Those results from a global IDC survey conducted in July and August reveal both the promise and the growing pains of IoT, a set of technologies that may help many industries but can’t simply be plugged in. The 27-country survey had more than 4,500 respondents, all from organizations with 100 or more employees.

For 56 percent of enterprises, IoT is part of their strategic plans for the next two or three years, said IDC analyst Carrie MacGillivray. But the state of adoption varies widely among industries. Manufacturing companies are investing the most in the technology, with retail and financial services – especially insurance – also on the cutting edge.

Governments, health-care companies and utilities are moving more slowly, IDC says. One reason is the work of making sure these new systems comply with regulations, especially in health care. And despite vendors heavily promoting “smart cities” filled with countless integrated IoT systems, most governments have only deployed point solutions so far, MacGillivray said.

Read Full Article