The Internet of Things (IoT) is at last becoming a practical reality at scale – but only when approached with a clear strategy and the right partners. John Gordon, President of the Commercial Internet of Things group at Lenovo, presented his view for the future of the Internet of things at this year’s IoT Impact conference in Sydney.
“IoT makes the world work better, with a potential economic impact of AUD4 trillion over a period of 8-18 years. This impact translates into average productivity improvements of around 2 percent p.a. across industries like construction, manufacturing, health, food and agriculture, and mining,” said Gordon.
So what’s holding IoT back?
According to a recent report[1], 88 percent of enterprises believe IoT is significant or transformational to their business, but only 20 percent of IoT proof of concepts convert into full implementation.
As a result, today’s businesses are experiencing IoT fatigue: too many endpoints to manage, difficulties in maintaining custom applications, and technology that is quickly outdated. Meanwhile, IoT security takes more effort than IT teams like.
“There are many device manufacturers, connectivity, system integrators, but until now no one has brought it together as one solution that has a meaningful impact on the business. And this is what the channels are asking for,” continued Gordon.
There are many device manufacturers, connectivity, system integrators, but until now no one has brought it together as one solution that has a meaningful impact on the business.
According to Gordon, what Lenovo can offer is a combination of 35 years of achieving scale, global services delivery, and leading core technology from hardware to platform. The customer can enjoy a complete solution with cost effective, innovative, on-time delivery and management of the service.
Gordon shared three key takeaways from the conference:
- Think outcomes not pilots: What is your desired outcome at scale and what do you need to prove early to know you are ready? Don’t focus on just technology.
- Think ownership not acquisition: How will you ensure your solutions keep running over the years? Consider the less-than-glamorous work like replacing and qualifying sensors that need to integrate into your solution.
- Think solutions not inventions: There are so many great IoT applications available you don’t always need to invent a new one. “Early majority” customers get better returns in the long run.
Lenovo will be ramping up its Commercial IoT offerings as part of the company’s “Smarter Technology for All” mission – bringing the benefits of global connectivity to enterprises in a variety of sectors.
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[1] Australia’s IoT Opportunity: Driving Future Growth An ACS Report –September, 2018