If you have tapped into IoT's connectivity alone, you haven't explored even half of the technology's potential. The real power lies in data-centric IoT. The IoT is a giant network of connected things and people – all of which collect and share data about the way they are used and about the environment around them. That includes an extraordinary number of objects of all shapes and sizes – from smart microwaves, which automatically cook your food for the right length of time, to self-driving cars, whose complex sensors detect objects in their path, to wearable fitness devices that measure your heart rate and the number of steps you've taken that day, then use that information to suggest exercise plans tailored to you. There are even connected footballs that can track how far and fast they are thrown and record those statistics via an app for future training purposes.

Despite the disruptive impacts of COVID-19, 47% of organizations plan to increase their investments in the Internet of Things (IoT), according to a recent survey from analyst company Gartner. Following the COVID-19 lockdown, the survey found that 35% of organizations reduced their investments in IoT while a larger number of organizations are planning to invest more in IoT implementations to reduce costs. One reason behind the increase is that while companies have a limited history with IoT, IoT implementers produce a predictable ROI within a specified timeframe. "They use key performance indicators (KPIs) to track their business outcomes and for most of them they also specify a time frame for financial payback of their IoT investments, which is on the average three years," said Benoit Lheureux, research VP at Gartner. In addition, as IoT investments are relatively new, most companies have plenty of "low hanging fruit" cost-saving opportunities to pursue, such as predictive-maintenance on commercial and industrial assets like elevators or turbines, and optimization of processes such as increasing manufacturing yield.

Our latest enterprise survey revealed that more than 40 percent of large enterprises have already implemented IoT and another 25 percent have piloted IoT use cases and will likely make meaningful investments in the technology in near future. All these enterprises have invariably invested in building an ecosystem of partners, made technological and business process changes, and trained their talent to sustain the investment. However, 75 percent of these enterprises are realizing benefits limited to cost reduction, better visibility at the operational level, and access to more data for better decision making. This, unfortunately, is a massive underestimation and under-utilization of the potential of connected ecosystems. On the other hand, the other 25 percent of the enterprises, we call them "Innovators," are realizing IoT-driven outcomes with substantially greater business impact, such as identifying alternate revenue sources, offering new products and services, and increasing customer intimacy.

Marketers are not preparing for a world where mobile, voice and local search, as well as the reliance on intelligent agents like chatbots, change consumer interactions with brands -- yet IDC estimates IoT spending will total nearly $1.4 trillion by 2021, as companies invest in hardware, software and connectivity. That's according to findings from a survey from BrightEdge released Thursday that surveyed 252 digital marketers at Fortune 500 brands in April and May 2017. The survey sought to understand how marketers are preparing for the accelerating consumer adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), voice search, and local search during the next year. The findings suggest marketers can see the shift, but the majority are not planning to change their marketing strategies other than to integrate search engine optimization, paid search, social marketing and content strategies. This leaves brands at risk of failing to meet consumers' expectations, per the report.