An always-on culture could be a turnoff.
IoT fatigue may be a rapidly increasing reality, according to a State of the IoT report released April 20 by Argus Insights.
According to the report, consumers are weary of being tracked by Google, Amazon and other big companies. They’re also concerned about hackers gaining access to devices like webcams and baby monitors. Security is by far the biggest roadblock facing IoT and big data, according to Argus.
The company also looked at IoT’s competitive landscape by analyzing social media conversations and consumer reviews, picking out the most popular content, including links, hashtags and tweets with the most engagement. The content covered all facets of the IoT including wearables, the cloud, smart homes, connected cars and more.
The biggest conversations revolved around Cisco’s acquisition of Jasper, Microsoft’s partnerships with Intel and Qualcomm, and Google’s development of Brillo. Nest has seen increased mindshare thanks to its thermostats and other smart home devices, and Amazon also grabbed some of the IoT spotlight with the rollout of its Echo device.
“Given the multiple, and at times, confusing definitions of the Internet of Things, seeing this diversity played out over social conversations is a clear indicator that while overall interest in IoT is increasing, no single company has control of the market,” the company’s CEO, John Feland, said in a post on their website.
That said, brand discussion accounted for only 10 percent of the overall IoT discussion. Argus speculated that people are much more interested in the technology itself than the company that sells IoT devices. It also found that discussion of Big Data far outpaced that of actual IoT devices or applications.
The State of the IoT report concluded that while the IoT is growing rapidly, experts and consumers lack trust in the ability of IoT devices to keep data secure. How IoT device makers, app developers and service providers respond to these security concerns will be a crucial factor in whether the IoT sees more success or a backlash.
