Lincolnshire, Ill.—August 10, 2015—Zebra Technologies Corporation, a global leader in products and services that provide real-time visibility into organizations’ assets, people and transactions, released survey results finding that most manufacturers (97 percent) consider the Internet of Things (IoT) to be one of the most impactful technological initiatives in their industry. Most respondents expect IoT to provide operational and actionable data on location and condition, which can enhance supply chains, mitigate loss and risk, and empower process and cost optimization so they can improve operations and asset utilization as well as enhance customer service.
Key Findings
- 83 percent of surveyed manufacturers either already have IoT implementations in place or plans to deploy within a year.
- Wi-Fi, real-time locating systems (RTLS), security sensors, barcodes, global positioning systems (GPS) and mobile computers were cited as the most important technologies for enabling IoT solutions.
- Less than 5 percent of respondents believe that the manufacturing industry is not prepared to make the changes required to implement IoT solutions.
- Half of the surveyed manufacturers cited cost concerns as the largest barrier to adopting IoT solutions, while 46 percent indicated privacy and security concerns, along with integration challenges.
- In November 2014, Zebra released global findings from Forrester Consulting on the adoption of IoT across numerous industries, surveying information technology (IT) and business decision-makers from nearly 600 global firms.
Jim Hilton, senior director of global manufacturing principal at Zebra Technologies, says, “Manufacturing operations are running more efficiently than ever before due to the installation of smart machinery and sensors on connected factory floors driving less machine downtime, better asset utilization and faster time to market. Our survey affirms that Industry 4.0 is well underway, but more education and information sharing can be done to increase IoT adoption in the manufacturing space. Zebra Technologies is committed to bridging this gap by enabling a more intuitive manufacturing experience where processes, tools and staff are more deeply and smartly interconnected.”
