IoT Signals aims to provide an overview of the IoT landscape and how organisations are using it
Elly Yates-Roberts |
According to a new report from Microsoft, the internet of things (IoT) will drive 30% of company revenue by 2021.
The report, titled IoT Signals, surveyed over 3,000 IoT decision-makers to create an overview of the global IoT landscape. The overall findings indicate that IoT adoption is growing rapidly, but organisations still face challenges.
“IoT is transforming businesses in every industry and is powering breakthrough innovations,” said Sam George, head of Azure IoT. “Our research shows that unlocking IoT’s full potential requires the industry to address key challenges like the skills shortage, security concerns and solution complexity. Microsoft is leading the way on simplifying and securing IoT so that every business on the planet can benefit.”
Of the findings, 85% of respondents are involved in IoT adoption. Three quarters of these are planning projects and 88% believe that IoT is critical to business success in the current climate, but 97% have security concerns about implementation.
Half of IoT adopters believe that a lack of talent and training in the area is presenting challenges to IoT implementation. As such, 30% of projects have fallen through in the proof-of-concept stage, as they have become too expensive or the benefits are unclear.
“According to IDC’s Worldwide Global DataSphere IoT Devices and Data Forecast, IDC expects there to be 41.6 billion connected IoT devices by 2025,” said Carrie MacGillivray, group vice president of IoT at IDC. “As the market continues to mature, IoT increasingly becomes the fabric enabling the exchange of information from ‘things’ to people and processes.”
In partnership with BCG Group, Microsoft identified seven key ingredients for success in IoT: business strategy, leadership and organisation, a technology roadmap, talent, operations and core business processes, partnerships, and security.
To further advance customer and partner success, Microsoft is investing US$5 billion in IoT and intelligent edge technologies and ecosystem by 2022.