CompTIA, a global not for profit representing IT professionals and channel organisations, has published an Internet of Things Trends and Opportunities report and a set of IoT use studies saying: “Money-making opportunities associated with IoT are coming into focus for companies across the information technology channel.”
Twenty three percent of channel companies surveyed said they had already made money from IoT offerings, compared to just eight percent in 2015. A third expect to make money from IoT in the next 12 months.
“Three-quarters of channel firms in the CompTIA survey said they have a more positive view of IoT today than they did a year ago,” CompTIA said. “Another 21 percent have not changed their opinion over the past 12 months, a group that certainly includes firms that were bullish on IoT to begin with.”
CompTIA’s senior director, technology analysis, Seth Robinson, said: “The channel is making significant progress with monetising the IoT opportunity and, unlike past years, view themselves as strong profitability candidates.”
However, on the down side, CompTIA says: “Stumbling blocks to widespread IoT deployments remain in play and will likely be there for the foreseeable future. Concerns about costs and return on investment; technical hurdles; and liability, privacy, security and other regulatory matters are some of the major inhibitors.”
Robinson said there were good reasons for channel companies to look favourably on IoT. “First, the complexity of IoT projects is beyond what many companies can handle internally, especially on the SMB end of the spectrum. Second, many areas of IoT are essentially extensions of the skills and lines of business that solution providers already have.”
Consulting emerged as the most popular IoT channel offering, with 40 percent of companies offering something. The next most popular was security, provided by 36 percent of respondents. Analytics, managed services, custom app development, reselling, and infrastructure services were offered by between 30 percent and 35 percent of respondents.
CompTIA said: “Some IT solution providers are carving out unique niches in the IoT market.” Four such companies are featured in a complementary whitepaper.
Presidio, provides a fleet management solution for a Texas school district, allowing administrators to track student safety and bus routes across 625 square miles.
Dimension Data empowered the Tour de France with a range of IoT applications – including custom network transported sensor information from bicycles – to deepen fan engagement.
Axians helped to develop an in-building IoT lighting system that enabled a European energy network company to slash its energy consumption by up to 70 percent.
Impetus Technologies created a factory floor IoT system that helped a customer improve its manufacturing processes and reduce the volume of product defects.
