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Vodacom Business launches its 2019 Internet of Things (IoT) Barometer: What does it mean to business and Society?

Vodacom Business have announced findings of its latest Internet of Things (IoT) Barometer 2019 at the launch event held at The Venue in Melrose Arch. In its sixth year, the IoT Barometer highlights a clear picture of the impact created within businesses that have adopted IoT and how businesses that haven't adopted IoT have fallen behind rivals within a few years.

The Barometer also serves as a guide in terms of what’s happening around the world across all sectors, and where it’s headed. With responses from 1,758 businesses world-wide, the Barometer finds that more than a third (34%) of businesses now make use of IoT, 70% of these adopters have moved beyond pilot stage and 95% of adopters are seeing the benefits of investment in the IoT technology as it moves into the mainstream.

March 2019 First Quarter

In providing insights into world IoT trends, Managing Executive for Vodacom Business IoT, Peter Malebye said, “IoT is central to business success in an increasingly digitised world, with 72% of adopters saying digital transformation is impossible without it. The good news is that IoT enablement platforms make the technology easier to deploy for businesses of all sizes and connectivity options like NB-IoT and 5G will make implantation easier and improve services. In this climate, companies need to be considering not if but rather how they will implement IoT, and they must also be fully committed to the technology to capitalise on the positive value/outcomes enabled by IoT.” The Vodafone Barometer 2019 shows that 34% of organisations now make use of IoT tech with 95% of these have experienced positive benefits with this investment in these new innovation.

by

Tsele Moloi

While use cases for IoT are varied, ranging from medical exoskeletons to connected tyres, the research has found that IoT impacts businesses regardless of size and sector. Sixty per cent of businesses that make use of IoT agree that it has either completely disrupted their industry or will do so in the next five years. Eighty-four per cent of adopters report growing confidence in IoT, with 83% increasing the scale of deployments to take advantage of full benefits.

Katalytik Business Review Magazine: March 2019

The most advanced companies also saw the greatest return on investment in IoT. Eighty-seven per cent of those in the top level reported significant returns or benefits from IoT, compared to just 17% in the 'beginner’s' level. These benefits breed increasing reliance on IoT. Seventy-six per cent of adopters say IoT is mission-critical. Some are even finding it hard to imagine business without it — 8% of adopters say their 'entire business depends on IoT'.

Malebye stated that looking to the future, new technology will continue to power the performance of IoT. In fact, he shared: 'Over half (52%) of adopters plan to use 5G, which promises to support higher volumes of data, increase reliability and offer near-zero latency. Combined with mobile edge computing, which will process application traffic closer to the network edge, users can expect better performance, less risk and faster data speeds. The Barometer makes it clear that businesses are increasing their investment into IoT as they gain confidence and begin to develop more advanced solutions. In the short term, adopters of IoT will continue to access reduced costs and improved efficiency, but increasingly ambitious projects will offer the opportunity to change business models. For example in cities heavy users of roads could pay more, encouraging the use of different modes of transport with knock-on benefits to public health and the environment.'

The automotive industry is experiencing positive benefits from the adoption of IoT technology and we're now starting to see motoring companies focusing on improving their customer experience, with enhanced on-board digital offerings.

Retailers, who require a quick turnaround time in experiencing the benefits from IoT investment, have made use of IoT by implementing smart shelves that can identify demographics of shoppers as a way of assisting them with strategy and decision making.

We're excited to see more businesses implementing the use IoT technologies within their daily operations, for the benefit of society Healthcare companies are investing more in IoT and scaling up their programmes. 77% of healthcare adopters say they spend more on IoT in the last 12 months and have scale of their projects has grown. This has resulted in people living longer, shifting emphasis to chronic care and enabling self-reliance for longer.There is also growing focus on wellbeing and preventative care. That’s reflected in the way adopters are using IoT. 60% are now using sensors to monitor people and their health- from blood pressure to sugar levels. IoT can also have a major impact by encouraging patients to take their medicines as prescribed which helps to have positive health outcomes for society.

Government departments stand to benefit more from implementing IoT platforms by providing better equipment that lasts longer with the intelligence to track when there's an area in the community that is experiencing a fault - such as water and sanitary disruptions.

IoT implementation within society will fast-track the creation of smart cities and SA communities have already started initiating the adoption of IoT technology through the Smart Citizen App, which aims to improve service delivery in Ekhuruleni.

When it comes to Education, IoT connectivity has already been implemented in schools in the Eastern Cape, with the aim to assist in tracking the progress of students and their studies, as well as identifying areas where they may be struggling and help improve. It can also help with the literacy in our public schools.

Katalytik Business Review Magazine: May 2018