86% of organizations in Asia Pacific will have some form of IoT in place by 2019; reveals a study by Aruba Networks, a
Hewlett Packard Enterprise company. The study also warns that connecting thousands of things to existing business networks will open up new security challenges, as organizations adopt IoT to leverage the business benefits of enhanced efficiency and innovation across industries.
According to the research, 97% of respondents from Asia Pacific (Australia, China, India, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea) have an understanding of IoT, but many are still unclear of the exact definition of IoT and what value it brings to their organizations.
35% of business leaders cited significant profit increases after deploying IoT. While 39% of executives expected their IoT strategies to yield huge business efficiency improvements, actual results show that 51% of those who implemented IoT have experienced great business efficiency gains.
Chris Kozup, Vice President, Marketing, Aruba, said “With the business benefits of IoT surpassing expectations, it’s no surprise that the business world will move towards mass adoption by 2019. But with many executives unsure of how to apply IoT to their business, those who succeed in implementing IoT are well positioned to gain a competitive advantage.”
According to Aruba research the following five vertical industries are leaders in their adoption of IoT and have realized tangible business benefits from a focused, use case approach to adoption.
Enterprises
The study claims that 72% enterprises have introduced IoT devices into the workplace. Remote monitoring being the prime IoT service, indoor location-based services ranks as the second most promising use case to improve employee productivity.
20% report that remote operation of building lighting and temperature as a key use case for IoT implementation. 78% of respondents believe that the introduction of IoT in the workplace has improved the effectiveness of their IT team, and 75% find it has increased profitability.
Industrial sector
Aruba states that 62% respondents in the industrial sector have already implemented IoT. Using IoT to monitor and maintain essential industrial functions was identified as the most impactful use case in the sector.
Having said that, the study claims that the use of IP-based surveillance cameras for physical security within industrial organizations is still in its nascent stage, since only 6% of respondents said to have implemented it. 83% report increased business efficiency and another 80% have found improved visibility across the organization.
Healthcare
60% of healthcare organizations globally have introduced IoT devices into their facilities. Across the sector, 42% of executives rank monitoring and maintenance as the number one use of IoT. About 80% report an increase in innovation and another 73% report cost savings.
Retail
The report states that only 49% of retailers are using IoT technology, but 81% of these report improved customer experiences. Using IoT in-store, as claimed by retailers, to deliver personalized offers and product information to shoppers was touted as the number one implementation for IoT.
Government
Aruba reveals that Government sector is the slowest to adopt and implement IoT. 42% of municipalities have deployed IoT devices and sensors. 35% of IT decision makers claim their executives have little to no understanding of IoT, which means that lack of education is the biggest barrier to mass adoption in this sector.
Challenges
53% organizations in APAC cited the cost of implementation is a key obstacle for IoT adoption. 52% believe cost of maintenance to be a major concern and 47% state that IoT is difficult to integrate with legacy technologies.
When it comes to security, the report states that 88% of organizations have experienced at least one IoT-related security breach. More than 50% declared that external attacks are a key barrier to embracing and adopting an IoT strategy.
98% of organizations that have adopted IoT claim to be able to analyze data, the same majority admitted to challenges in creating value from this data. More than 35% of organizations in Asia Pacific are not extracting or analyzing data within corporate networks, missing on insights that could improve business decisions.
