WWT's Ben Boswell: It's time to tackle the technology hype leading businesses astray
Ben Boswell, WWT director of UK and Ireland, authored an article for Computer Business Review Online on dealing with the IoT hype.
Posted by CBR on August 11, 2017:
The proposed applications of IoT, blockchain, Big Data and AI are becoming increasingly radical – and scepticism is keeping pace. Recently, Wall Street signalled that they are not entirely confident in some of the most heavily promoted examples of these technologies.
We can only hope that the time will soon be up for any solutions simply riding on the bandwagon of hype associated with umbrella terms such as IoT or AI. Businesses deserve technology vendors who are honest about the solutions needed to tackle their frustrations and pains, rather than endlessly promoting a list of 'next-generation' technologies. Nowhere is this currently more evident than with IoT.
The big, lucrative prizes which are on offer have encouraged many companies to throw caution to the wind when it comes to implementing IoT projects. A study of 3,100 business and IT decision makers across 20 countries found that by 2019, 85 percent of businesses plan to implement an IoT strategy, with the hope that it will drive innovation and business efficiency.
However, many IoT initiatives rush to deploy technology and fail to align to the business. Not fully understanding the business outcome or the critical underlying IoT infrastructure can lead to a fragmented solution that may not be secure, sustainable or scalable.
Cutting through hype: the right people with the right questions
Companies can remain attentive to the overhyping of IoT by unswervingly taking the question of business outcomes as their starting point – without rushing to simply 'put a chip in it'. Practically, what this looks like is a willingness to bring together IT with heads of different business lines and on-the-ground employees who deal with the day-to-day operations and business processes that are in question.