The Internet of Things continues to play a disruptive role in society. IoT adoption is connecting businesses and homes at an exponentially faster rate. Enterprises can continue to maximize the disruptive technology to gain efficiencies, and many still plan to do so. Yet IoT adoption continues to run into delays as reality and ROI are not meeting up with expectations. Bain & Company’s 2018 IoT customer survey sheds some light on where business thinks IoT is headed.
Growth in IoT
Bain predicts enterprises will spend $520B on IoT adoption in 2021, which is more than double the $235B spent in 2017. While the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of legacy embedded is estimated to drop by 3 percent in the 5 years, data center and analytics will increase to 50 percent. The second biggest spend will occur in systems integration, with a CAGR of 40 percent.
One subset of data center and analytics that continues to drive growth is interest in remote and real-time monitoring. The ability to monitor production systems and mobile devices for efficiencies will continue to gain ground in enterprise strategy. Bain discovered that an industrial equipment leader bundles remote monitoring into the robotics system, creating a quicker process to identify issues and initiate repairs.
Similarly, mobile device management software continues to allow enterprises visibility into app usage and employee efficiency, providing necessary data for KPI assessments.
Potential delays in IoT Adoption
While Bain estimates a 200 percent increase in IoT adoption and spending between 5 years, there are three main drawbacks that are causing enterprises to hesitate. Security of IoT devices is the top concern. Bain found that businesses would buy and pay up to 22 percent more on average for IoT devices if security was addressed to their satisfaction. Also, integration with existing technology reflected as the second biggest barrier to IoT adoption.
The third barrier is uncertain returns on investments. IoT adoption and enterprise mobility have both struggled to have accurate measurements, preventing businesses from understanding their ROI. However, the increase in remote and real-time monitoring abilities will provide enterprises with an understanding they currently lack. Businesses will gain an understanding into what is and is not working in their IoT use cases.
True impact for business
Fortunately, Cloud Service Providers (CSP) are emerging as dominate providers for IoT services, including consulting and analytics. Both Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure are successfully lowering barriers to IoT adoption, making it easier to try out new use cases and scale up easily. However, CSPs offer very little optimization for industry and specific-use applications.
Enterprises will benefit by finding an industry-specific partner who utilizes the efficiencies brought about by CSPs while providing industry expertise.
The current IoT upward trajectory might force some businesses into adopting it. However, IoT adoption can provide many benefits to industries that would otherwise refrain. The key to successful implementation of the disruptive technology is to partner with a service provider who understands IoT, including data center, analytics, and any security risks.
MobileWare is a telecommunications company who specializes in IoT implementation. We partner with the best cloud storage companies, offering data center, security, and analytics solutions. Our real-time analytics will optimize your telecom expense management while we increase your efficiencies. Call MobileWare today for a free, no risk assessment.