IoT is a strategic play for enterprises

We asked enterprises and IoT providers who they view as the most important IoT spend influencers. The result was clear: the C-level has the greatest influence on IoT purchasing decisions. This indicates IoT is still a key strategic play for adopters rather than a simple IT purchase.

But it’s also clear that IoT needs to be pitched to multiple stakeholders across a business. Innovation and special projects teams are important stakeholders for many companies; 21% of enterprise end users identify them as top influencers. IT departments and line of business/product development are also important in the IoT stakeholder mix, although they may not be the number-one influencers on spend decisions; 21% of providers and 20% of enterprise end users place them in the top-three spend influencers.

Which department has the most influence on IoT spend decisions?

Note: n=170. Chart shows % of respondent companies ranking the option shown as first/top option. Source: Omdia/IoT World Today.

5G and AI are seen as high-priority and transformational for IoT

Enterprises and providers have very high expectations around 5G and AI for IoT. When asked about forward-looking evolution of the IoT market, 81% of respondents believe 5G will transform the IoT opportunity, with 42% of these strongly agreeing this will be the case. And nearly 2/3 (64%) believe AI will be embedded into all IoT solutions in the next five years. And while short-term focus is on technologies like edge compute and IoT security, 5G is perceived as a high medium-long term priority for IoT providers and customers.

When asked to rank the importance of different enabling and adjacent technologies for IoT, 5G is perceived as the most important medium-to-long term priority by more than half of IoT provider respondents (51%). And nearly half (48%) of enterprise end users also say 5G is a key long-term priority for their IoT plans.

Priority new technologies to incorporate in IoT solutions roadmap (% of IoT providers)

Short-term focus for IoT roadmaps, in contrast, is on technologies like edge compute and IoT security.

Enterprises' level of interest in incorporate new technologies in IoT plans (% of enterprise IoT customers)

Note: n=140 providers (top chart) and 29 enterprise end users (lower chart). Chart shows % of respondent companies identifying the technology shown as the priority indicated. Source: Omdia/IoT World Today.

The timeframe indicates some realism on the part of enterprises and providers, who despite the hype understand it will take some time for the 5G ecosystem to mature and coverage to be fully rolled out, and even longer for revolutionary new business models to be enabled by 5G.

More than 2/3 of technology providers (67%) see the most important 5G benefit being its ability to manage massive numbers of devices, closely followed by the ability to support ultra-low latency.

Most important benefits of using 5G for IoT

Note: n=165. Multiple response question (respondents could select up to 3 options). Chart shows % of respondents choosing option as a main benefit of 5g for enterprise IoT.

When asked about AI benefits in IoT solutions, providers and enterprises identify improved business and operational agility as the biggest potential benefit. Enhancing customer experience and reducing cost are also in the top three benefits expected from AI-enhanced IoT. This is a diverse set of expectations and indicates providers – and AI developers – need to consider a number of different desired customer outcomes, in developing AI enhancements or modules to integrate with IoT solutions.

Most important benefits of using AI for IoT

Note: n=170. Multiple response question. Source: Omdia/IoT World Today.