It should come as no surprise that most companies today have some sort of IoT initiative being discussed, planned, or developed – if not already implemented. And this phenomenon is global and completely horizontal. The early adopters of IoT are already seeing positive returns, and the march of progress is overwhelming if not inevitable.
Why Aren’t We All There Yet?
For those still planning their IoT initiatives and smoothing out the details, there are several barriers that can get in the way. Some of the most commonly cited in surveys include: security concerns, difficulty quantifying ROI to CEOs, concerns about compatibility with existing data systems, and concerns about the technical skills of the staff to implement such strategies.
Obstacle 1 – Increased Exposure of Data/Information Security
As could be expected, security is the almost always biggest concern in most organizations. With the World Wide Web as an example, people today are fully aware of the dangers inherent in transmitting data between nodes on a network. With many of these organizations working with key proprietary operational data that could prove advantageous to a competitor if exposed, the concern is very understandable.
Obstacle 2 – Proving ROI/Making the Business Case
This is a classic example of not knowing what you don’t know. Without an established example of how similar initiatives have impacted your organization in the past – or even how similarly sized and structured organizations have been impacted – it can be very difficult to demonstrate in a tangible way exactly how these efforts will impact the bottom line. Without being able to make the business case, it will be difficult for executives to sign off any new initiatives. This is likely why larger organizations ($5+ billion in annual revenue) are much more likely to have already implemented IoT initiatives, while smaller organizations are still in the planning phase.
Obstacle 3 – Interoperability with Current Infrastructure/Systems
Nobody likes to start over, and many of the executives surveyed are dealing with organizations who have made enormous investments in the technology they are currently using. The notion of a “rip and replace” type of implementation is not very appealing. The cost is not only related to the downtime incurred in these cases, but the wasted cost associated with the expensive equipment and software systems that are being cast aside. In most cases, to gain any traction at all a proposed IoT initiative will have to work with the systems that are already in place – not replace them.
Obstacle 4 – Finding the Right Staff/Skill Sets for IoT Strategy and Implementation
With the IoT still being a fairly young concept, many organizations are concerned that they lack the technical expertise needed to properly plan and implement an IoT initiative. There are many discussions taking place about how much can be handled by internal staff and how much may need to be out-sourced. Without confidence in their internal capabilities, it is also difficult to know whether they even have a valid strategy or understanding of the possibilities. Again, this is a case where larger organizations with larger pools of talent have an advantage.
There are some valid concerns, and not all of them lend themselves to simple solutions. In truth, many of the solutions will vary from one organization to the next. However, in many cases the solutions could be as simple as just choosing the right software platform. Finding a platform that eases your concerns about interoperability can also help ease your concerns about whether your staff can handle the change, as there will be no need to replace equipment. Likewise, a platform that can be integrated seamlessly into your current operations to help improve efficiency and implement optimization strategies will also make it much easier to demonstrate ROI.
Excerpted from the whitepaper “Choosing the Right IoT Platform”, downloaded at www.scada.com.
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