Carl Data Solutions
Optimizing Utilities through Smart Data

With the incessant flow of data from conventional data sources and the increasing number of smart sensors in a typical utility environment, there is a huge need for advanced data analytics to make better operational decisions. Achieving the optimum data analytics infrastructure today calls for a utility company to engage vendors for hardware, application development. Then a company is needed for integration and support services to bring these disparate components together because currently there is a dearth of end-to-end data analytics solutions providers. Data management specialist, Carl Data Solutions, provides turnkey data analytics solutions where they not only collect information from sensitive monitoring systems such as Smart City infrastructure for sewage and water systems, but also provide sensors, data loggers, and analytics solutions to derive key operational insights. “Providing Big Data as a Service (BDaaS), we process environmental monitoring data to provide unique insights to clients through web services or SaaS-based applications,” says Greg Johnston, CEO and founder of Carl Data Solutions.

Carl Data enhances the ability to collect, store, and analyze a large amount of information from sensors, monitoring systems or other sources in a short period of time through its data analytics platform. Machine learning models allow the platform to deliver predictions on whether environmental events will impact assets and also helps detect sensor anomalies to ensure data validity.

Leveraging a cloud-based NoSQL solution which provides the advantage of flexible and scalable storage space, the Carl Data platform makes it easy for teams to add new functions, facilitating seamless delivery of insights to the decision makers.

From the outset, Carl Data analyzes client-specific data and builds a proof of concept, which forms the guideline for the actual release of the SaaS-based solution created for the client. Carl Data creates SaaS-based solutions or web services for organizations from different industries through a pre-built application. The prototype application’s intuitive user interface empowers clients to customize the application as per their operating standards. With such capabilities, Carl Data offers the advantage of being able to set up a data analytics solution and have them function cost-efficiently, within days or weeks, as opposed to months.

The service provided by Carl Data to a mining company in Canada traces their value proposition. With the presence of tailings ponds that were affected by environmental conditions, the mining firm engaged Carl Data to put a system into place to help predict natural phenomenon that could damage the tailings pond and wash toxic metals into the environment. Johnston’s team put analysts in place to study the variables and implemented an automated system to analyze the forecast and sensor data, with the support of an algorithm to predict potential risks, giving them a heads-up seven days in advance. Carl Data’s solution helped save time as it eliminated the need to manually enter the data sets. The algorithm used was based on hydrology reports, and its output was linked to the mobile devices of the site supervisors, giving them key information even when on the move.

With the onset of inventive technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, Carl is planning to leverage these innovations to maintain their edge in the market. Orchestrating the flow of data between machines in the production environment, the company aims to optimize the workflow and help decision makers in creating a smart network of devices that facilitate information gathering. “In the wake of the current wave of the industrial IoT (IIoT), we are ahead of the curve in delivering innovative products; and the developments in the industry provides us the opportune time to be more cutting edge,” concludes Johnston.