Ubuntu: IoT professionals say return-on-investments is a more pressing issue than security

Canonical has released a new research white paper which suggests that while security is important to Internet of Things (IoT) professionals, getting a return-on-investments (ROI) is a more pressing issue. The report reflects the input of 361 IoT professionals that contributed their experiences and opinions on the current state of IoT plus future challenges and opportunities.

The current IoT market valuation is currently sitting at a whopping $900bn. When asked what the expected benefits of IoT for users and enterprises were, the respondents most commonly responded saying it can offer a better quality of life (26%), this was followed by greater insight into business (25%) and new services and categories (25%).

In the past year, around 23,000 articles about the security of IoT have been published, however, it’s ensuring a return on investment that represents the biggest challenge (53%) for IoT professionals in 2017. Device security and privacy (45%), and lack of IoT infrastructure (40%) followed.

Mike Bell, EVP of IoT and Devices at Canonical said:

“The early internet of things was something of a gold rush, with vendors and developers jumping in to secure their share of an exciting and rapidly growing new market. Unfortunately, many of these businesses simply didn’t understand or evaluate how the IoT was going to deliver value – and apparently – the majority still don’t.”

Bell says that with systems like Ubuntu Core, businesses are now relying on IoT app stores to generate new revenues allowing for users to get the latest updates without having to replace their device. This gives greater security and functionality for consumers and also provides a long-term revenue source.

Source: Ubuntu