According to Omdia's Internet of Things (IoT) enterprise survey, enterprises are increasing their investment and deployment of IoT devices, resulting in a return on investment that meets or exceeds expectations.

A total of 490 respondents from nine countries (Australia, Brazil, China, France, Japan, Germany, South Korea, United Kingdom and United States) were surveyed. Among companies that have launched or are launching IoT solutions, more than 90% said their IoT projects met or exceeded expectations.

Additionally, IoT is proving to be a more integral part of operations than ever, with only 10% of respondents citing IoT tools as a professional item.

Security, privacy and complexity remain the top three pain points for enterprises; securing data networks and devices is the top concern, followed by privacy and governance. However, IoT is a rising market, and as investment in these tools continues to increase, concerns about their shortcomings or pitfalls decrease each year.

Despite continued economic uncertainty, investment in IoT remains strong, and the industry is growing as companies prioritize accelerated deployment of these solutions.

5G was also found to be a major enabler for IoT devices, with 66% of businesses using or planning to use 5G connectivity, while 5G fixed wireless access was cited as a potentially game-changing advancement for businesses in remote locations.

John Canali, principal IoT analyst at Omdia and author of the study, said: “IoT and 5G are both derided as overpromised and underdelivered, yet the IoT market is still evolving and 5G technology is still evolving. . While overblown proofs of concept sometimes grab the headlines, our findings are clear: Enterprises are embracing IoT, and 5G is becoming the preferred type of connectivity.”

Despite the uncertainty of the current economic environment and inflation, Omdia believes that businesses will increasingly look to IoT solutions to meet emerging business needs, including managing supply chains or meeting environmental, social and corporate governance goals ( ESG).