Security is main IoT stumbling block, says analyst

Research shows that security trumps RoI and compliance issues as top IoT concern for end-users

Security is the main obstacle for growth in the internet of things (IoT) market, according to analyst firm 451 Research.

A survey of 1,000 enterprises conducted by 451 Research found that, while 71 per cent said they are collecting data from IoT devices, almost half see security as a concern.

Security was followed in the survey by lack of return on investment at 41.2 per cent; and compliance at 32.4 per cent.

Ian Hughes, analyst at 451 Research, explained that security can become an issue with IoT because the hardware suppliers and software suppliers may not know whose remit security falls in.

"The coming together of operational technology - from factories and industry - and information technology from the IT department [can be the route of the problem]," he said.

"As those two cross over there's a boundary of skills from mechanical engineering and software engineering and it's in those gaps that sometimes the security flaw happens."

Hughes said that service providers now need to be competent in both hardware and software services, particularly as a large number of IoT devices will vary in how they are managed. He cited General Electric's November acquisition of cloud-based provider ServiceMax as an example.

"We're starting to see some of those appear, or they've always been there but it's just extending what they do and putting IoT extra labels on it, but IoT is an evolution not a revolution," he added.

"They have to be providers that not only deal with the software side of things but the hardware side of things. Conditioning products out in the field is very different from managing a centralised server.

"If you're dealing with power, wind, rain, vandalism [for example] - it's going to pull in a lot of field service management companies as well and GE have brought in ServiceMax because of that."

Darren Seward, head of mobility at distributor Westcoast, said he expects the channel to be more conscious of IoT security this year, but said there is not yet a solution that covers the full spectrum.

"Security isn't an area that we've massively focused on [at Westcoast] in the past but moving forward it's an area that we will be getting more involved in," he said.

"Security is a big thing [for IoT] and all the usual suspects are coming out with security offerings around IoT and how to manage all these different devices, [but] I don't think anybody quite has anything that covers it all yet.

"All of this stuff is probably going to sit on a network, so I think an endpoint solution [is the answer] whether that's on a machine or a PC."