IoT already at work in 65% of companies: 451 Research
A survey has shown that 65% of firms are already using IoT technology, by gathering data from sensors and other equipment for business purposes. A report by 451 Research has found that 71% of data collected is from machine sensing, 20% was environmental data and 8.5% biological data from humans and animals. The majority of IoT data comes from data centres' IT equipment, followed by cameras and other surveillance equipment. Businesses also indicated they had a few fears regarding IoT technology, with 46% saying that security was their top concern; finding skilled personnel and the required IT capacity also ranked highly.

Well, that was fast.

A majority of enterprises, 65 percent in fact, have already incorporated Internet of Things (IoT) technologies into their environments, gathering data from sensors, equipment and other devices and using it for business purposes, according to 451 Research’s inaugural Voice of the Enterprise: Internet of Things report. The most common type of data collected is of the machine sensing type (71.5 percent), followed by environmental data (20 percent) and biological data from people and animals (8.5 percent).

Most IoT data comes from data center IT equipment (51) followed by cameras and other surveillance equipment (34 percent). Data center facilities also rank high (33 percent) along with smartphones and end-user systems (29 percent).

Early to the IoT scene, 49 percent of manufacturers are collecting data from factory machinery. Medical devices are pouring data into nearly half of all healthcare (49 percent) organizations.

Generally, enterprises are deploying IoT systems to reduce risk (66 percent) and optimize business operations (63 percent). Organizations are also enlisting connected devices to help develop new products or improve upon existing ones (33 percent). Finally, 21 percent of organizations are enlisting the IoT to aid in their customer targeting efforts.

As with any burgeoning technology, businesses can expect some speed bumps along the way.

Echoing several other studies on the topic, IoT security was the top concern (46 percent). Finding skilled personnel (32 percent) and the IT capacity required to support the IoT (29 percent) posed a challenge for many enterprises.

Despite the sometimes deafening buzz surrounding the technology, many business leaders aren’t yet convinced that they can capitalize on it and use it to help improve the bottom line. Twenty-nine percent of enterprise organizations are skeptical about the IoT’s supposed benefits or its ability to generate a positive return on investment (ROI).

“In order for IoT to evolve as a key digital transformation enabler, enterprises and vendors of key solutions must address security concerns, set standards for connectivity, and lower both the cost and complexity of deploying these environments,” said Dan Harrington, research director at 451 Research, in a statement. “This complexity includes not only the deployment of the physical hardware itself, but also the backend analytics and software platforms, and the business justification tools used to realize the value of the data being gathered.”

Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at Datamation. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.