Global manufacturers braced for IoT, but lack of ownership sees varied progress

February 12, 2016 4:05 pm

  The transition to IoT is well underway for global manufacturers according to the findings of a new survey, launched by Infor, a provider of business applications specialised by industry and built for the cloud. “10 per cent of manufacturers claim they already have an established IoT project underway, with 22 per cent either running a pilot or planning a project within the next 12 months. More than 38 per cent claim to be investigating its potential,” the survey reveals.
The research, which polled manufacturers across 12 different countries, including North America, UK, Germany, France, Italy, China and India, also reveals that IoT is the single biggest business priority for one in ten manufacturers across the world right now, with 28 per cent putting it in their top three. The benefits of IoT are well documented, with new revenue opportunities based on the monetisation of information billed as one of the most exciting. However, it seems the majority (55 per cent) of the manufacturers polled as part of the research view cost savings from greater operational efficiencies as the greatest opportunity associated with the initiative, with a third envisaging competitive advantage through additional revenue from new services.Specific benefits, according to the research, are likely to come through productivity, which topped the list according to 20 per cent, followed by better insight and decision-making (15 per cent); greater utilisation of equipment and machinery (15 per cent); new services (11 per cent); and new revenue streams (13 per cent). However a lack of ownership is impeding adoption with respondents citing a total of nine different functions as the primary drivers of IoT. These span a range of roles from the executive team (31 per cent) and IT (28 per cent), to marketing (5 per cent); manufacturing operations (13 per cent) and facilities (6 per cent). When asked about challenges to IoT implementation, respondents pointed to a lack of skills, unclear benefits and cost as the primary culprits.
“Manufacturers, challenged by the constant need to improve productivity, see the competitive advantage available to them through exploiting IoT technologies. This research confirms that over half of manufacturers recognise the potential and are either piloting projects or actively investigating use-cases,” comments Andrew Kinder, VP Industry and Solution Strategy at Infor.