Wake up to the Internet of Things

When a type of project consistently exceeds expectations, you've got to sit up and pay attention. That's exactly where we are now with the Internet of Things. In the survey, "IoT Today and Tomorrow," only 16% of business leaders projected a large profit gain from their IoT investment. Yet post adoption, twice as many -- 32% -- of executives realized those gains.

Many organizations are catching on. The Aruba-sponsored study of 3,100 business and IT decision makers across 20 countries found that in 2019, 85% of businesses will implement an IoT strategy driven by the need for innovation and business efficiency. Here's alinkto the study.

But there are some potholes on the path to profits. Many IT and business leaders lack an understanding of what IoT is and how it could impact their organization, according to the survey. They just don't know how they can benefit, what the ROI might be, and how IoT could transform their business. And equally important, they don't understand the risks.

所以，在我们进一步进一步之前，让我们确定我的意思是IoT。Technology Visionary Kevin Ashton，他们创造了这个词，定义了它的方式：“东西互联网意味着以互联网的方式连接到互联网的传感器：开放，ad-hoc连接，自由共享数据，允许意外的应用程序，为行星创造一个神经系统，使计算机能够了解他们周围世界的东西。“

While the planet's nervous system may still be in formation, IoT is having a real-world impact on five industry sectors:

• 企业 - 更智能的工作场所。72％的企业已将IoT设备推出到工作场所。主要用例是远程监控能源使用等功能;室内位置的服务是第二个最有前途的服务。78％的人表示IOT提高了其IT团队的有效性，75％的人表示，它有盈利能力增加。
• Industrial -- cutting risk and downtime.62% have adopted IoT and monitoring and maintenance is the most impactful implementation. 55% believe IoT will reduce operational risk; 44% believe it will cut downtime.
• Healthcare -- cutting costs and fostering innovation.60％使用IOT;监控和维护是一个使用的数量。大约80％的人表示创新增加了73％的报告成本节约。
• 零售,吸引客户s with location technology.49% of retailers are using IoT and over 80% of IoT adopters confirmed it has enhanced the customer experience. In-store location services are delivering personalized offers and product information to shoppers.
• Municipalities -- reducing costs.42％的政府部署了IOT，但35％的高管没有对IOT的理解几乎没有理解，把它们放在其他部门。监控和维护是主要用例。尽管49％的人表示他们正在努力与遗留技术斗争，但71％的报告提高了组织的知名度。

Despite these impressive findings, there is plenty of room for improvement. While 98% of organizations that have adopted IoT claim to be able to analyze data, 97% of these businesses reported that they are not extracting and analyzing data within corporate networks and using those insights to improve business decisions. And a troubling statistic: 84% of respondents reported an IoT-related security breach.

For IoT to deliver on its promise, both security and the ability to extract insights will have to get better. I'll save the topic of insights for another time. As far as IoT security is concerned, there needs to be a change in mindset. For a long time, IT security focused on the user. Now, the focus must be on things.

可见性至关重要。为什么？因为好的设备可以变坏。并且一些设备很糟糕，首先开始。一个设备可以无辜地连接，起初可能会注意到没有任何奇怪的。然而，随着时间的推移，该设备可以反对您的组织，并且您需要看看发生了什么。我们遇到了一个在一个客户位置，其中包含恶意代码的电子烟被插入USB端口，并将敏感的公司信息发送到外国。

Policies are also very important. For example, are printers connected to the Internet? Are they allowed access to financial information? If you answered yes and yes, you've got to take preventive measures or you could be exposing your organization to a catastrophic data breach.

With thousands and thousands of connected IoT devices, the possibilities for compromise are mind-boggling. For that reason, Aruba recently acquired Niara to assist with this challenge. It applies machine learning to behavioral analytics to detect compromised devices and things, users and hosts, negligent employees and malicious insiders.

It isn't often that results significantly exceed expectations. IoT represents a new frontier that is full of both opportunities and risks. Those who are able to step up to the plate and make the most of IoT will find themselves at a significant competitive advantage.