Proof of Concepts dominate IoT in Malaysia, says IDC

Kuala Lumpur, 20^th,December, 2016: The newly published IDC survey titled 2016 Global IoT Decision Maker Survey report highlights that the worldwide market is pivoting away from proof of concept projects to scalable Internet of Things (IoT) deployments that are incorporating Cloud, Analytics, and Security capabilities. In Malaysia, the deployment of cloud and next generation security offerings are digital transformation priorities, setting the stage for IoT production deployments.

Across 160 organizations surveyed in Malaysia, 50% are looking to deploy production IOT solutions in the next 12 months, while 15% are already in deployment to support their Digital Transformation (DX) agenda.

Other key findings from IDC’s Global Decision Maker Survey report pertaining to the stage of IoT in Malaysia are outlined below:

• IOT is strategic: 50% of respondents consider IoT strategic to their business, offering them a means to compete more effectively and to drive internal productivity.
• IT owns IOT budget: For 49% of the organizations surveyed, IoT decision making and budgeting are driven by internal IT departments.
• IOT Vendor capability: When selecting an IoT vendor, the top three criteria considered are consulting capabilities, applicability across the industry value chain and existing IoT deployments (proof of concept).
• IOT Skills an impediment: While upfront/ongoing costs and security/privacy are top concerns for decision makers, lack of skills is perceived as the main inhibitor in the deployment of IoT solutions
• Operational efficiency drives use cases: Process automation, increased productivity and cost efficiency are seen as the top benefits of an IoT solution. This highlights an internal and operational focus by organizations over the short term although opportunities to enhance customer experience are increasingly important.

"Setting strategies, finding budgets, and supporting IoT solutions have contributed to an ongoing tussle between line of business executives (LOBs) and CIOs. In Malaysia, IT departments are driving the IoT direction" says Hugh Ujhazy Associate Vice President of IoT and Telecoms, IDC Asia/Pacific. “However, line of business and the C-Suite are increasingly involved in setting the IoT direction and driving business outcomes.”

"This year we see indication that vendors with strong consulting capability and deployment experience are preferred as critical partners in an organization’s IoT investment," adds Nikhil Batra, Senior Research Manager, Telecommunications, IDC Asia/Pasific. "We also note that analytics providers and traditional IT vendors are leading the discussion around IoT solutions."

The survey, now in its third year, serves to gain insights from IT enterprise and business decision makers about their perception of IoT as well as current deployments or plans for deployment of IoT solutions. Topics covered in the survey include: levels of enterprise awareness of IoT; deployment plans; IoT adoption drivers and inhibitors; perceptions of IoT vendors and vendor selection criteria; organizational factors; and Security, Cloud, and Analytics requirements.

This year’s edition of IDC's Global IoT Decision Maker Survey was conducted between July and August 2016 and includes over 4,500 (Worldwide Total) respondents from more than 25 countries worldwide, spanning a wide array of industries (including manufacturing, retail, utilities, government, health, and finance). The survey covered responses from enterprises that manage a minimum of 100 employees, where respondents are moderately to very familiar with the term ‘Internet of things’ and involved in IT and/or business decisions at their company.