IT professionals expect the Internet of Things to ‘significantly impact’ the workplace

Spiceworks has announced the results of a new report that explores IT professionals’ perceptions of the Internet of Things (IoT), steps they’re taking to prepare, and how they believe it will impact their environment. The study “The Devices are Coming!” found that while 71 percent of IT professionals believe IoT will affect both consumers and the workplace, 59 percent are not actively preparing for the impact it could have on their business. The independent study was sponsored by Cox Business, a facilities-based provider of voice, video and data solutions.

IT professionals surveyed acknowledge the IoT is already materialising within the workplace, from employee-owned wearable devices to network-connected video equipment, electronic peripherals, and building sensors and controllers. Although more than half of survey respondents are not currently preparing, almost 30 percent are. According to the survey, 68 percent of those preparing for the IoT are investing in hardware infrastructure, 63 percent are purchasing security solutions, and 55 percent are expanding bandwidth to accommodate Internet-connected “things.”

Additionally, 68 percent of IT professionals now support two or more devices per employee, and 61 percent of respondents expect the number of supported devices to grow in the next five years. This acceleration of Internet-connected devices in the workplace will have a dramatic impact on how IT professionals manage the devices in their network. Forty-three percent of IT professionals will assign a separate network for these devices while 23 percent anticipate putting them on the corporate network. More than a quarter of respondents don’t know how they’ll manage the influx of new connected “things.”

“The data technology trends we’ve seen emerge over the past few years, like BYOD, coupled with the IoT will have a dramatic impact on how IT professionals do their jobs,” said Kathryn Pribish, Voice of IT program manager at Spiceworks. “IT professionals understand the inevitability of the IoT but the reality is, though the impact will be gradual, resource-strained IT departments and others who haven’t jumped on the IoT bandwagon will be playing catch-up if they don’t adequately prepare.”