First IoT Study From CompTIA Suggests There Will Be Opportunity For The Channel
A research brief published by CompTIA last month, Sizing up the Internet of Things, outlines the potential for the Internet of Things (IoT) to create new business opportunities for the IT channel. U.S. IT companies responding to this first study on the IoT by CompTIA, however, are split — almost exactly down the middle — on their view of this topic, which is finding its way into more and more headlines.
The report states, “Fifty-one percent of respondents believe the opportunities presented by IoT justify the hype, while 48 percent see more hype than opportunity at this point in time.”
Seth Robinson, senior director of technology analysis for CompTIA, says the view that leans toward “mostly hype” can be attributed to uncertainty surrounding the immature IoT ecosystem. The IoT is bringing with it new considerations regarding standards, security, privacy, monetization, and other consequences. “For IT industry executives, this raises red flags,” Robinson explains.
There is no denying, the IoT continues to grow. The CompTIA report cites studies by Gartner and IDC, among others, that predict the IoT, now with about 14 billion connected devices, will grow to 50.1 billion connected devices by 2020. In addition, the mix of connected “things” that is now mostly computers, tablets, and mobile phones — and will grow to include “industrial and emerging things.”
CompTIA asked survey respondents to list companies that would profit from the IoT: 45 percent believe device companies will profit, followed by data analytics/Big Data companies (43 percent), companies that tie services together with application program interfaces (APIs) (35 percent), IT solutions providers (30 percent), telecom and cable companies (26 percent), networking equipment and software companies (25 percent), sensor/chip companies (23 percent), and platform and ecosystem providers (15 percent).
Survey respondents also listed areas in which they believe the IoT will deliver value in the long term. The areas include: creating new revenue and business opportunities, controlling and monitoring newly connected pieces of equipment, collecting new data streams, adding intelligence to “dumb” systems, and gathering contextual information about customers.
Robinson adds, “Every vertical will have some application, but certain industries will lag behind others.”
He points out that regardless of your business model, there can be opportunities related to the IoT: “If your company is break-fix, you can transition to provide infrastructure and small connected devices, and new companies can spring up.” He adds companies will need the help of IT solutions providers to upgrade networks to include new devices. In addition, managed services providers (MSPs) might consider expanding services to include the IoT, for example, says Robinson, “People are familiar with mobile devices, but not with what you have to do to make them secure…They have to get mapped in for knowledge and security.”
Robinson tells IT solutions providers, “Look at what you are doing and what you’d like to do in this new space. (Solutions providers) view them as separate, but we’re encouraging them to view it as a continuum … Think about what you’re good at, what’s going to be offered by the IoT, and how you can provide it.”
Information from the study is available in a SlideShare at http://www.slideshare.net/comptia/sizing-up-the-internet-of-things, and the entire research brief is available at http://www.comptia.org/insight-tools.
The brief is based, in part, on a July 2014 online survey of 297 IT companies in the United States, ranging from small IT firms to Fortune 500 companies.