IoT: More than just hype as deployments ramp up

The Internet of things picking up momentum, opening up a wealth of opportunity in the enterprise, as the technology moves from being 'just a concept' to a 'real global accelerator of the third platform'.

That's the view from IDC in the wake of its latest research, which surveyed IT and business decision makers, and shows that 73% of respondents have already deployed, or plan to deploy IoT solutions in the next 12 months.

The research shows that the enterprise holds the greatest IoT opportunity in terms of spending and the number of endpoints connected.

Vernon Turner, IDC senior vice president and research fellow, internet of things, says IoT momentum is continuing to grow with the technology now seen as strategic to the enterprise.

When it comes to industry breakdown, healthcare (72%), transportation and manufacturing were most likely to see IoT as strategic at 72%, 67% and 66%, respectively.

But IDC says IoT awareness also is gaining traction in the retail and manufacturing industries, with 56% and 53% of respondents, respectively, showing high awareness of IoT.

A full 58% of respondents said they consider IoT a strategic initiative, with a further 24% viewing it as transformative.

Government lags behind in overall awareness and often needs clarification around the IoT basics, IDC notes.

The analyst firm says similar to last year's findings, security remains a leading challenge, but upfront and ongoing costs have now become the top challenges.

Hardware manufacturers, which in last year's survey were considered leaders in IoT, have lost ground in 2015 with software vendors overtaking equipment vendors.

IDC says another challenge that needs to be considered is IoT processing at the edge of the network, compared to processing back at the enterprise. IDC says there's a clear requirement for processing at the edge and it will challenge many IoT infrastructure designs.

Carrie MacGillivray, IDC vice president for IoT and mobile, says the survey provides quantifiable evidence that the internet of things is not just a concept, but a real global accelerator of the third platform.