The term internet of things, or IoT, has become ubiquitous, if not overused, in the tech industry. Which is too bad, because at its essence the notion of millions of connected devices is a brilliant idea and one that already has had far reaching implications across all aspects of our lives. If data is the new oil, then IoT is the pipeline for all of us to benefit from it.

But like everything in our world these days, IoT is a moving target. In fact, maybe the name itself is outdated. We just completed a study with industry research firm, Omdia, titled, “Connected Everything: Taking the I Out of IoT,” across enterprise customers in the U.S. and Europe, with one of the key findings being that, for IoT, most people – 97% in fact – are either already moving off the public internet or are thinking about getting off it.

They are taking the I out of IoT.

Of course, connectivity is still a must, but security concerns – which ranked highest among our survey respondents’ issues – are causing information technology (IT) decision makers to re-think how they connect all the devices, data and people to make their businesses run productively, efficiently and safely. Their conclusion is that the internet was never really designed for what IoT promises, and there are far too many security risks and other issues to rely on it as the conduit for production-worthy IoT.

As a result, private networks that allow companies to bypass the public internet for critical communications and data exchange are gaining favor. At Syniverse, we’ve been advocating for private networks for years – in fact, we operate the world’s largest. We deliver this type of a solution to provide a high level of security from public internet threats; enable global and flexible connectivity; and deliver better performance through higher capacity, higher speed, and lower latency.

Based on the results of the research it seems enterprises agree.  The findings show security is a primary concern, but that private networks are delivering other benefits as well, including better data management and control and easier integration of IoT with in-house data and devices.

But implementing an IoT strategy, particularly using private networks, is not a simple proposition. Indeed, our partners at Omdia concluded that “the need to support (often unpredictably) changing requirements over time means it can be complex and costly for enterprises to roll out, maintain and expand IoT solutions effectively. The further proliferation of IoT in the enterprise, with all the value it can deliver, will depend on specialized experts who can help enterprises adopt and derive value from IoT – in a safe and secure way.”

In other words, while IoT is worth the investment, for most enterprises, you can’t afford to do it alone.

Syniverse has years of experience in implementing IoT solutions for our customers. On top of that, we are ingrained in the global mobile communications infrastructure, with deep partnerships with every major carrier, giving us the scale and reach to provide the coverage, security, and reliability you need to implement an IoT deployment. We stand ready to help businesses worldwide reap the potential of IoT.

In this current environment we’d be remiss not to acknowledge COVID-19. Our research was completed just before the full impact of the coronavirus hit the world head on. Although it is still too soon to understand its full ramifications, we do know that IoT solutions are focused on improving efficiency, reducing costs, and improving customer experience and product quality, which will continue to be key business objectives as the world emerges from the COVID-19 slowdown.

Omdia points out: “Businesses are also starting to think ahead to how to position this best for the post-COVID-19 world. This will require solutions that are more adaptable, more digital, and less dependent on heavy up-front capital investment. Whatever the industry, enterprises will need fully- secure, easy-to-deploy and highly flexible ways to support integrating IoT into their businesses and processes. Solutions such as private networks, which enable rapid IoT deployment while shifting some of the IT, deployment and security requirements to specialist third-party providers, will be an effective way to achieve this.”

Our research has a lot of insightful information and is a great resource to see what your peers are thinking about in terms of IoT. Go here to download a copy of the white paper that summarizes the results of the study. And let us know if we can help you take the I out of your IoT strategy.