Dramatic rise in IoT budgets and business apps: Vodafone

Vodafone research finds 76 per cent of firms believe the Internet of Things is critical to future success

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IoT is a new industrial revolution that will change how people work and live forever

Scott Pollard, Vodafone

The latest international IoT Barometer Report from Vodafone suggests IoT innovation has now gone mainstream.

Scott Pollard, Vodafone New Zealand IoT manager, says Kiwi companies investing in IoT innovation are facing big global market opportunities.

“Three-quarters of the companies surveyed in the 2016 IoT Barometer report now recognise IoT is a new industrial revolution that will change how people work and live forever,” says Pollard.

Another further 63 per cent of IoT adopters surveyed are seeing significant returns on investment. They are also spending 24 per cent of their entire IT budget on IoT – that’s on a par with mobile, cloud and analytics,” he adds.

The report supports IDC’s report that predicts there will be approximately 30 billion connected things globally by 2020 – a $3 trillion global market opportunity.

IDC has also predicted New Zealand will be APAC’s third most mature market in terms of IoT units per capita by 2020, highlighting the agricultural sector as a key growth driver.

The 2016 Vodafone IoT Barometer Report survey was conducted by Circle Research in April and May 2016 and involved more than 1,096 companies across Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, the UAE, the UK and the USA.

The report found that 89 per cent of companies investing in IoT have increased their budgets over the last 12 months.

76 per cent of all companies interviewed believe that taking advantage of IoT technologies will be critical for the future success of any organisation.
63 per cent of IoT adopters are seeing "significant" returns on investment, up from 59 per cent in last year's report; and
IoT investment now accounts for 24 per cent of the average IT budget, on a par with cloud computing or data analytics.

The report also found that IoT technologies play a key role in mainstream business activities in an increasing number of companies.

It says nearly half (48 per cent) of companies interviewed are using IoT technologies to support large-scale business transformation, rising to 61 per cent in the Asia-Pacific region.

Meanwhile, 52 per cent of consumer electronics companies interviewed are using IoT technologies as the basis for a new generation of applications for connected homes, while 46 per cent of all companies interviewed said they intend to develop new IoT-based products and services over the next two years.

Local IoT innovation

Keith Oliver, executive chairman of Kiwi technology company Blackhawk Tracking agrees international opportunities are increasing for local technology companies investing in IoT innovation.

Blackhawk Tracking tracks all-terrain vehicles and off highway equipment – data from which is used to assist driver mentoring, vehicle use, and security.

Should a driver flip in a remote location, an SOS is automatically sent over the cellular network to get help to the driver, pinpointing their location to assist emergency services and search and rescue.

“We have fielded interest from a range of overseas businesses including major ski resorts in North America and value-add-resellers who are looking to provide the service to their customers under their own brand,” says Keith.

“Because our system incorporates Vodafone’s global IoT SIM at manufacture, we have been able to progress international market opportunities rapidly because our technology platform is compatible with overseas cellular networks.”