Indeed, McKinsey’s “The Internet of Things: Catching up to an accelerating opportunity” report estimates that the IoT could enable $5.5 trillion to $12.6 trillion in value globally by 2030. This is up from $1.6 trillion in 2020.
However, the McKinsey estimates actually predict slower growth than the same author team estimated in an earlier research report in 2015. Why the slower growth? Is the vision of transforming our world into one of connected, intelligent devices still on track?
Where are we now in the IoT Hype Cycle?
The US-based research and advisory firm Gartner first introduced its Hype Cycle concept in 1995. According to Gartner, new technology goes through five phases in its lifecycle: Innovation Trigger, Peak of Inflated Expectations, Trough of Disillusionment, Slope of Enlightenment, and Plateau of Productivity.
It is fair to characterise that the period preceding the pandemic as one of inflated expectations. Subsequently, the IoT’s fall into the trough of disillusionment was probably exacerbated by the unusual conditions of lockdown: technology (with the exception of video conferencing tools) became less attractive as people sought out personal connections with people, old-fashioned but familiar activities and nature.
Now, as we slowly return to “business as usual”, it seems evident that IoT adoption is well on its way to ascending the slope of enlightenment. Our understanding of IoT and perception of its potential is more realistic. We have a better understanding of the challenges and how to address them.
What factors are slowing down IoT adoption?
Let’s consider some of the factors that slowed down the adoption of IoT solutions – and look at how businesses are overcoming these factors to ascend the slope of enlightenment.
Underperforming early projects spawned disillusionment
Early projects which didn’t deliver rapid return on investment (ROI) deter some organisations from pursuing other (more viable) opportunities. An IoT project involves more than connected a few extra devices to your Wi-Fi. There are data architecture, data governance, network infrastructure, cyber security and analytics capabilities to build too.
Solution: Business cases and project plans for IoT projects need to reflect this reality. Identifying real-world use cases that have delivered convincing results and ROI and sharing these best-practice examples is key to continued adoption. There are now many successful applications. Benchmarking across industry to learn from the most successful help to ensure that project goals are both realistic and achievable.
Cyber security concerns make organisations wary
Unprotected peripherals, hardware with factory-setting passwords and operating systems that haven’t been updated all pose cyber-security risks. Adding anything to your network is adding a potential entry point. Too many organisations have learnt this the hard way, which adds to the trepidation felt about adding more devices to a network.
Solution: Cyber security needs to be thought about at the very start of an IoT project. The Biden administration’s new FCC Cyber Trust Mark will help to address this – making it easy for businesses and consumers to understand which IoT devices have cyber security built in. The mark will list essential information about each device, making it easier for everyone to understand and address any potential vulnerabilities.
Additionally, organisations can deploy endpoint management solutions paired with regular network scans to identify and manage devices on their network. Cloud-based endpoint management solutions make this type of control accessible for every organisation.
