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Canadian Businesses Leverage the IoT Advantage for Growth and Profitability

Canadian Businesses Leverage the IoT Advantage for Growth and Profitability Canadian Businesses Leverage the IoT Advantage for Growth and Profitability

The recentlly released TELUS/IDC Internet of Things Study 2014 shares further insights on the adoption of IoT across various industries, based on a study conducted on Canada's 209 small and medium businesses. The study was conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC), a provider of market intelligence and advisory services for technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets for TELUS, Canada's national telecommunications company with 13.3 million customer connections nationwide. 

IoT has been receiving increased attention in recent months from service providers as more and more appliances and machines are being fitted with M2M connection capabilities and the usage of M2M solutions are rapidly expanding from 'early adopter' verticals such as transportation (for example, in fleet management) to all other segments, as means to cut costs, improve monitoring, enhance security and improve service delivery. Ovum forecasted early this year that total global M2M connections will more than treble from 106.4 million in 2012 to 360.9 million in 2018, at a CAGR of 22.6 percent with healthcare, manufacturing, and energy & utilities being the key industry verticals in 2018. Recently published Vodafone's  'M2M Adoption Barometer' report showed that the consumer electronics industry is leading the adoption of M2M solutions at a rate of 29%, followed closely by energy and utilities and automotive with a rate of 28% each.

According to the TELUS/IDC Internet of Things Study 2014, only 6 per cent of Canadian businesses have implemented an IoT solution, and that another 7 per cent are preparing to deploy in 2014. A further 30 per cent of businesses intend to deploy IoT in the next 24 months. The study predicts annual IoT spending in Canada to grow 375%, from $5.6 billion in 2013 to $21 billion in 2018.

In terms of current IoT applications, the transport sector is one of the sectors at the forefront of benefiting from the IoT adoption, a view that was recently echoed by Globe Telecom Philippines and also shared by TELUS in this report which said that the IoT enables real-time monitoring of vehicle speed, idling time, routes and driver behaviour to optimize fuel usage, improve scheduling and ensure safety – with potential savings of thousands of dollars a year per vehicle. Telus cited the testimonials of a recent customer, the Arrow Transportation, whose COO, Mitchell Zulinick said that the company realized a savings of 8% on fuel costs after implementing TELUS' IoT solution which enabled them to collect and act on data in real-time and hence, provide better service and realize full return on their IoT investment. 

The key highlights shared in the report release are summarized in the infographics below.The full report of the TELUS/IDC Internet of Things Study 2014 is available at telus.com/IoT.

 

“We have customers across a wide range of industries using IoT. We are implementing applications in the financial services industry with wireless connectivity for ATMs, in the oil and gas industry with lone-worker safety solutions and remote monitoring of field equipment, and in retail with wireless point-of-sale devices and smart interactive digital displays. There’s tremendous innovation in this area and I believe that the opportunities that IoT technology can offer businesses is limited only by the imagination.”  

- Jim Senko, Senior Vice-President of Small Business and Emerging Markets, IDC

CXOs looking to gain a competitive advantage need to examine how IoT can reshape what is possible in their business. The alternative is to fall behind global innovators that are already utilizing new applications to creatively reinvent their industries.  

Tony Olvet, Group Vice President, Research at IDC Canada

Author

Executive Editor and Telecoms Strategist at The Fast Mode | 5G | IoT/M2M | Telecom Strategy | Mobile Service Innovations 

Tara Neal heads the strategy & editorial unit at The Fast Mode, focusing on latest technologies such as gigabit broadband, 5G, cloud-native networking, edge computing, virtualization, software-defined networking and network automation as well as broader telco segments such as IoT/M2M, CX, OTT services and network security. Tara holds a First Class Honours in BSc Accounting and Finance from The London School of Economics, UK and is a CFA charterholder from the CFA Institute, United States. Tara has over 22 years of experience in technology and business strategy, and has earlier served as project director for technology and economic development projects in various management consulting firms.

Follow Tara Neal on Twitter @taraneal11, LinkedIn @taraneal11, Facebook or email her at tara.neal@thefastmode.com.

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