43% of organisations are using or plan to implement the internet of things in their business this year, according to a Gartner survey conducted in November (spanning North America, LATAM, EMEA and APAC).
29% of respondents are currently using the IoT, with an additional 14% planning to implement in the coming months – representing 50% YoY growth. 21% of respondents are planning to use the IoT after 2016, bringing the total to 64%. However, 38% have no IoT plans – including 9% who see ‘no relevance whatsoever’ in the technologies.
The reason for the IoT’s current low adoption is due to two factors, said research director Chet Geschickter. “The first set of hurdles are business-related. Many organisations have yet to establish a clear picture of what benefits the IoT can deliver, or have not yet invested the time to develop ideas for how to apply IoT to their business. The second set of hurdles are the organisations themselves. Many of the survey participants have insufficient expertise and staffing for IoT and lack clear leadership.”
Industry adoption also varies widely. The IoT is most well-received in ‘heavy industries’ such as oil and gas. Service-oriented and ‘weightless’ industries lag behind. Gartner estimates that 56% of businesses in heavy industries be using the IoT by the end of this year, compared to 36% of ‘light’ or ‘weightless’ industries.
The focus for those organisations already using the IoT has been improvements to internal operations, rather than customer-facing services. However, VP and analyst Jim Tully said, “[W]e are poised for a marked shift in focus toward customer-facing benefits for planned IoT implementations, positioning IoT as a key competitive marketplace weapon going forward.”
Gartner’s survey predicts a jump in focus on customer experience, doubling in nominal terms from 18% to 34% over the next 12 months.
