Internet Of Things Is Web's Next Money Spinner, Say Small Businesses...

…but admit need to step up security first

We all suspected it and now we know it to be true. Most small businesses (57 percent) are expecting the Internet of Things (IoT) — IP-connected devices, machines with sensors and cloud-based services — to make a significant impact on their bottom line. Yet almost three quarters (71 percent) admit they are not ready from an IT security and data protection point of view.

These are just two of the key findings in AVG's latest independent research which polled 1,770 small businesses and MSPs in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia on a number of issues related to monetizing IoT. Over half (55 percent) of MSPs taking part in the study confirmed that customers are demanding IoT-related services and 77 percent are planning to expand their service or product portfolio to meet it. Little surprise then that only 18 percent of the small businesses we spoke to thought their IT provider was ahead of the curve when it came to their capacity to manage IoT.

So just what is IoT's potential as a money spinner? Well, more and more devices with built-in sensors are being connected to the Internet. By remotely monitoring the data on these devices a business can achieve much greater all-round efficiency through raised productivity, lower costs and reduced wastage. And as cloud services become the default way to make sense of this data you no longer need heavy up-front investment so IoT starts to become affordable for small businesses.

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Our research highlighted four industries in particular - IT/telecoms, pharmaceuticals, utilities and manufacturing — that are set to make money from IoT. The IT/telecoms industry, as might be expected, is especially upbeat on IoT. Among the IT decision makers surveyed 84 percent indicate that their organization would shift its product/service offering to make the most out of the rise of IoT. The proportion of pharmaceuticals companies looking to expand product offerings using IoT was even greater (91 percent). Three quarters (75 percent) of utilities companies and 73 percent of manufacturers are also expecting to benefit.

Overall our study found the vibe from small businesses around IoT to be extremely positive. If there was one note of caution it was the recognition that they need to do more about the security side of things. They are right to be cautious. Many connected devices use the Linux operating system which has its own set of vulnerabilities as highlighted by the recent Shellshock event. The lesson for companies is that they need to approach IoT just like the rest of their IT — by keeping them regularly updated and using identity management and user authentication.

A summary of the other key findings in the study were: