A recent survey carried out by TEKsystems has revealed that the majority of businesses expect the Internet of Things (IoT) to have a major impact, but are concerned that a lack of in-house skills could undermine the technology.
The findings emerged after more than 200 IT and business leaders were polled late last year, primarily to gain a greater insight into how businesses are preparing for and being challenged by IoT devices.
Some important highlights from the survey include that 55 percent of organisations believe that the Internet of Things will have either a significant or transformational impact on their businesses over the next five years. Developments are anticipated in the customer service sector and general business practices, with new revenue streams also expected to be created.
However, the survey also identified a lack of staff expertise as a potential stumbling block to IoT implementation. 63 percent of projects are expected to be handled internally and yet only 34 percent of organisations believed that their preparation is very good or excellent when using in-house resources.
“Only a minority of organisations have adopted IoT initiatives, despite a majority recognising the potentially transformational impact these projects will have on their business,” explained TEKsystems research manager Jason Hayman.
“Part of this measured adoption is likely due to a lack of confidence that IoT initiatives can be handled internally, and concerns over information security, ROI and interoperability with current systems.”
IoT data
However, the biggest risk to IoT adoption identified by businesses centred on security issues, with 50 percent of firms highlighting increased exposure of company data as a concern. Sukamal Banerjee, EVP, engineering and R&D services, HCL Technologies, told Internet of Business that the results were understandable.
“It’s no surprise to see security cited as the top challenge to IoT: the speed of innovation within the IoT means that security is often being added as an afterthought rather than being built-in from the start, leaving vulnerabilities for hackers to exploit,” he said.
“This is no small problem. A key part is not only inventing the sensors and connecting the systems, but also securing the plethora of data that passes back and forth.”