Public not yet sold on Internet of Things: survey

The Internet of Things has been compared to the Industrial Revolution in terms of its eventual impact, though the general public is not yet fully aware of it nor convinced of its value, according to a recent study. That’s the takeaway from a study of U.S. residents by Acquity Group, a marketing and research firm owned by Accenture Inc., which found that 87 per cent of consumers hadn’t heard of the term “the Internet of Things.” Practical consumer applications of the Internet of Things (IoT) enabled by machine-to-machine communication (M2M), such as smart-home thermostats that can optimize heating and cooling, were largely unknown among the survey’s 2,000 respondents. Roughly two-thirds, or 64 per cent, said they were unaware that such items were available in stores. Even wearable technology, which the study said will see the most growth in the short term with 13 per cent of customers intending to purchase such a device in the next year, is still a relatively obscure product, with 40 per cent of consumers not even knowing wearables are available to purchase. The study found that seven per cent of consumers own a wearable device and four per cent of consumers own some sort of IoT device for their home. The M2M trend that is helping build the so-called Internet of Things will spark a “revolution” comparable in scale with the industrialization of Europe and North America in the 19th century, Eric Simmons, M2M manager of Rogers Communications Inc., told The Wire Report in March. Guy Courtin, vice-president of Constellation Research, said consumers now see only small changes, not the transformation that IoT will bring. “They don't realize how much of this is already happening,” he said in a phone interview. “I think most consumers realize that there is a greater growth of technology, of communications, of connectivity in all their devices whether it be cars, phones, refrigerators or airplanes. They just see it as the gradual process of technology.” Courtin compared the latest developments to the early years of computing, when ideas such as electronic messaging were considered “nerdy.” “It will take a learning curve for people to understand it, accept it for what it means and we don't know what that's going to look like,” he said. “If you take a step back, how many people out there who use email and the Internet in general for their personal lives really understand what is going on behind the screen?” Nate Williams, executive vice-president at IoT software provider Greenwave Systems and an adviser to the Internet of Things Consortium, said in an email the technology needs to move beyond the nerds in order to demonstrate its value to the average person. “There is not a shred of evidence to support the idea that consumers want to be the CTO of their own home,” he said. “The truth is we have yet to fully abstract the one killer app that would drive all consumers to want a fully automated home.” According to the Acquity study, although many consumers are unaware of the currently available IoT products, nearly two-thirds of them say they intend to buy a connected-home device in the next five years. “While consumer adoption of connected technology will be more gradual in the short term, widespread adoption will be inevitable over the next five years,” the study said. Even those who are aware of IoT devices still have to be convinced that the investment is worthwhile, the survey said. “I’m on record for saying that it’s time to stop selling the promise of IoT and focus on the product,” said Williams. “By that I mean let’s focus on figuring out how to solve real consumer pain points and start removing the weight of technology from the end user.” The biggest barrier to adoption for in-home devices for those who are aware of IoT is a lack of perceived value, which is also cited as the biggest barrier to adoption of wearable technology. “Developers and creators need to focus on delivering solutions that provide tangible benefits, such as adding convenience, safety, cost savings and even fun into our every day lives,” said Williams. “These solutions must also be incredibly easy to use and affordable. History has shown that the combination of usability, reliability and affordability is what drives mass consumer adoption.” Privacy and security concerns were also cited by around one-fifth of respondents, and the survey said companies must work to convince consumers that their IoT data will remain secure. “A series of recent, highly public data breaches that have plagued major retailers and companies have contributed to greater security concerns among consumers related to IoT technology,” the survey said, noting that 57 per cent of consumers said they are less likely to purchase wearable technology because of these data breaches. Courtin said security concerns are important for consumers, businesses and service providers, yet the coming world of connected devices is not substantially different than online banking or other uses of sensitive data online. “There's a tremendous amount of privacy we give up online that we now want to somehow protect,” he said. “You're asking people to put trust in the ghost in the machine, and that's a big leap for some.” Some people are still skeptical of online banking, he said, and there are those who will never embrace new technology if it means giving up privacy. “There's always breaks in the system and there always will be,” Courtin said. “But as long as we put our trust that people that we do business with are working on it and making sure that it's protected, then I think most people who would have adopted that technology will do so and those that wouldn't probably won't do it regardless of how safe and secure it is.” The Acquity Group survey of 2,000 online respondents was performed in the first quarter of 2014 and the results were released Aug. 21. The survey had a margin of error of four per cent, 19 times out of 20. — With reporting by Peter Henderson at phenderson@thewirereport.ca and editing by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca

Public not yet sold on Internet of Things: survey

Broadcast | October 16, 2014

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Public not yet sold on Internet of Things: survey

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