The internet of things is no longer a concept, but a reality that is improving the operations of global enterprises, according to a survey commissioned by Zebra Technologies.
And logistics has been an early adopter of the concept. Some 21 per cent of transport and logistics respondents said they already had internet of things (IoT) solutions in place. In comparison, only three per cent of healthcare organisations have them in place.
The global study The study entitled “Building Value from Visibility: 2012 Enterprise Internet of Things Adoption Outlook” was conducted by Forrester Consulting.
“Organisations are struggling to do more with less, to be more productive. They actively seek not only smarter ways to track and manage assets, but also insights that can drive new, breakthrough ideas for their organisation,” said Zebra CEO Anders Gustafsson.
The term was coined nearly 15 years ago, by RFID technology pioneer Kevin Ashton who believed that the Internet of Things had the potential to change the world “if we had computers that knew everything there was to know about things” – where is it, how cold is it, what condition is it in.
IoT solutions are smart interconnected devices that provide more visibility into the organisation’s operational events. The study shows that many organisations are using technologies such as barcoding, RFID and GPS to gain greater visibility into the location, condition, timing and accuracy of the events occurring in their value chains. These are key technologies in enabling the internet of things.
Implementation is still in its early stages but Zebra argues that as organisations continue to build on barcode and active RFID technologies with real-time locating systems, internet of things has the potential to generate data never before possible, spurring new insights, ideas and innovation.
The survey found that there is a positive perception of the term internet of things, and 85 per cent of respondents agree with a common definition provided of what IoT solutions are.
In addition, momentum appears strong, as 15 per cent of surveyed organisations across the globe already have an Internet of Things solution in place, 53 per cent plan to implement one within the next 24 months, and another 14 per cent in the next two to five years.
Around the globe, the majority of IT decision-makers are turning to Internet of Things solutions to provide more visibility in the supply chain and improve customer interactions.
