A recent IFS study of 200 North American executives reveals substantial year-over-year gains in internet of things (IoT) usage in industrial companies. According to the study, executives at respondent companies, ranging from manufacturers to trade contractors to oil and gas companies, are collecting more data from connected devices, integrating it with other systems in new ways, and making IoT data more central to their businesses.
The study shows companies collecting IoT data on entire work cells or production lines rather than individual machine components or machines has increased by 17 percent. This has enabled more advanced use cases, which helps explain a 30 percent increase in the use of IoT to support asset performance management.
Respondents using IoT to monitor their customers’ equipment saw a 10 percent increase, potentially signaling transformational approaches to field service management.
Despite these advances, the percentage of respondents who have integrated IoT data streams with their enterprise resource planning (ERP) software hovers at 16 percent. This reluctance may represent a barrier to leveraging IoT to deliver new business models or revenue opportunities.
"IoT is a big disruptor," said Antony Bourne, IFS Industries president. "But if industrial companies do not embrace digital transformation, chances are that their business will be the one that’s disrupted by more agile competitors. IoT helps companies transform their businesses, making them more efficient, enabling them to explore new revenue sources and fundamentally changing business processes."
For more information, visit www.ifsworld.com.