Why awareness, rather than affordability, is the biggest barrier to IoT adoption in manufacturing

In previous years, perceptions of IoT might have been that not only is it a complex venture, but also an expensive one. Arguably, this viewpoint is somewhat outdated. The cost of computing, according to The Economist, is roughly a one hundred-millionth of what it was in the 1970s. The cost of sensors used for IoT, according to Goldman Sachs, have dropped from $1.30 to $0.60 between 2004 and 2014. And, of course, operational costs have dropped too. The technology has therefore never been more accessible and affordable, however the perception of financial barriers to IoT persists.
Many manufacturers consider themselves too small to invest in IoT, as demonstrated by anecdotal evidence in the 2019 PwC Annual Manufacturing Report. The same report said that over 50% of businesses have no plans to implement IoT technologies or are not sure why they should. The manufacturing sector is not alone in this issue, many SMEs that we meet don’t think they have the finance or resources to invest in digital technologies.