Dive Brief:

• IoT is moving from proof of concept to reality, with 31.4% of organizations surveyed having launched IoT solutions and another 43% looking to deploy in the next year, according to initial results of the International Data Corporation 2016 global IoT survey of decision makers. 
• As IoT becomes more mainstream within organizations, CIOs may find they no longer lead the charge. The IDC study also found that in many cases line of business (LOB) leaders are now actually heading discussions around IoT and in some cases paying for the entire project as well.
• The survey — with 4,500 respondents from 25 countries worldwide across sectors — also revealed that the majority (55%) of respondents see IoT as a strategic investment that can help them a compete more effectively.

Dive Insight:

Though broad implementation of IoT is on the way, companies still have numerous hurdles to overcome. A lack of internal skills is the top concern from organizations looking to deploy an IoT solution, while improving productivity, reducing costs and automating internal processes are viewed as the biggest benefits.

Recently, Gartner predicted that 21 billion IoT devices will be used globally by 2020, outnumbering laptops, smartphone and tablets. If IoT becomes one of the primary technologies used within an enterprise, and those technologies are primarily led by LOB leaders, the role of the CIO may once again see a transformation.

The emergence of IoT also marks the continued decline of traditional networking and IT hardware. Instead, cloud technology and software will likely continue to replace dated, traditional IT in the enterprise.