Irish businesses are increasingly getting on board with the internet of things, with 40 per cent of companies expecting to increase their deployment of the technology next year.
That's according to a new survey carried out by Techpro magazine for global interconnection and data centre company Equinix, which questioned 145 senior IT professionals and managers in Irish-based businesses.
Almost three-quarters of those businesses said they believed the internet of things (IOT) would play a role in their business in the coming five years. However, despite that recognition, a lack of understanding of the technology and how it could benefit businesses is hampering adaptation, with almost half of companies admitting they did not have a strategy and do not have a plan to implement one by 2021.
Only 28 per cent said they planned to have an implementation strategy within five years.
And only a third of companies are currently using the internet of things in enterprise, with retail leading the charge at 67 per cent, education at 60 per cent and the healthcare sector coming in at 50 per cent.
Equinix's managing director for Ireland and emerging markets Maurice Mortell says the findings were not very surprising.
“While there’s an appetite for what IOT is, businesses and enterprises are unsure how it ties into their own business or how to avail of what opportunities it offers,” he says. “Everyone understands that this is happening and they need to be in that space.”
There are compelling cases for the introduction of device connectivity into some businesses – the survey revealed that those who already implement internet of things technology saw productivity among employees increase, adding about seven hours per week per employee.
Operational efficiency
Other benefits brought by the technology included operational efficiency, with 55 per cent of companies saying it was the greatest benefit to them, more than a third said it reduced maintenance and operations costs, while 31 per cent thought it increased the company’s competitiveness.
About 9 per cent of companies said they would boost their internet of things focus by more than 100 per cent in 2017.
But a lack of understanding about the new technology was still a barrier to its implementation. A third of businesses claimed it wasn’t important enough to their business right now, while 31 per cent said there was a lack of relevant applications in their industry.
However, Mortell warns that those who fail to implement a proper strategy in time risk being left behind by more agile rivals, a particular risk for traditional companies that may be facing competition from newcomers who are implementing internet of things technology to gain a competitive advantage.
With security around connected devices under the spotlight, Mortell says companies such as Equinix could offer enterprises a solution that removed the public cloud from the mix and speed up the process.
He says Ireland, with its background in technology companies, was in a good place to ensure the roll out of such technologies, with “the building blocks” in place to scale companies and their internet of things plans.
