ARM has unveiled the findings of a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, The Internet of Things Business Index: A quiet revolution gathers pace.
The report, sponsored by ARM, found that 75 percent of C-suite business leaders are actively researching opportunities created by the Internet of Things (IoT).
The report also revealed that 30 percent of business leaders feel that IoT will unlock new revenue opportunities, but just as many (29%) believe it will inspire new working practices, eventually changing the model of how they operate (23%).
The report concludes that the implementation of common standards will be paramount to enable communication between millions of connected devices and stop the ‘Internet of Silos’.
ARM CEO Simon Segars says: “Energy efficiency and miniaturisation are essential in these technologies, for example, the ARM Cortex-M0+ processor fits within the width of the average human hair – an essential component if we are to unlock the full business benefits of IoT.
"With this kind of innovative design, alongside our diverse, dynamic business ecosystem, we can unlock the full business benefits of IoT.”
The report highlights the need for a collaborative approach with companies needing to ‘learn to cooperate with players across industries’, encouraging standards that will avoid the so-called ‘Internet of Silos’ where data is created, but not shared amongst service providers to benefit the user.
Who is leading the charge?
European businesses are ahead of their global counterparts on the leader-board, in the research and planning phases of implementing IoT.
Manufacturing is leading the way with IoT amongst the industries tracked, driven by the need for real time information to optimise productivity.
One in four manufacturing companies already has a live IoT system in place. This sector is followed closely by construction and real estate.The top five barriers for companies increasing the use of IoT (top responses) are:
- Lack of employee skills/knowledge
- Lack of senior management knowledge and commitment
- Products or services don’t have an obvious IoT element to them
- Immaturity of industry standards around IoT
- High costs of required investment in IoT infrastructure
“The self-stocking intelligent fridge is a step closer to becoming an everyday reality,” said James Chambers, editor of the report, “but conversations about IoT are clearly moving on.
"Two in five C-level executives are now telling us that they discuss IoT regularly. Whether we will all end up wearing clothes connected to the Internet remains to be seen – but it’s hard to think of any business that can’t be part of the IoT revolution.”
Making sense of the Internet of Things. [Source: Source: Economist Intelligence Unit survey of 779 business executives from around the world.]
Common Standards for Shared Success with IoT
The report suggests that only by removing data silos and establishing common standards will the IoT to achieve the scale needed to operate across all markets successfully.
The emergence of big data is also an impact, with Honda handling terabytes of data stored in databases for 1.4 million users. Now, more than ever, managing that data and being able to analyse the little data coming from the uptake of IoT.