Companies in Singapore have identified the Internet of Things (IoT) as a key priority to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study by Vodafone Business has revealed.
The survey, which was conducted with respondents across 13 markets, found that 86% of businesses that have already adopted IoT in Singapore are not just keeping their IoT projects going, but accelerating some because of the pandemic. Results were similar across the region, with 82% of adopters in Asia-Pacific accelerating some IoT projects due to the pandemic.
As COVID-19 continues to impact economies worldwide, business leaders must balance initiatives to rein in operating costs with the need to invest in new business models that can drive innovation and build competitive advantage in the new normal. The study shows that IoT could be one of the solutions businesses leaders need.
In Singapore, the top benefits experienced by companies that have already implemented IoT products and solutions are improved productivity (60%); reduced operating costs (52%); improvement of existing revenue streams (35%); and the creation of new revenue streams (25%).
The study also found that among Asia-Pacific companies that have reduced costs thanks to IoT, almost three quarters (73%) reported savings of at least 30%.
Similarly, IoT has helped 74% of IoT adopters in Singapore decrease their operational cost by nearly a third.
“Thanks to 5G, IoT as a technology has evolved from simple monitoring and sensing, to being able to take active control in real-time,” said Justin Nelson, head of IoT Consulting at Vodafone Asia-Pacific. “This opens up a new world of possibilities and benefits that businesses here are just as eager, if not more so than their global peers to realise.”
Recognising the benefits of IoT, 82% of adopters in Asia-Pacific are accelerating some IoT projects due to the pandemic.
However, the key barriers to IoT adoption in Asia-Pacific were identified as operational factors such as budgets and financial constraints, as well as a lack of certainty as to how it can help the organisation.
