Study Finds Internet of Things Will Continue Rapid Growth Rate in 2018

The internet of things will continue to grow rapidly in 2018 and beyond, according to a new study from security and network hardware company Cradlepoint and IT services company Spiceworks. The two companies, which surveyed 400 IT professionals, found that nearly a third of organizations are currently deploying internet of things systems and many more are planning to start in 2018, despite the security concerns of some IT professionals. But in the study, Cradlepoint argues that some companies have done it right and found a way to benefit from IoT without sacrificing security and efficiency. Cradlepoint also proposed some best practices to make the move to IoT a bit easier. Read on to learn about the continued rapid growth of IoT in the years ahead.

The internet of things is no longer a fledgling industry. According to the report, 32 percent of businesses already have at least one IoT implementation in their offices. The IT services and retail/wholesale industries are the top IoT users, followed by the education and health care industries.

The future looks even brighter for the IoT market. According to the survey, 69 percent of organizations have already adopted or plan to adopt IoT systems within the next year.

Among the companies that are investing in the internet of things, 77 percent have adopted IoT security services, followed by 71 percent who have employed building security components. About two-thirds of companies are using IoT analytics. Connected health and vehicle fleet management are at the bottom of adopted IoT technologies.

Cloud-based hosted services will be the top IT priority in 2018, as cited by 51 percent of respondents. That is followed by security, with 47 percent of respondents saying that’s what they are most concerned with, according to Spiceworks. IoT is in the middle of the pack at 27 percent, following IT automation but landing ahead of corporate mobility.

What might be holding back IoT adoption? Forty-one percent of respondents are concerned about security and 35 percent are worried about costs. The most important considerations were security features, return on investment and reliability.

The top driver for IoT adoption in the enterprise is the opportunity to boost security, respondents said. That was followed by improved operational processes and reduced costs. Flexibility was cited as least likely to drive adoption.

When it comes to adopting different IoT solutions, companies use a mix of internal employees and external contractors. However, the mix is different depending on the job. In the case of IoT-based retail transactions, for instance, 22 percent of companies will rely on contractors and 40 percent on internal employees. But with vehicle fleet management, just 15 percent will use contractors and 41 percent internal employees. IoT security initiatives are most likely to require the use of internal employees.

Looking ahead, nearly half of companies say they’ll add IoT solutions to their “core, enterprise-wide networks.” Four in 10 say that they’ll use a separate network for IoT. The other 10 percent aren’t sure yet how they will implement IoT.

Who’s behind IoT’s adoption? In 41 percent of cases, IT directors are making the push, followed by IT managers in 30 percent of cases. Interestingly, owners and CEOs are making the decisions in 20 percent of cases, and boards of directors in 18 percent of cases. Business managers are least likely to drive IoT adoption.

Cradlepoint identified three best practices for successfully implementing IoT in the office. First, companies should “treat network security as a foundational consideration.” Companies should also look to outside experts for help in implementing IoT. Finally, organizations need to evaluate whether their old network infrastructure can keep up with the demands of IoT.