LONDON – April 26, 2016 – Spiceworks, the professional network for IT, today announced the results of a new survey exploring the prevalence and challenges of the “Internet of Things” (IoT) in the workplace and the steps IT professionals in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are taking to prepare for the impact. The study “2016 IoT Trends: The Devices have Landed” found that a majority of IT professionals (57 percent) in EMEA believe wearables are most likely to be the source of a security breach among IoT devices connected to their network, followed by video equipment at 51 percent and appliances at 49 percent.
The results show while 85 percent of IT professionals in EMEA believe the influx of connected “things” creates security and privacy issues in the workplace, only one in four organisations in EMEA is actively preparing for the impact IoT could have on their business. When comparing EMEA to North America, the results show organisations in North America are slightly more proactive with 37 percent of organisations taking action to prepare compared to 24 percent in EMEA.
“IoT security concerns are clearly on the rise, but many businesses in EMEA still aren’t preparing to support IoT devices and identify potential threats,” said John Webb, General Manager of Europe at Spiceworks. “As shown in the results, this is partly due to the fact that IT pros in EMEA are more prone to believe IoT is largely a consumer trend that doesn’t impact the workplace compared to IT pros in North America.”
Security concerns grow as more devices are connected
Since Spiceworks’ 2014 IoT report “The Devices are Coming,” organisations connecting wearables to their network have nearly doubled worldwide, increasing from 13 to 24 percent. Specifically in EMEA, wearables increased by 7 percentage points since 2014 and connected appliances increased by 14 percentage points, jumping from 25 percent to 39 percent. IT professionals in EMEA acknowledged the presence of connected video equipment, electronic peripherals, and sensors has also increased.
However, as more devices are connecting to corporate networks, the results show IT professionals are facing a different mix of challenges. Two years ago, insufficient bandwidth was the number one barrier to keeping users connected to corporate networks and the data they need, but security concerns are now the top barrier in EMEA at 67 percent, followed by equipment issues at 43 percent. The challenge of insufficient bandwidth was listed third, decreasing from 45 percent to 40 percent in the last two years.
IT professionals in EMEA were also asked to reveal their biggest security concerns about IoT devices in the workplace. Seventy-seven percent said more entry points into the network was most concerning while 70 percent said some IoT manufacturers are not implementing sufficient security measures. Additionally, 70 percent of IT professionals said default passwords and 64 percent said the possibility of spying through connected devices was concerning.
Few organisations are preparing for the impact of IoT
Despite security concerns, a majority of organisations in EMEA are not actively preparing for the impact of IoT in the workplace. In terms of the top reasons IT professionals in EMEA are not preparing, 48 percent said the value of monitoring IoT devices is still unclear, 37 percent said they lack the time and staffing resources, and 31 percent said they lack budget. Additionally, 22 percent of IT professionals in EMEA said they’re facing internal resistance to prepare, which is less of a challenge for IT professionals in North America with only 13 percent citing it as an issue.
However, among organisations in EMEA that are preparing to support IoT, 56 percent are educating end users about risks, 41 percent are investing in security solutions, and 37 percent are expanding bandwidth. While only 7 percent of organisations are investing in new management tools for IoT devices today, 54 percent plan to in the next 12 months.
CIOs and IT lead the IoT discussion in organisations
When asked to reveal who decides whether or not to support IoT devices, 54 percent of respondents in EMEA said the CIO and IT department lead the discussion and five percent said the CTO, senior tech leaders, and development. However, 30 percent of IT professionals said adding IoT devices isn’t led by one individual or group.
IT professionals were also asked to indicate how the IT department handles the connectivity requirements of internet-enabled “things.” Forty-two percent of organisations in EMEA have a separate network for IoT devices, but 37 percent are putting them on their corporate network. Notably, 11 percent of organisations in EMEA don’t allow any IoT devices on their network.
Methodology
The survey was conducted in March 2016 and included 440 respondents from North America and EMEA. Respondents are among the millions of IT professionals in Spiceworks and represent a variety of company sizes including small-to-medium-sized businesses and enterprises. Respondents come from a variety of industries including manufacturing, healthcare, non-profits, education, government, and finance. For more information and a complete list of survey results, visit https://www.spiceworks.com/marketing/iot-trends/report/.
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