IoT adoption becoming critical for business success, says Microsoft report

Almost 88% Internet of Things (IoT) decision makers surveyed by Microsoft felt the adoption of IoT-based technologies is becoming critical for business success.

The Microsoft report, IoT Signals, is based on data from a survey of 3,000 IoT CXOs.  About 75% of the respondents said they have IoT projects in the planning stages. 

IoT skills gap, security remain top concerns

Key concerns in IoT adoption are skills gap and security, the report said. About 47% of the respondents said there weren’t enough skilled workers to take the technology forward.

"IoT is transforming businesses in every industry and is powering breakthrough innovations," Sam George, head of Microsoft’s Azure IoT platform, said.

George also pointed out that the industry needs to address skills shortage, security and complexity issues for the ecosystem to benefit in the long term.

Security remains the top issue in IoT adoption: 97% of the respondents had major security concerns in implementing IoT. About 38% said technical challenges were a barrier to furthering the IoT adoption.

Respondents believed that artificial intelligence, edge computing and 5G would be the key factors to drive the future of IoT.

"According to IDC's Worldwide Global DataSphere IoT Devices and Data Forecast, IDC expects there to be 41.6 billion connected IoT devices by 2025 — growing at a rate of 8.9% over the forecast period," Carrie MacGillivray, group vice president, IoT, 5G and Mobility at IDC, said in a statement.

MacGillivray also said IoT would become the fabric that would enable the exchange of information from things to people and processes.

“Data becomes the common denominator — as it is captured, processed, and used from the nearest and farthest edges of the network to create value for industries, governments and individuals' lives,” she added.

Microsoft will be investing $5billion in IoT and edge technologies by 2022, an official statement said.