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Sixteen percent of small and midsize businesses in the United States have spent less than $800 on mobile devices last year–the highest of all surveyed countries and significantly more than the average at 9 percent, and just under one-quarter (23 percent) have not purchased any mobile devices last year, according to a report from CompTIA.
The survey also found that 34 percent of SMBs in the United States haven’t reviewed its service or product portfolio due to the rise of the Internet of things (IoT) and have no plans to do so–the most of all surveyed countries and significantly higher than the average at 26 percent.
However, 49 percent of American small businesses said they think the IoT will help their organizations make more money, which is the least of all surveyed countries and significantly less than the global average at 57 percent.
One-quarter of U.S. SMBs ranked cloud computing as the first among big IT trends which have the biggest monetization opportunities for their organization, while another 25 percent ranked mobility and 21 percent ranked the IoT as the first.
“Small business should pay attention to some of the same places they have been getting their cloud and mobility information,” Seth Robinson, senior director for technology analysis at CompTIA, told eWEEK. “These two areas provide the foundation for IoT and will help give some insight as to how SMBs will begin using the technology.”
Results indicated small businesses in the United States think the IoT is aimed at big businesses, and 32 percent of businesses surveyed in the U.S. agree with the idea that there is not enough industry leadership for the IoT, and 40 percent agree with the statement that the IoT will make their network more complicated.
Robinson said just as small businesses have learned about the benefits of cloud and mobility in their space–which are often different than enterprise benefits–they will learn about the benefits of IoT as the trend takes shape.
While only 56 percent of these SMBs are likely to plan to expand its service and product portfolio due to the rise of the IoT, 31 percent said don’t have such plans at all–the most of all surveyed countries and significantly more than the average at 24 percent.
The survey also found 35 percent of SMBs think that, of the big IT trends, the IoT will have the greatest impact on their organization over the next five years–far less than the average at 46 percent.
Nearly three in 10 (29 percent) U.S. small businesses surveyed said that IT departments are most positive about the implementation of solutions for the IoT, far fewer than the international average at 41 percent, compared with 17 percent for customers and 14 percent for suppliers.
“As we’ve seen with cloud, there are likely to be several hidden costs in pursuing an IoT implementation,” Robinson noted. “However, just as with cloud, the list of benefits will also grow. With cloud, the most advanced adopters are starting to explore new businesses cases rather than simply migrating existing operations. This will be even truer for IoT, though it will take some time for these use cases to emerge.”