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Internet of Things spend in ME set to hit $3.2b in three years

dubai - Large organisations will leverage IoT as a serious business tool by 2020

With the GCC governments encouraging industries and businesses to get ready for the Internet of Things (IoT) and leverage its uses towards energy management, the total IoT spend in the Middle East is set to double by 2019.

Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management and automation, said IoT would trigger the next wave of enterprise digital transformation, unifying the worlds of OT and IT and fuelling a mobile and digitally enabled workforce.

Outlining the company's predictions for how large organisations will leverage Internet of Things technologies as a serious business tool by 2020, Schneider said GCC governments have been quick on jump to the IoT bandwagon to help its industries, cities and people live a better connected, safer and greener life.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the total IoT spending in the Middle East will reach $1.8 billion in 2016 and then increase to $3.2 billion by 2019, with manufacturing, transportation and utilities accounting for up to 50 per cent of this total. Vendors and solution providers must be quick to adapt their offerings to be compatible with the IoT.

"We're past the point of questioning whether IoT will deliver value. Businesses now need to make informed decisions to position themselves to maximise IoT's value in their organisation," said Dr Prith Banerjee, chief technology officer, Schneider Electric. "Our IoT 2020 Business Report is designed to serve as a guide for IoT implementation and innovation to help customers reap its benefits as the market evolves over the next five years."

"As more companies expand and deepen their digitisation programmes enterprise-wide, IoT will take centrestage. This new wave of transformation will be enabled by more affordable 'connected' sensors, embedded intelligence and control, faster and more ubiquitous communications networks, cloud infrastructure and advanced data-analytics capabilities," Schneider said.

A survey by Schneider shows that 75 per cent of businesses are optimistic about the opportunities the IoT presents this year, including improved customer experience, while 63 per cent of organisations plan to use the IoT to analyse customer behaviour in 2016, with faster problem resolution, better customer service and customer satisfaction ranking among the top five potential business benefits.

The report said 81 per cent of respondents feel that knowledge gathered from the data is being shared effectively throughout the organisation.

- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com