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A new study from Cisco reveals that almost three-quarters of IoT projects are facing failure. Reasons for success were more to do with people and relationships than technology.
Cisco surveyed 1,845 IT and business decision-makers in the United States, UK, and India across multiple industries that are implementing IoT projects.
The survey results showed that three of the four top aspects behind successful IoT projects had more to do with “human factors” than the technical implementation.
IT and business collaboration is key
A good collaboration between IT and business was the top reason given for implementation success, quoted by more than half of the respondents.
Other important reasons were a technology-focused culture and IoT expertise, whether internal or through external partnership.
The survey also found that organisations with the most successful IoT initiatives used partners at every phase, from strategic planning to data analytics after rollout.
Rapid prototyping helps include the human factor
Technological change continues to outpace the development of human organisations, but technology can help solve the problem too. The days of working on product ideas for years in isolation before knowing if they would be a success should be long gone. The emergence of Bluetooth 5 and rapid prototyping tools such as the Nordic Thingy:52 (or simply, “Thingy”) means product ideas can be tested out quickly with real people.
Read more: Develop IoT products with ease
Some products will succeed, but many will fail. And that’s an important part of modern product development. Testing out product ideas with people as early as possible in the process has never been easier.
Such prototyping tools and techniques can also be used to demonstrate products to business decision-makers early in the process, helping to create a more collaborative, unified approach and a company-wide buy-in.
What are your expectations?
That’s important, because the survey also highlighted the expectations gap across organisations. According to the results, IT decision-makers placed more importance on technologies, organisational culture, expertise and vendors, while business decision-makers placed greatest emphasis on strategy, business cases, processes, and milestones.
Read more: Internet of Things: Beyond the Hype
While 35% of IT decision-makers called their IoT initiatives a complete success, only 15% of business decision-makers did.
Is your organisation ready to rise to a more collaborative yet leaner way of working?
