As IoT systems steadily become commonplace in organizations across all industries, many companies are considering how to roll out their own IoT programs to capitalize on the insights and capabilities offered by IoT solutions and connected devices.
Yet, the process of implementing an IoT program is a complex undertaking, demanding numerous enterprise-wide resources and consuming a lot of manhours. Enterprises must ensure they are ready to implement an IoT system quickly and securely. To help organizations determine how ready they are to launch an IoT program, the IoT M2M Council and Aeris offer a free IoT Readiness Calculator to give companies a glimpse at how their readiness level compares to other enterprises in the same vertical.
Based on the information gathered from this calculator, IMC and Beecham Research released an IoT Readiness Survey focused on results from enterprises that used the IMC IoT Readiness Calculator. Here are three key findings from the report.
1. IoT Scalability
The report touches on the importance of scalability in IoT solutions play for respondents. Over one-fourth, (26%) of respondents indicated that over 10,000 IoT devices or terminals are currently connected to their enterprise, with another 27% claiming there are only 100. Despite that difference, most respondents indicated that they expect that number to change over the next two years. 22% said they expect a change of over 40%, while 18% expect a change between 20% and 40%.
These predicted shifts indicate that organizations must prioritize the scalability of their IoT deployments to accommodate for growth. Additionally, when moving from a small IoT deployment to a larger one, enterprises must also prioritize security, as larger deployments demand more complicated and comprehensive security solutions. This point has been a major IoT project failure for organizations in the past.
2. IoT Security
The report also demonstrates a dire need for IoT security. Connected devices often leveraged in IoT programs are notoriously weak on the cybersecurity front – for a variety of reasons including their mobility and hardware limitation. According to the report, while initial IoT deployments will be small (65% plan on putting no more than 1,000 devices into the field within the first year), they will grow as the deployments reach their full scale (45% indicated the final rollouts will be between 1,000 and 10,000 devices, with another 21% indicating they will be more than 10,000).
As this number grows, so too do security concerns. Bad actors have targeted IoT devices at increasing rates. And if organizations do not take the steps to bolster their IoT deployments’ security, they are leaving vital data vulnerable. What’s more, as organizations expand their operations – and necessary coverage – internationally, it is important they take the appropriate security measures into consideration.
3. Increased Lifecycle of IoT Devices
Another insight from the report is enterprises’ expectations – and requirements – for connected devices. Over half (56%) of respondents require devices to be in the field for over five years. Meanwhile, 34% of enterprises said they need their devices to be in the field for a medium amount of time: one to five years. Only 6% of respondents require their devices to be in the field for less than a year. This insight further highlights the need for increased security measures around IoT devices. Legacy devices in the field are hard to update and could leave organizations vulnerable to cyberattacks. Enterprises must have visibility into device traffic so they can detect and respond to hacking attempts.
The Beecham Research report covers a variety of other IoT topics, including sustainability and future consideration for IoT design. Additionally, If you want to learn how your IoT program stacks up – in terms of IoT readiness – compared to other enterprises’ IoT projects, take the IoT Readiness Test here.
