT. That’s where SAS’ offering makes a lot of sense – whether the organization involved is engaged in manufacturing, energy, retail or any other industry that’s putting sensing devices into play."

Visit Internet of Things (IoT): What It Is and Why It Matters for more information. Follow SAS on Twitter @SASsoftware and with #SASGF.

Today's announcement was made at SAS Global Forum, the world's largest analytics conference, with more than 30,000 business and IT users of SAS software participating on-site and online.