IDC has just released its 2020 State of the CIO Research. Somewhat surprisingly, given the numerous recent bullish forecasts about the uptake and importance of IoT, it doesn’t make much of a showing in the responses of the 679 heads of IT IDC canvassed.
IDC says the research “helps define the CIO agenda for the upcoming year and outlines the responsibilities and challenges facing senior IT leaders.
IoT does not seem to loom large in that agenda. In the executive summary of the report there are just two mentions of IoT, both specifically on industrial IoT, as follows.
“Of all industry segments, manufacturers were hungry for talent versed in IoT skills like connected devices and sensors.”
“The emerging world of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) was a factor [in driving the need for IT/OT convergence] for eight percent of respondents, primarily those in the manufacturing (16 percent) and government/non- profit/education (10 percent) sectors.”
Contrast this with what industry analysts have been saying about the uptake and strategic importance of IoT for businesses in recent months.
In late 2018, commenting on a Gartner Symposium/ITExpo at which Gartner analysts “discussed how CIOs can lead their businesses to discover IoT opportunities and make IoT projects a success,” Gartner research vice president Nick Jones said: “CIOs who master innovative IoT trends have the opportunity to lead digital innovation in their business.”
Gartner urged CIOs to: “ensure they have the necessary skills and partners to support key emerging IoT trends and technologies, as, by 2023, the average CIO will be responsible for more than three times as many endpoints as this year [2018].”
In August 2019 IDC said its Seventh Annual Global IoT Decision Maker Survey“Reveals IoT as a Leading digital transformation initiative.”
In June 2019 IDC reported:
As the market continues to mature, IoT increasingly becomes the fabric enabling the exchange of information from ‘things’, 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.
In June 2019 McKinsey proclaimed:
“After years of hype, anticipation, and steady uptake, the Internet of Things (IoT) seems poised to cross over into mainstream business use. The number of businesses that use the IoT technologies has increased from 13 percent in 2014 to about 25 percent today.”
A sceptical view of these bullish pronouncements could suggest they reflect IoT heading for the peak of inflated expectations in Gartner’s famous Hype Cycle.
Or perhaps it is already plummeting down the slope of disillusionment. Carrie MacGillivray, group vice president, IoT, 5G, and Mobility at IDC commenting on IDC’s FutureScape: Worldwide IoT 2020 Predictions, says:
“There are still many hurdles for IoT deployments to overcome before it becomes an afterthought. IT decision makers have to consider the data, security, and integration implications, among others, as they look to scaling IoT investments in 2020 and beyond.”
There is or course no single IoT technology. Gartner’s 2019 IoT hype cycle has close to 30, only six of which have achieved the slope of enlightenment).
Of these multiple technologies Gartner says:
“Many IoT technologies are at least five years from mainstream adoption. … Only one innovation profile will reach maturity in two years, indoor location for assets, which reflects how IoT is still in its early stages from a maturity model perspective. “
Perhaps the circumspect approach to IoT that seems to be suggested by IDC’s survey results is well justified.
