Australian companies regard IOT with mix of fear and determination

A large proportion of Australian companies are assessing how the Internet of Things (IOT) could affect their businesses, a survey by iTnews.com.au and cloud solutions distributor rhipe has found. More than 40 percent of the 261 survey respondents indicated they are already considering the implications of IOT. Almost a third recognised that IOT could cause disruption, although they hadn’t developed IOT strategies. About 20 percent of respondents have commenced IOT projects and believe IOT would be highly disruptive – not a large proportion, but enough to show IOT is far from a niche technology. Another response – a mere five percent rating IOT as “a lot of hot air and hype” – supports the notion that IOT is more than a buzzword. The survey was completed by 261 people, from industries including IT, banking, insurance and financial services. The results indicate plenty of scope for growth in IOT projects. And with major carriers ramping up marketing for their 5G networks and vendors such as Microsoft increasing their investment in IOT, we’ll be surprised if IOT adoption doesn’t increase this year.