Smart city is not about the data: Vidsys

With large numbers of connected devices coming together, smart cities will generate massive amounts of data, but it’s not the data itself that matters as much as the meaningful usage of it, according to James Chong, CEO and Founder of Vidsys.
 
Speaking at a recent webinar, Chong pointed out that there are 13 billion connected devices today and this set to increase to 50 billion by the year 2020.
 
“One of the key things and messages that I want to share with you today is that IoT as well as smart city is not actually about data...because there is so much data being generated and will continue to grow…it's really about data filtering and correlation, because ultimately we have to make sense of the data,” Chong said.  
 
The definition of IoT is advanced connectivity through sensors, devices, systems, subsystems and services through the cloud, he added. And this means that there is going to be massive amounts of data generated. Over 90 percent of all data that’s generated in the planet has happened in the last few years.
 
“We have to understand why the integration of data from multiple internal and external forces that drives again the data correlation needs and also the ability to present that in a meaningful fashion where we have to be able to visualize that data once it’s filtered,” Chong continued. “And then ultimately at the end, having that information that’s actionable. Because again we have a lot of data, unless that’s organized and in a way that’s meaningful, we will never be able to take advantage of that.”
 
From PSIM to CSIM and beyond
 
Chong spoke further on the evolution of video management systems as the technology moves into the era of connected devices.
 
“PSIM did not exist back in 2005,” Chong said. “It was a new category that we helped to bring into the market in 2006, where we took the IT security of SIM and brought in the physical and brought in a lot more of the visualization and the video and other components that create physical security solutions. Also in the last 2-3 years, we have been helping to educate the market on where this is evolving to. So from thousands of devices or objects, to now, tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands and millions of objects, you are now going into the CSIM element.”
 
CSIM is converged security, which is cyber, physical, IT, electronic, all combined to help create the true security profile with information management that has not much to do with security. It’s about efficiency, building automations, building intelligence, big data, the SCADA and automation, that together creates and helps to launch initiatives such as smart city or safe city programs.
 
Vidsys sees the market transitioning to truly a virtualized services-offering where the IoT and the verticals would benefit, Chong added. “Because ultimately, we have to help and co-exist in our environment and without the combination of bringing together the technology and the intelligence, as well as the people and the process, we will never actually get to a solution that’s available nor a value-add to the people that are looking for that.”