Unlocking the Internet of Things’ Business Potential in 2019: Challenges & Ways to Overcome Them

Although the Internet of Things’ adoption could translate into a $11.1 trillion revenue increase across multiple industries including manufacturing, utilities and logistics and is largely considered the cornerstone of successful Digital Transformation, there are several factors undermining the development of the global connected economy. What are they and how could enterprises fast-forward their IoT initiatives in 2019 and beyond?

Identifying & Resolving Constraints in Business IoT

Legacy-driven Mindset & Business Models

By 2020, the amount of connected devices integrated into business IT infrastructures will reach 7.6 billion units.

Nevertheless, only 38% of enterprises report having company-wide IoT deployments in production, and the majority of those come to a halt during the Proof of Concept (PoC) stage.

On the one hand, the relatively high IoT project failure rate can be largely attributed to the legacy approach to software development: until IT departments abandon the “one device, one protocol, one application” paradigm and re-platform outdated enterprise applications to achieve data interoperability, the Internet of Things will remain a sci-fi concept for most companies.

On the other hand, we should not rule out the lack of cooperation between IT and business development departments: while engineering teams (whose main concern is software/hardware maintenance and enhancement) have only a vague idea of a company’s workflows and business goals, the C-Suite strives to achieve operational efficiency and expects high returns on their IoT investments.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that only 15% of executives consider their IoT projects successful — compared to 35% of IT specialists.

To break the cycle, enterprises should develop an all-encompassing view of the Internet of Things — a domain where the informational and operational technology is intertwined. Furthermore, it is essential to create a plan for measuring ROI early on, taking into account considerable upfront investments and velocity, as well as direct and indirect cost savings.

Data Acquisition, Processing & Security

The widespread adoption of business IoT solutions directly influences the amount of data that needs to be captured, analyzed, secured and acted upon. By the end of 2019, the global IoT device park will produce over 500 zettabytes of raw data annually.

Still, less than 1% of that data is transformed into actionable insights.

The key reasons why companies fail to capitalize on IoT data include information overload, unreliable or outdated data acquisition tools and poor analytics capabilities.

Several steps could be taken to combat the data deluge:

• Enterprises should invest in high-performance back-end solutions enhanced with Machine Learning (ML) algorithms which are capable of filtering and digesting the incoming sensor data. Moving data storage and processing closer to the edge (at least partially) could be an option, too.
• To make the information accessible from any type of device, cutting-edge data visualization solutions are required.

In order to protect data and mitigate IoT-based security attacks, more companies are expected to adopt the “continuous update” strategy based on regular over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates and strengthen device security at the microcontroller level. Smart contracts and blockchain-enabled IoT solutions could also play a pivotal role in improving the overall security of enterprise IT infrastructures.

Traditional Approach to Designing Human Interactions with Connected Devices

Among the devices that comprise the business IoT ecosystem we can distinguish industrial equipment enhanced with sensors, the elements of the Smart City infrastructure (including parking lot and building management software) and wearable gadgets designed to streamline workplace operations. The devices normally have different input/output and cognitive capacity, energy consumption characteristics and screen sizes — and use varied communication protocols, which, as I mentioned in the previous section, affects data interoperability and prevents connected systems from making autonomous decisions.

While the principles of IoT UX design are still being defined, it has become clear that users should be able to utilize connected systems as a holistic service rather than a set of disconnected UIs, all of which require multi-step configuration.

Within the Smart Home domain, for example, the voice recognition technology is getting considerable traction — in spite of the fact that smart assistants often display limited processing capabilities and lack situational awareness. When it comes to Industrial IoT software development, however, powerful admin dashboards with robust data visualization and alerts functionality, as well as the integration of IoT solutions on the back-end level, remain crucial to delivering consistent user experience.

Last but not least, business IoT implementations should be both efficient and socially acceptable.

Since more business processes become partially or fully automated, multiple issues concerning data security, privacy and ownership are starting to emerge. Therefore 2019 will be a turning point for companies undergoing Digital Transformation, and more enterprises are expected to establish dedicated technology councils with the aim to educate employees on IoT and develop comprehensive data security strategies.

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