Despite all the hubbub in the technical world about the coolness and potentials of the Internet of Things (IoT), consumers remain somewhat dubious about its usefulness — not to mention its potential price tag. However, a recently released report indicates that network entertainment applications may be the stepping-stone.
The survey of U.S. customers by International Data Corp. (IDC) does indeed show that consumers are wary of IoT’s cost and uncertain of how and why they’d use it. But about 28 percent of people who own a home network stream online videos to their televisions, and they are much more likely to express high interest in and adoption of home IoT applications than other home network owners.
Additionally, one out of five people who use home automation, monitoring and control devices say their home IoT applications solved a problem they didn’t know they had. The majority of consumers, however, remain skeptical of the value proposition behind the home Internet of Things and are holding back for a higher overall value proposition.
“The long-run impact of the Internet of Things will be broader and deeper than we imagine right now, but the industry is still in the early stages of developing the vision and conveying it to consumers,” Jonathan Gaw, research manager for IDC’s Internet of Things: Consumer program, observes.
For its part, Verizon put out its own report on IoT earlier this month, indicating the technology is going more mainstream. Simplified tools for developers and pending regulatory changes are some of the big drivers, according to “State of the Market: Internet of Things 2016.”
“The view has been that IoT is a mashup of complex technologies used only by early adopters,” Mike Lanman, SVP IoT and enterprise products at Verizon, says. “In the past year, we’ve seen compelling examples of how IoT is being deployed by a wide range of enterprises, entrepreneurs, municipalities and developers to address relevant business, consumer and public needs.”
“Meanwhile, consumers are more willing to try new technologies and apps that introduce a better way of life,” Lanman adds. “The end result will not only give rise to thousands of new use cases over the next two years, but will also create an accelerated pipeline for innovation and a new economy.”