Report Provides Data on State of IIoT Adoption and Maturity

There has been substantial buzz around industrial adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) in 2017. But what’s actually going on behind the scenes at IoT-enabled industrial sites has remained much of a mystery. A recent survey conducted by Bsquare revealed how companies are progressing with IIoT. Respondent data indicated that 86% of industrial organizations are currently adopting IoT solutions and 84% believe those solutions are very or extremely effective. The study also revealed more about the attitudes and strategy responsible for driving IoT forward.

Enthusiasm for IIoT Is High

The study showed 95% believe that IoT has a significant or tremendous impact on their industry. Additional data indicated:

• Nearly two-thirds (77%) of all businesses plan to increase their IoT investments over the next 12 months, despite almost every respondent acknowledging that IoT deployments are complex.
• Nine out of 10 decision-makers feel it is very or somewhat important for their organization to adopt IoT solutions.
• Industrial organizations are using IoT most frequently for device connectivity and data forwarding (78%), real-time monitoring (56%), and advanced data analytics (48%).
• More than 90% of IIoT adopters cite device-health as the primary reason for IoT adoption followed by logistics (67%), reducing operating costs (24%) and increasing production volume (18%).
• More than half of organizations are using annual subscription models for their IIoT solutions, and 77% use a cloud-based model.

IIoT Maturity is still in the early stages

While industrial organizations are adopting IoT, many are just beginning to realize initial ROI. In fact, according to the survey, 71% of IIoT adopters surveyed have fewer than 50% of their deployed devices connected and/or IIoT enabled.

In terms of the stages of IIoT, data indicated:

1. Device connectivity and data forwarding: nearly 80% of respondents are collecting and forwarding data from their connected machines.
2. Real-time monitoring: 56% of are using their collected data to populate real-time dashboards for machine operating conditions and parameters.
3. Advanced data analytics: less than half of respondents are using advanced analytics, such as machine learning, cluster analysis, and artificial intelligence.
4. Automation: 28% of respondents are using automation to perform simple single-step actions such as service-ticket requests.

Construction leads, other verticals close behind

By industry type, of the organizations surveyed Construction/Transportation lead the pack with 93% adoption, followed by Oil and Gas at an 89% and Manufacturing at 77%.

Main drivers for IIoT adoption

Current adopters surveyed cited top business challenges they were targeting to solve with their IIoT solutions: 91% felt equipment health was important, followed by operating costs (24%), production volume increases (18%) and improved compliance (18%). In the future, respondents plan to invest in IIoT for automating simple, single-step actions (35%) and real-time monitoring (29%).

Bsquare’s 2017 Annual IIoT Adoption Study was conducted in the United States in August 2017, and reached more than 300 respondents at companies with annual revenues in excess of $250 million. Participants were evenly divided among three industry groups (Manufacturing, Transportation, and O&G) and titles covered a wide spectrum of senior-level personnel with operational responsibilities, most of whom had spent an average of six years in their organizations. A copy of the complete study can be downloaded here.