IoT: Problems Ahead: Most IoT Projects will Need to be Refactored, Recalled or Redeployed – Gartner

Here’s something you don’t hear everyday.  Instead of the standard hype, and despite being obviously bullish on the technology, Gartner is sending out warnings of big  challenges ahead that Internet of Things (IoT) projects will need to contend with.

But first,…

The Glow

Gartner speaks glowingly of the promise of IoT.   For example, Roy Schulte, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, says that “uses of the IoT that were previously impractical will increasingly become practical.  The IoT is relevant in virtually every industry, although not in every application. There will be no purely ‘IoT applications.’ Rather, there will be many applications that leverage the IoT in some small or large aspect of their work.”

The Challenges

Gartner also foresees a number of tough challenges:

• IoT projects over the next three years will overrun budgets and take two times longer than planned

Alfonso Velosa, research VP at Gartner, said that “product-centred organisations will be the worst affected.  They will seek to launch smarter, connected products, although this will often be a reactive, tactical approach that seeks to address their competition’s IoT product.  However, even for organizations conducting internally centred projects that may focus on cost reductions, there will be people issues. Most of these issues will centre on the normal introduction of a new technology model. It will be complicated by emerging business models that will require process and cultural change. Addressing both of these will lead to projects going over schedule.”

• Security and black-market activities threaten to ruin the IoT market

By 2020, the black market of fake sensors and tools to enable criminal IoT activity will be a $5 billion market in itself.  For example, Ted Friedman, VP and distinguished analyst at Gartner, said that  “the IoT has enormous potential to collect continuous data about our environment.  The integrity of this data will be important in making personal and business decisions, from medical diagnoses to environmental protection, from commands to modify actions of machinery to identification and authorisation of physical access.  A black market for fake or corrupted sensor and video data will mean that data can be compromised or substituted with inaccurate or deliberately manipulated data. This scenario will spur the growth of privacy products and services, resulting in an extensive public discussion regarding the future of privacy, the means to protect individual privacy, and the role of technology and government in privacy protection.”

• Security issues and gaps in IoT technology will push IoT security from 1% today to 20% of annual security budgets by 2020

Earl Perkins, research VP at Gartner, said that “major cyber security vendors and service providers are already delivering roadmaps and architecture of IoT security, in anticipation of market opportunity.  Small startups delivering niche IoT security in areas such as network segmentation, device-to-device authentication and simple data encryption are offering first-generation products and services, including cloud-based solutions where applicable. Large security vendors have already begun acquiring some of these IoT startups to support their early roadmaps and fill niches in their portfolios.”