The barriers to successfully implementing an IoT initiative - research
IT decision makers say security, privacy, legislation and a lack of standards are all barriers to exploiting IoT
Security was named the number one issue or barrier to implementing and exploiting an Internet of Things (IoT) initiative, according to in-depth research by Computing.
IoT or the extension of internet functionality to billions of ‘things' that are currently totally unaware of their surroundings - household appliances, cars, doors, vending machines - is increasingly being talked about within the IT industry. But while many have talked-up the idea of machine-to-machine (M2M) interaction and IoT changing the world, there is a debate as to what really constitutes an IoT initiative, and whether organisations can really exploit it.
After individual in-depth interviews with IT practitioners to ensure the questions being asked were relevant, Computing asked IT decision makers what they thought were the main issues that were holding them back from implementing or exploiting an IoT initiative. The greatest single proportion of respondents (39 per cent) named ‘device or data security' as a factor, followed by a lack of clarity of purpose or understanding of the benefits (34 per cent).
Privacy tracking and a worry about the perception of ‘big brother' surveillance, as well as information governance and legislation were also factors that figured highly (27 per cent).
Two issues that are regularly talked about in regards to IoT - interoperability and a lack of standards - were cited by a quarter of respondents as barriers for IoT.
Meanwhile, just under a quarter (24 per cent) of IT decision makers pointed to costs, a lack of skills, or choosing the right technology as issues in implementing IoT, while just over a fifth (21 per cent) said user acceptance was a barrier - perhaps in relation to the ‘big brother' effect mentioned earlier.
Other factors included issues with understanding the technology (21 per cent), managing data (20 per cent), and legacy infrastructure (16 per cent), as well as a lack of resources on the ground for installation (14 per cent) and communications issues (10 per cent).
Implementing other projects or technologies at the same time (13 per cent) was a barrier for some, while some IT decision makers were worried that their organisation wouldn't know where to stop, and that it could be a case of "too much too soon".
Only three per cent of respondents said that there were no issues or barriers to successfully implementing and exploiting an IoT initiative.
Computing's in-depth research included inerviews in person and over the phone with IT practitioners and a nationwide, online quantitative study completed by in excess of 350 IT decision makers representing organisations ranging in size from a minimum of 100 employees to enterprises comprising many thousands. Numerous industries were represented including banking and finance, technology, healthcare, education and media.