FEATURE: IOT
Market opportunities
of businesses plan to start using IoT
technologies by 2019.
Verticals such as manufacturing and
transportation use large data sets
to optimise operation processes and
extend the life of high-capital cost
assets, while for sectors like healthcare
and consumer IoT technology is used
to produce benefits that improve
quality of life.
In the oil and gas sector, budget
constraints will push crude producers
to improve and increase efficiencies
in general by exploring ways to make
its oilfields smarter, such as with
unmanned oilfields, and by leveraging
IoT technology to digitise operations
and benefit from big data and analytics,
sensors and control systems.
“Manufacturing and transportation
are the vertical industries leading the
way in terms of IoT investment in the
Middle East. Other industries in the
Middle East which are adopting IoT
include oil and gas, utilities, education,
banking and finance, healthcare, retail,
sports and telecommunications,”
continues Cisco’s Younes.
Fast payback of IoT investments can
be generated by reduced labour costs,
lower production costs, increased
productivity, improved quality and faster
decision making. Subsequent projects
can lead to new value propositions
such as mass customisation or
personalisation, new markets, and
better understanding of the needs and
concerns of the people who use your
products or services.
While automation and more efficient
processes may eliminate some jobs, IoT
is creating many new job opportunities,
from data scientists, to remote operators,
to application developers. As the IoT-
based economy drives trillions of dollars
in economic growth, some industries
merge and new ones are created, there
will be a worldwide scramble for the same
IoT-capable workers.
Developing an IoT-enabled workforce
is not an option; it is a must. You could
implement IoT solutions and integrate
them with your business processes,
www.intelligentcio.com
IoT is over-delivering: The real-world
benefits gained from IoT are exceeding
original expectations in all areas.
ROI is looking good: Four-fifths of
companies that use IoT technology report
seeing an increase in business efficiency,
while the average return on investment
from an IoT deployment is 34%.
Fady Younes is Deputy Managing
Director and Operations Director of
East Region at Cisco Middle East
but if your workforce is not ready in
terms of both skills and culture, IoT
transformation will fail.
As the transition to IoT, mobility, cloud
and other emerging technologies
gather speed in the enterprise, a gap in
technology skills approaches. In response,
Cisco has introduced specialised
certifications for partners, which also
include Advanced IoT specialisations in
Connected Safety and Security, Industry
Expert and Manufacturing.
Many claim to know what IoT means,
but few really know: A massive 98% of
those surveyed think they have the true
definition, but there is no consensus.
IoT has some hurdles to clear: IoT has
proven its value but barriers still exist. Cost
of implementation (50%), maintenance
(44%), and integration of legacy
technologies (43%), are the top three.
IoT brings opportunities, but also threats:
Alarmingly, 84% of organisations that
use IoT have experienced an IoT-related
security breach.
Arguably Europe and the wider EMEA
region have a more conservative
approach towards IoT today. Europe,
the Middle East and Africa show a 50%
take up of IoT technology, compared to
60% in APAC and 66% in the Americas.
Point of inflexion
According to Morten Illum, Vice President
of EMEA at Aruba HPE: “The Internet of
Things is a term that has been bandied
about for a long time and we are finally
at a stage where it is coming more into
the forefront, in terms of the technology
and consumer adoption. IoT is starting to
make a difference to multiple areas of our
lives. However, there is one question in the
back of everyone’s mind: when will the
Internet of Things really hit the big time?”
If we accept that IoT’s moment is yet to
come, then we can put a date on it. In
a new international study, The Internet
of Things, Today and Tomorrow, 3,100
executives from 20 countries were asked
about IoT. The research found a whole
range of interesting ideas and attitudes
but it also indicated that 2019 will be
IoT’s breakthrough year. In fact, 85%
This could be from a lack of
preparedness and a lack of willingness
to explore IoT’s benefits: Currently,
17% of EMEA respondents claim their
IT infrastructure is not ready to support
IoT yet, nearly double that of the
Americas, but 82% of EMEA companies
plan to adopt IoT technologies by 2019.
So, there is still a little way to go yet to
take full advantage of IoT.
Drivers and inhibitors
According to Haritha Ramachandran,
Associate Director, Digital
Transformation Practice at Frost &
Sullivan, the top three drivers for IoT
platform adoption in the Middle East
are listed below:
• The need to monetise capital
expenditure, to ensure that assets
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