ICTpost Governance Bureau
Compared to the infancy years for cloud computing alone, the Internet of Things concept is gaining acceptance far quicker, says a report of the Economist’s Intelligence Unit and published by ARM.
After surveying 779 senior business leaders from 19 different industries around the world, the Economist revealed that a staggering 75 percent of businesses are already exploring the space. In fact, only 6 percent of those interviewed think of it as hype, and 94 percent believe IoT will have a significant impact in the next three years.
In fact, the topic appears to be more relevant than just debate fodder as researchers found that more than two-thirds of businesses are either in the process of incorporating Internet of Things practices if they haven’t already implemented them.
“Nobody knows what the winning business models are going to be. Even seasoned management consultants will struggle to provide definitive answers. It is a matter of experimenting with different models to see which ones work.”
Based on the report, integrating the Internet of Things appears to mean implementing a combination of cloud, mobile and social services in order to both handle as well as make use of the abundant amounts of data being generated by these sources.
Taking big data into account as an actual pressing issue rather than just a buzzphrase is essential given how many forecasts are predicting there will be anywhere between 20 billion and 50 billion connected devices worldwide by 2013.
However, the IoT phenomenon still has a long way to go before widespread consumer adoption takes hold. Most businesses are still just experimenting with IoT either in research or internal operations and the “internet of things” mantra remains laced with jargon that might not sell well to the general public. The report also notes the dearth of IoT-skilled workers, a general lack of investment and the need for open standards before more consumers can embrace it.
Naturally, there has to be room for understanding here between budget constraints and simply just being uncertain about making these investments given how quickly these technologies — especially mobile — evolve from year to year.
Even seasoned management consultants will struggle to provide definitive answers. It is a matter of experimenting with different models to see which ones work. The main message for latecomers and doubters is to consider the opportunities offered by the IoT if nothing else for improving internal operations: the vast majority of survey respondents agree that companies that are slow to integrate the IoT risk falling behind the competition.
Economist study concluded that IoT is undergoing a “quiet revolution,” which perhaps sounds more ominous than it should. However, it simply means that even if consumer awareness isn’t mainstream, our devices are getting increasingly connected all the time. editor@ictpost.com
