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Vodafone: IoT is the New Industrial Revolution

Company’s “IoT Barometer” report finds 89 percent of respondents are increasing IoT spend.

Written By

Jul 26, 2016

Roughly 89 percent of businesses in a new survey are increasing their IoT spend, and 76 percent believe embracing the IoT will be critical to the success of their businesses.

Those conclusions come from the “IoT Barometer” report from British multinational telecommunications company Vodafone. The report, which surveyed 1,100 business executives around the world, was conducted with the help of Machina Research.

Sixty-three percent of businesses surveyed say they expect to have a live IoT deployment by the end of 2016, and spend an average of 24 percent of their IT budget on IoT, more than what they spend on the cloud or analytics.

The report also found that the IoT is driving transformation, with 48 percent of respondents saying they’re using IoT to support a large-scale transformation of their business, while 29 percent are using the IoT to create ecosystems to connect multiple organizations. Roughly half of businesses said they plan to launch such connected solutions within the next 24 months.

Customer experience is also benefiting from the IoT, the report found. Some 44 percent of respondents said their adoption of the IoT has enhanced their customers’ experience and it was by far the most popular benefit. The report also found that the IoT is producing measurable results. Adopters found a 20 percent improvement in revenue growth, cost reduction and other key business indicators.

Effective planning though, is key, with 68 percent of respondents saying they set clear goals for the IoT projects and 61 percent viewing IoT as an integral part of their business initiatives.

Security is still a big concern though. Forty-two percent of businesses said they are investing in training and recruiting people with IoT security expertise. While 30 percent have changed or restricted their deployments to limit security risks, the majority of respondents (60 percent) said they believe they already have their IoT security under control. Approximately 91 percent of respondents said they are working with a provider on end-to-end security.