Considerable ROI Seen from IoT Use

A Verizon Business survey of more than 500 companies shows that companies using IoT in their operations have considerable optimism around their growth potential and ROI associated with their IoT technology implementations. The survey results indicate this optimism is being driven by measurable increases the companies have seen in productivity gains resulting from their use of IoT tech. 

According to the Verizon Business report, responding companies gave feedback on IoT market accelerators like AI, challenges in cybersecurity and specific use cases benefitting their businesses. These companies also indicated their experience has shown that before IoT is deployed at scale, there is a need for strong network foundations and well-managed OT (operational technology)/IT integration. Particular concerns in this area stem from integrating novel technologies with legacy systems and updating network foundations.  

“A business’s connected machines, IT systems, and overall operations produce an enormous amount of data around location, condition, anomalies, threats, operational progress and continuity. IoT has become critical as to how those data points get collected and parsed to provide businesses with insights about how things are going and how they can be improved,” said Daniel Lawson, senior vice president of global solutions and IoT at Verizon Business.  

“This survey tells us that IoT is highly valuable and scalable when implemented correctly, benefits from a connected ecosystem, and is about to get a lot more interesting and dynamic with AI and other emerging technologies,” he added.  

The report also identified key factors critical to the success of IoT tech integration into existing operations: 

• 87% of respondents said that system integration support from a mobile network operator is important or critical for successful IoT deployment.  
• 98% of enterprises surveyed expect real benefits from their IoT deployment within two years, with most anticipating returns in less than 12 months.  
• 78% see network slicing as essential to customizing IoT performance, especially in logistics and supply chain operations. 5G network slicing is a network architecture that enables multiplexing of both virtualized and independent networks on the same physical network infrastructure.  
• 43% noted that cybersecurity is their biggest challenge when it comes to IoT deployment.
• Looking specifically at the manufacturing and warehousing industries, 59% cited cost savings as the key driver for IoT deployments.
• In logistics and supply chain management, 58% are currently deploying real-time shipment tracking and 44% plan to leverage IoT for warehouse automation and predictive maintenance in the next 12-24 months.  

More IoT insights from Automation World: 

MTNA Transforms Legacy Manufacturing Ops with Smart Machine Monitoring 

Insights on Managing I/O Device Diversity and Data Overload in Industrial IoT 

MES and IoT Integration: Transforming Manufacturing Data into Intelligence