Within two years, more than 90 percent of companies will be using Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, according to a new survey of business leaders announced by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).
This finding is part of a new White Paper and was produced and conducted by Machina Research—the report provides a comprehensive look at the usage, strategies, and spending behind enterprise IoT. The TIA survey finds that nearly half (48 percent) of U.S. businesses are actively using IoT, and another 43 percent expect to deploy IoT solutions within the next 24 months. In the White Paper, TIA concludes that IoT is set to become a mainstream enterprise element by 2019. The survey also finds that companies expect that, on average, 44 percent of IT budgets in 2020 will be dedicated to IoT development and maintenance.
Andy Castonguay, Principal Analyst at Machina Research and author of the study, said, “The exciting take away is that U.S. companies have begun embracing the strategic and tactical value that IoT data contributes across the enterprise. The study results point to the fact that a critical mass of U.S. enterprises has started to engage IoT solutions to enhance product design and development, inform operations and customer service, and enhance profitability."
Among the key themes identified in the White Paper is that companies have broadly accepted the value of data to the health of their businesses. Almost all (98 percent) say the ability to receive real-time data from their products would be extremely beneficial, and 72 percent report plans to use IoT to capture data on product feature usage. Companies historically have focused on IoT as a tool for improving the bottom or top line—so the high level of interest in using IoT for product performance represents a significant shift in enterprise engagement.
According to the CEO of TIA, Scott Belcher, the use of IoT for enterprise could significantly impact nearly every aspect of modern business, and the study makes all quite clear that companies have started to recognize the potential of IoT and are making this technology a priority.
When asked which functions are most likely to benefit from increased IoT adoption, companies identified operations applications (29 percent) above all others. Business intelligence and data analytics was also highly ranked (24 percent), followed by mobile apps (17 percent), CRM (13 percent) and ERP systems (12 percent). Further data and trends are analyzed in the TIA White Paper, which looks at such things as what types of partners companies are choosing for IoT projects, the operational benefits of IoT, the critical importance of standards in future IoT adoption, and more.
Two hundred senior executives, representing companies in all major categories of industry, were interviewed for the survey. The executives are employed in relevant business functions and their companies have at least $10 million in annual revenue. The survey was commissioned by TIA, along with Telit and InterDigital.