TALKING BUSINESS
L
ack of cohesion between
departments appears to
be affecting Internet of
Things (IoT) usage, confidence
levels and security fears across
the Middle East, yet business
executives. remain optimistic on
IoT potential.
The internet of things (IoT)
remains fragmented in the
Europe, Middle East and Africa
market (EMEA) stemming from
a disconnect between IT and
business departments over what
IoT is and how it should be used.
This is according to a new survey
of 1,400 business and IT leaders
from 11 countries in Europe and
the Middle East.
Findings from ‘The EMEA IoT
showdown: Business vs. IT’
from Aruba, a Hewlett Packard
Enterprise company, show that
while there is a 50 per cent
adoption rate of IoT across the
region, set to rise to 82 per cent
by 2019, there is a clear lack of
alignment between business and
IT leadership regarding what IoT
is, how it is being used and even
whether it has been adopted.
This in turn has created a highly
fragmented landscape across
EMEA, with countries reporting
drastically different levels of
IoT adoption, understanding of
IoT, and standards of perceived
security that it offers.
A number of key trends show
how IT and business leaders are
at an impasse on IoT:
• Differing Definitions:
Fundamentally, IT and business
departments have not yet agreed
on what IoT is. Nearly two-thirds
(65%) of IT leaders define IoT
as ‘adding internet connectivity
to everyday objects’, while nearly
half (48%) of business leaders give
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IoT a rather contrasting term:
‘automation of building services’.
• Conflicting Priorities:
Similarly, the use cases for
IoT vary across departments.
According to IT leaders, the
number one use case for
IoT, now and in the future, is
monitoring and maintenance of
critical equipment. For business
leaders, the preferred use of
IoT is to provide location-based
services.
• Adoption Perceptions:
There even appears to be
disagreement over whether IoT
is being used. Nearly six in ten
(58 per cent) business leaders
believe they have adopted IoT
technology in their organisation,
compared to under half (47 per
cent) of IT decision makers.
• Future Plans:
European IT departments have
greater hesitancy to deploy IoT.
When asked about adoption
rates, 13 per cent of IT leaders
say they have ‘no plans’ to
deploy IoT. Conversely, 93
per cent of business leaders
declared that they have, or will
be adopting, IoT technology.
However, businesses and IT
leaders in EMEA are feeling
optimistic as they look for
business outcomes that
include improved workforce
productivity, reduced
operational risk, greater
efficiency and better value
when buying IoT services.
Morten Illum, VP of EMEA at
Aruba, said: “It’s clear that
there are conflicting views
within departments on IoT,
but with IoT adoption moving
at an unprecedented rate and
the business reporting clear
business value from IoT, it
is essential that there is an
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