TECH TALK
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In other words, believe the hype
(and how many times can you say
that about a new technology?).
ROI is looking good, very good.
Four-fifths of companies that
use IoT technology report
seeing an increase in business
efficiency, while the average
return on investment from an IoT
deployment is 34 per cent.
A lot of people claim to know
what IoT means. But few really
know. A massive 98 per cent of
those surveyed think they have
the true definition, but there’s
no consensus. Keep reading: we’ll
come back to this in a moment.
IoT has some hurdles to clear. IoT
has proven its value, but barriers
still exist. Cost of implementation
(50 per cent), maintenance
(44 per cent) and integration
of legacy technologies (43 per
cent) are the top three. But
there is hope: technologies are
already available that both cut
infrastructure costs and smooth
the integration process.
IoT brings incredible
opportunities, but also credible
threats. Alarmingly, 84 per
cent of organisations that use
IoT have experienced an IoT-
related security breach. As IoT
continues to grow, businesses
need to take steps to protect their
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networks and devices. Without
gaining visibility of IoT activities,
organisations are leaving
themselves open to attack.
Things vary across regions
constantly connected to the internet
via data sharing. It’s revolutionising
how businesses and public sector
companies alike operate to make a
real difference.
This means business
Arguably Europe and the wider EMEA
region have a more conservative
approach towards IoT today. Europe,
the Middle East and Africa show a 50
per cent take up of IoT technology,
compared to 60 per cent in APAC
and 66 per cent in the Americas. This
could be from a lack of preparedness
and a lack of willingness to explore
IoT’s benefits: currently, 17 per cent
of EMEA respondents claim their IT
infrastructure isn’t ready to support
IoT yet – nearly double that of
the Americas – but 82 per cent of
EMEA companies plan to adopt IoT
technologies by 2019. So there’s
still a little way to go yet to take full
advantage of IoT.
IoT has already made its mark
We’ve already seen some fantastic
examples this year showing the
impact IoT is making on the world.
From Ford’s ten-million selling in-car
SYNC system, featuring an automated
emergency services link in the event
of a crash, to the flood of healthcare
applications such as Boston Children’s
Hospital’s revolutionary use of
smartphones to help detect and fight
respiratory disease. IoT isn’t just for
the tech geeks, looking for a way to be
Talking about IoT’s achievements
brings us neatly to what IoT means.
You’ll remember from our survey that
a single, coherent definition of IoT
has so far eluded companies across
the world, so who better to give
the final word than Kevin Ashton.
A renowned tech pioneer, Ashton
coined the phrase ‘Internet of things’
back in 1999. Little did he know how
his new phrase would be used and
abused.
In his new eBook ‘Making Sense
of IoT’, commissioned by Aruba,
Ashton offers this as a definition:
“What is the IoT? It is not connecting
everyday objects like toasters and
refrigerators to the Internet. Products
like these exist, but it is hard to see
why… What defines the Internet
of things is data capture… The
‘Internet of things’ means sensors
connected to the Internet and
behaving in an Internet-like way by
making open, ad hoc connections,
sharing data freely and allowing
unexpected applications.”
In short, IoT is now serious stuff. Just
spare a thought for those poor
smart toasters. ¡
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