The “internet of things” is coming. Are you ready for future of “total connection”?
The first line when it comes to the internet of things — IoT as it’s abbreviated — is, of course, businesses themselves.
But if a May, 2014 study by Edelman Berland for GE is to be believed, while the majority of business executives worldwide had at least heard of the IoT, most aren’t up to speed on what it really means. More compellingly, 44 percent “had never even heard of the concept.”
What’s the IoT? Edelman Berland/GE defined the internet of things as “the next generation of internet, integrating complex physical machinery with networked sensors and software.”
Yep, that’s a world in which your phone talks to your refrigerator, which talks to your security system, which is capable of interacting with your phone … and on and on, in a connected world of machines that are wired to interact and respond via new technologies.
“Looking at a breakdown by industry, the survey found that preparation and planning for the IoT varied greatly across sectors,” eMarketer summarized. “Unsurprisingly, high-tech/IT sector business execs were the most prepared to optimize the IoT, with 34 percent of respondents from that industry saying so.”
As it turns out, about 25 percent of professionals in the IT group were planning to prep for this new world — that’s the highest percentage out of sectors once again.
“Telecoms execs were the second most prepared (31 percent of respondents), but interestingly, those who weren’t set to take advantage of the IoT were the least likely to say they were planning to—and the most likely to report that they had no intention to do so,” the report adds.
Guess who came in at the bottom? That lackluster honor goes to the healthcare and manufacturing industries, which landed at the bottom in terms of preparedness. Only 21 percent of respondents from each of these industries say they’re at all ready to optimize the IoT.
Nearly half, of course, have never heard of it.