Other styles of analytics (Describe, Discover and Predict) are inherently dependent on subject matter experts (SMEs) for interpretation. That is, to a large extent current analytics tools and applications present data and information, but with little related business context. So, a SME is required to infer the context and work their way towards a decision, based partly on data, partly on their expertise, and partly on intuition.
Prescriptive analytics will start to change that. Prescriptive analytics will provide the business or operational context that's often been missing from other styles of analytics. While that’s a good thing for analytics in general, it will be critical for the Industrial Internet of Things.
IIoT data will check all the boxes for big data – it will come from new sources, it will arrive more rapidly than before, and it will accumulate into massive volumes. And to top it all, weighty decisions may need to be made quickly in order to optimize production or minimize the downtime of an expensive asset, whether onshore, or offshore.
