An increasing number of manufacturers no longer understand the business value that the Internet of Things can bring to the table, a new report by Ubisense argues.
The software company polled 300 managers, directors and high-level executives from the industrial manufacturing community in the UK, USA, France and Germany, and published the results in its “A lost year for IoT in manufacturing” report.
The report states that 43 percent of manufacturers no longer see the value of IoT, up from 29 percent a year ago. This year, more respondents said they perceive IoT as a potential waste of money, irrelevant to their unique manufacturing processes, as well as unlikely to yield positive ROI.
Ubisense says IoT service providers should take these figures as an opportunity to improve on their communication with manufacturers.
“Too often, IoT is positioned as a futuristic promise somewhere on the digital horizon, and for many, this just doesn’t resonate with their current, very real challenges when it comes to assembly processes,” said Steven Manifold, Chief Marketing Officer at Ubisense.
The report further describes IoT as a “tool to offset productivity, planning, automation, energy, maintenance, and capacity challenges”, and says that despite most respondents wanting improvements in these fields, many can’t make the connection to IoT.
Still, almost half (46 percent) feel left behind when they hear of the competition rolling out IoT solutions.
“The report highlights short-term disillusion rather than long-term disinterest,” asserts Manifold. “Sadly, global manufacturers failed to trust IoT’s potential at a time when they needed it most. And that is for IoT solutions providers to fix with real, proven examples of where IoT works best, so that this lost year doesn’t turn into a much longer-term lost opportunity for manufacturing.”
