Top 3 enterprise IoT challenges to overcome to ensure success
IoT is playing a pivotal role bridging the gap between the enterprise technologies of today and tomorrow. So much so that by 2020, more than half of all major business processes and systems will incorporate IoT elements to some degree.
However, that doesn’t mean businesses should expect IoT-driven applications in the next several years. Instead, these advanced devices will be used in limited aspects across a broad variety of use cases and scenarios to maximize existing enterprise workflows wherever possible.
That said, not every organization is ready to deploy IoT yet. Most companies need to overcome three primary challenges before they are ready to experience IoT implementation success.
Challenge #1: IoT integration
There’s a reason 40% of today’s enterprises are stuck in IoT’s initial planning and discussion stages — these connected devices and sensors have the potential to create difficulties where system integrations are concerned. Almost 30% of organizations currently introducing IoT into their mobility management ecosystems admit adoption efforts are being negatively impacted by information and operation technology integration efforts.
Despite the enterprise hurdles that come with integrating IoT and legacy technology, businesses that approach these potential pitfalls with careful planning and strategic decisions set themselves up for tremendous return on investment. In fact, more than two-thirds of today’s companies believe IoT project success will be mission-critical moving forward — which is why 79% expect most internal processes to include IoT sensors and controls within five years.
Challenge #2: Long-term projects
Today, Gartner estimates that three-quarters of global IoT initiatives take twice as long to complete as originally planned. Like most new technologies, most mobility management professionals point to a combination of employee resistance to change and the need for new business models and culture changes that require large-scale, long-term processes to ultimately uncover IoT’s enterprise value.
While this can be deflating — if not viewed as a failed investment altogether — it’s crucial that companies continue to invest whatever time and resources are required for successful IoT adoption regardless of how long the project takes to complete. Compromises made to meet deadlines at the cost of project scope significantly increase the probability of weaker device performance, security controls and existing system integration capabilities.
In worst-case situations, cutting corners and sacrificing capabilities for short-term success can even create the need for IoT to be recalled or redeployed. Considering the average organization invests years and up to $50 per IoT sensor to roll this technology out initially, few businesses can afford to attempt widespread adoption more than once. With million-dollar deployment budgets potentially at stake, executives that lack expertise and/or confidence need to understand successful IoT implementation takes time.
Challenge #3: Enterprise security
As IoT sensors proliferate inside the global enterprise environment, security for these endpoints will consume 20% or more of annual IT security budgets by 2020. IoT’s integration into an increasing number of processes will only cause this technology’s architecture, design and implementation to grow more complex going forward. This not only increases demand for IoT device and data security, it also presents increased risk for businesses and more potential entry points than ever for hackers.
An overly complex IoT initiative creates an environment that fails to identify exposed vulnerabilities, much less take steps to resolve them. At the same time, external IoT security threats are rapidly rising. Over the last year, IoT malware attacks have increased in frequency by more than 200%.
As global IoT investments increase, companies need to consider the myriad of strategy and security risks these technologies can create. A managed mobility software partner gives businesses the best chance to eliminate these challenges and increase the likelihood that IoT leaves a lasting, impactful enterprise footprint.
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