Most companies have IoT plans but aren’t sure how to achieve them, says Longview IoT study with Informa
Brad Bush of Longview
Organisations — even those that have already implemented Internet of Things (IoT) projects — are still struggling to understand the concrete business benefits of the IoT. This is according to a new study released today by Longview IoT, a Carnegie Technologies company, and Informa Engage.
The IoT Implementation Trends Survey indicates that enterprise organisations across all vertical industries and of all sizes require significant education to understand the more specific business outcomes that the IoT can bring.
The results indicate that connecting the dots between IoT technologies and the problems they solve remains a challenge. For example, when asked about the benefits of IoT, organisations tend to cite non-specific results such as cost savings, increased productivity and better operational efficiency, instead of precise goals such as improving worker safety, conducting predictive maintenance, solving billing issues, avoiding cost overruns, and tracking valuable equipment.
The IoT is all about the data collected, and what organisations do with that data to improve their processes, the report says. “The desire to control costs and boost productivity and efficiency is understandable, but that doesn’t just happen,” according to the survey. “It’s through the capture and use of data that organisations can realise those benefits.”
Selecting IoT solutions also remains a challenge for most organisations, the survey found. Overall, it indicated that 84% of organisations have already implemented IoT technologies or are planning to within three years. However, among those who have already implemented IoT solutions, 54% say they could use “a lot more research and guidance” and 15% indicated they “wouldn’t know where to start” when it comes to selecting IoT solutions. Only about one-third (37%) of respondents who have already implemented IoT feel confident they would know which solutions to choose if they started planning a new IoT project today.
“The IoT remains complex for enterprise organisations,” says Brad Bush, managing director of Longview IoT. “Companies want to move quickly to deploy IoT solutions and see real business benefit but are stymied by the lack of solutions that can help them quickly accomplish these goals. The survey results indicate that the market needs the right partners with comprehensive solutions that take away much of the guessing, and just work, right out of the box, for the specific application they have in mind.”
The study also shows that:
- The top four implementation barriers for organisations overall are cost (37%), security (37%), lack of expertise (36%) and poor understanding of benefits (35%).
- Half of respondents handle their IoT projects in house. 40% use a system integrator, 35% multiple vendors, and 34% an IoT solutions provider.
- Fewer than half (39%) of respondents — both those planning IoT implementations and those who have already implemented solutions — say they need to collect data in real time. However, if those who need data “every few minutes” (19%) are added, the total jumps to 58%.
- Companies are seeing IoT as less hype and more real — just 3% of the companies believe the IoT is hype, while nearly half (47%) say it will substantially improve their competitiveness.
The complete IoT Implementation Trends Survey can be downloaded here. Join Longview IoT and Informa Engage for a deeper look at the data behind the report in a Webinar—The IoT’s Big Challenge: Choosing a Solution — Wednesday, June 19, at 2 pm ET.
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