Reaching for the clouds

There is a lot of hype building around the role of the Internet of Things and cloud applications in sensing, and with good reason – for example, cloud-based services offer new measurement solutions that can improve data connectivity and resource efficiency. The general perception at the moment seems to be that a higher number of measurement points can somehow compensate for poor measurement quality, with many taking the attitude that as long as they use enough sensors, AI will take care of the rest. At Vaisala, we disagree: one single high-quality measurement is worth far more than any quantity of noisy, drifting, failure-prone ones. In this regard, there are several tangible advantages to cloud-based sensing solutions:

• Users can access their latest measurements wherever they are.
• Data from different sensors can more easily be combined to provide additional insights.
• Data is stored safely in the cloud.
• With an appropriately designed user interface, users can access the solutions through multiple platforms, including PCs, tablets, and mobile phones.
• They make it much easier to share data than ever before. 
• Users always have the latest software version automatically, without having to run any updates.

Our customers are already well aware of these advantages, which has led to us receiving numerous inquiries about cloud-based measurement solutions. We’re driven to stay relevant in the 2020s and continuously striving to serve our customers better, for instance by exploring the best possible ways for them to measure in different applications and conditions. We are constantly innovating, also in the area of cloud solutions and seeking out the applications that offer the most potential to our customers. Although there are some third-party solutions available that use Vaisala sensors, they aren’t necessarily the optimal way to achieve the best results.

You can expect to see a variety of approaches in the field of measurements from us in the future. This is only natural given our diverse customer base and range of applications. For some, new innovative solutions will be the best approach, while for others the cloud connectivity is an interesting add-on that is needed for a few measurement points. The level of measurement experience among our customers ranges anywhere from non-existent to expert; our challenge is to provide intuitive user experiences that cater to the needs of this varied group.

Whatever the future holds, we’re looking forward to embarking on a fascinating learning journey together with our customers, as we have done already for over 80 years. Stay tuned for more information.