by Ludovico Fassati, Head of IoT for Vodafone Americas
IoT will drive business transformation
Companies that have adopted IoT see the technology as mission critical to their business. These companies are leading the way when it comes to digital transformation initiatives. According to Vodafone’s 2017/18 IoT Barometer, 74% of companies that have adopted IoT agree that digital transformation is impossible without it. The businesses that implement IoT solutions in the next year will have a clear advantage over competitors when it comes to evolving their digital capabilities.
LP-WAN solutions will open up the IoT market
IoT adopters have great expectations for the future of the technology, and new connectivity options like Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LP-WAN) are making innovation possible. LP-WAN technologies, like Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) allow for increased network coverage over a wide area at a low cost, making them an ideal solution for adding connectivity in hard-to-reach places. According to the analyst firm Analysys Mason, once there is greater awareness and understanding of LP-WAN, there will be new wave of growth in this area. LP-WAN technologies will begin to open the IoT market to applications that have not previously benefitted from connectivity.
IoT will become central to enterprise IT functions
Today, most major enterprises have already integrated IoT into their core systems and initiatives to drive digital businesses. We will continue to see connectivity become part of the enterprise IT fabric – in fact, within five years, IoT will be core to millions of business processes. In the future, companies may even take for granted that devices and appliances like vehicles and HVAC systems can be controlled and monitored remotely, thanks to IoT connectivity.
Companies will be increasingly confident in IoT security solutions
As with any new technology, security remains a top concern when it comes to IoT. However, businesses with large IoT implementations are becoming more confident, given that they have the expertise and resources necessary to tackle security concerns. These organizations will begin to see these security measures as enablers that give them the confidence to push business forward. As the technology matures, trust in IoT-enabled applications and devices will only continue to grow.
Businesses will see unexpected benefits from IoT adoption
Companies that integrate IoT solutions will see a number of benefits from the technology. The benefits go way beyond just enabling better data collection and business insights. IoT will be seen as a driver of improvements across businesses – organizations are already using IoT to reduce risk, cut costs, create new revenue streams, improve employee productivity, enhance customer experience and more. Businesses are likely to see even more benefits as they implement the technology across operations.
