For their study, the Economist surveyed 825 senior business leaders from around the world, representing a total of ten different industries. Those industries include financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, IT and technology, construction and real estate, automotive and more.
While respondents reported, that the IoT already had a marked impact on their business model, less than 10 percent of the companies surveyed have achieved “extensive” implementation of the IoT for both external and internal operations. Many executives feel that the IoT has not progressed quite as fast as they had expected a few years ago.
While five years ago the major obstacle for IoT implementation was related with basic understanding and reception, executives are nowadays concerned with practical implementation matters. 29 percent of respondents suggesting that the high cost of required investment in IoT infrastructure is a challenge. Concerns about security and privacy appear in second place, cited by 26 percent of executives.