As we’ve covered in the past, IoT is in an odd position. While its security leaves a lot to be desired, it also comes with a lot of benefits. This creates a double-edged sword effect where businesses are adopting IoT despite the risks that come with it. If they don’t, they’ll be left behind by the companies that do!
More Companies Are Adopting IoT
As such, despite the flaws in IoT security, we’re seeing an increase in enterprises adopting this new technology. Zebra Technologies broke the news after they had performed their annual IoT checkup in the enterprise world.
Zebra found that 61 percent of enterprises had adopted IoT in some way during the first half of 2019. This is a big jump from the first half of 2018, where 49 percent of enterprises used IoT.
Zebra also used an index to judge how “smart” a business is. They regard businesses as an “intelligent enterprise” if their index is 75 or higher. This year we saw 17 percent of enterprises meet this standard, compared to 11 percent last year.
Also read:Enterprise and Automotive IoT Endpoints Predicted to Reach 5.8 billion in 2020
It’s also worth noting that a huge 37 percent of small and medium businesses surveyed managed to reach this lofty 75-point score. This shows that small and medium businesses are more likely to adopt IoT, presumably due to the lower installation and overhead costs.
What the Future Holds
Drew Ehlers, the global futurist for Zebra Technologies, believes this innovation will only increase over the coming years.
“When we launched the Intelligent Enterprise Index three years ago, many enterprises were trying to understand where and how IoT solutions could be best applied within their unique business environments,” he said.
“We now see more urgency to improve operational visibility and facilitate the delivery of actionable intelligence all the way to the edge of the enterprise.
“I believe that is why enterprises are now demonstrating a much greater commitment to executing their IoT plans and why we’ll likely see a surge in investments over the next few years.”
As such, this surge in IoT adoption is because businesses are finally coming to grips with how it works and how it can help them. Complicated elements of IoT such as the blockchain can fail to “click” with some people. After seeing it in practice and realizing its potential, however, businesses are more open to trying it out themselves.
The Other Side of the Coin
Unfortunately, there is a darker side to this development. Remember how IoT can be a double-edged sword? This increase in IoT adoption means that hackers will have more entry points into a business.
As such, it’s important that businesses develop a proper plan of defense against these new threats. This is doubly true for the small and medium businesses that have adopted IoT, as they may not have the funds to properly set up their security.
A Blessing and a Curse
IoT adoption among enterprises is on the rise. As companies understand the power that IoT brings to their business, they become interested in implementing it into their own workflow. However, this also opens them up to potential attacks from outside agents.
Do you think businesses are adopting IoT devices too quickly? Or is it a necessity in this fast-moving world? Let us know below!
Get the best of IoT Tech Trends delivered right to your inbox!
