IoT making impact on business but barriers remain
The IBM/ARM sponsored ‘Economist Intelligence Unit IoT Business Index 2017‘ involved 825 business leaders, of whom 400 were C-level executives. It found that nearly three-quarters (73%) feel that the Internet of Things has had at least some impact on their business.
One in five (21%) said that the Internet of Things has had a major positive impact, the main impact being the boost in innovation due to better data insights. Another 22% said it has unlocked new revenue opportunities from existing products or services, while 20% said it changed their business model or strategy.
However, the survey also revealed that a quarter (24%) “strongly agree” that their organization’s progress with the Internet of Things has not happened as quickly as they had anticipated, and 33% said they “somewhat agree”.
Multiple obstacles to Internet of Things adoption were uncovered by the survey, the top three being the high cost of investment (29%), security and privacy concerns (26%) and a lack of knowledge and/or commitment among senior management (23%). Other factors cited as a barrier to Internet of Things adoption include regulation, immaturity of industry standards and the absence of a business case.