IoT Survey Finds Operational Technology and Information Technology Stakeholders at Odds: 451 Research

As more enterprises advance their strategies for the Internet of Things (IoT), a new survey from 451 Research has found a clear disconnect between operational technology (OT) and IT stakeholders. The research shows that IT and OT personnel are not well aligned on IoT initiatives, and they need to cross that divide for those enterprise IoT projects to prove viable.

According to the survey, only one-third of OT respondents (34 percent) said they “cooperate closely with IT” on IoT projects from conception to operations. While a relatively small group of respondents said they were in “active conflict” with IT over IoT, OT professionals are four times more likely to characterize their relationship with IT that way.

This is becoming an issue as IoT vendors and service providers are rapidly gaining new business opportunities, especially from OT-centric firms.

More than half (55 percent) of the OT survey respondents currently deploy IoT within their organization, and 44 percent have successfully moved those projects from proof of concept to full-scale deployment.

New operational efficiencies and data-analytics capabilities are driving successful projects; however, many IoT projects face roadblocks in the trial stage due to the IT and OT divide and budget, staff, and ROI concerns.

“Our new OT survey identifies IoT as a fundamental departure from the traditional IT sale for vendors,” said Rich Karpinski, Research Director for Voice of the Enterprise: IoT. “With complementary data and insights to the quarterly VoTE: IoT survey of IT professionals, IoT vendors and service providers get the 360-degree view they need of the roles OT and IT play in enterprise IoT budget and deployment plans, as well as a full view into the market disruption and major opportunities for vendors and businesses.”

(For more information visit https://451research.com/).