End-to-end IoT security remains the top short-term priority for most respondents
The latest survey conducted by the Internet of Things World and Omdia found that “an overwhelming majority” — 85% — of the 170 IoT industry leaders surveyed believe that security concerns remain a major barrier to IoT adoption. Because of this, end-to-end IoT security remains the top short-term priority for most respondents — 64% — beating out edge compute (55%), AI/machine learning (50%) and 5G deployments (28%).
Given the high-priority nature of security, Alexandra Rehak, Internet of Things practice head at Omdia, suggested that enterprises and provider work closely together, adding, “Providers need to make sure IoT security solutions are simple and can be easily understood and integrated. Given how high a priority this is for enterprise end users, providers also need to do more to educate customers as well as providing technology solutions, to help ensure IoT security is not a barrier for adoption.”
When it comes to IoT security methods used by enterprises on average, the three most common methods offered by providers and employed by enterprises to ensure security included: end-to-end data encryption (60%), regular firmware and software update policies (54%) and checking on the physical security of devices (44%).
While 5G didn’t score too high on this of respondent’s priorities for the short-term, it fared much better in the medium- to long-term timeframe, with 81% of industry IoT leaders agreeing that 5G would “transform” the industry. According to the report, the top three benefits of using the technology are expected to be the ability to manage a massive number of IoT devices (67%), ultra-low latency (60%) and better network reliability.
And when it comes to AI, nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents believe it will be embedded into all IoT solutions in the next five years. The top three benefits of AI citing be respondents were improving business/operations agility, enhancing customer experience and reducing cost.
More specifically, new technologies like 5G and AI-enabled IoT solutions are expected by 2025 to have the biggest impact on automotive and transport (66%), energy and utilities (47%) and manufacturing (44%).
IoT World’s Director Zach Butler provided a summary of the IoT market, including the impact of COVID-19: “COVID-19 is expected to impact IoT in 2020. Despite this, Omdia forecasts potential in some segments including connected health, as innovators use IoT technologies to tackle some of the pressing crises of the moment. Long-term, there is little doubt that 5G will change the face of IoT, particularly in the automotive and manufacturing sectors. Right now, however, the focus is on laying the groundwork to take full advantage of it. For enterprises, that means shoring up their security and implementing their AI and edge technologies.”
