For more than a third of UK’s SMBs, the lack of development expertise is seen as the main roadblock to implementing Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, a new study is suggesting.

The report, published by Apple subsidiary Claris, states that a fifth of SMB leaders worry about security and privacy when implementing IoT. Furthermore, they don’t clearly see the return on investment.

At the same time, almost two thirds believe IoT could bring them a competitive advantage and are saying their competitors are “doing more” with IoT at the time.

Looking at what the main benefits of IoT projects are, SMB leaders mentioned improved efficiency, productivity and speed, while about a third see gathering business intelligence as the main driver towards IoT adoption.

Almost a third say it’s likely their SMB will launch an IoT initiative within the next three years, while almost half added that their company was lagging behind the competition.

When it comes to ROI, despite many not clearly seeing how IoT could return the investment, a quarter (24 percent) stated their project already yielded ROI, while 38 percent expect it to happen within a year.

“The Internet of Things is a foundational pillar of technology’s next wave,” the report states. “Businesses can gain precise intelligence about how to improve, or even automate many processes by collecting and analyzing detailed data from sensors monitoring mechanical, logistical and human real-world behavior.”

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The study “Connected Everything: Taking the I Out of IoT,” was conducted across 200 enterprise executives in North America and Europe in several vertical industries already deploying IoT. The industries ranged from financial services to health care and hospitality. As per the report, most of the companies are focusing on the concerns and opportunities around the Internet of Things. A significant number of companies are witnessing strong business cases for IoT adoption as part of a broader digital transformation process. The majority of respondents cited improved customer retention, enhanced productivity, and high efficiency as their highest objectives.

Companies are working towards expanding the use of IoT solutions; however, to realize this potential, they need to secure, easy-to-deploy and flexible ways to support IoT integration with their businesses and processes. The report also notes a major growth in the role of expert third-party suppliers that have helped businesses in tapping new opportunities available via a bigger global IoT connectivity.

Half of the executives identified data, network, and device security as the biggest challenges to IoT adoption, the study found. Moreover, half of them also said they prefer putting IoT devices on their own private networks to tackle IoT security concerns. Nearly all respondents said they are either considering or are currently using a private network for their IoT deployments.

Other top challenges for IoT adoption in the enterprise were integration and security concerns, the study found. Nearly 45% of respondents said integration with legacy IT and networks are challenging, while 40% cited integration with business processes as a major challenge. As per the report, if enterprises plan to embrace IoT in its full capabilities, they will face issues including IoT concerns, providing technical solutions, consulting services, and a transparent approach to IoT security.

IoT adoption comes with its challenges for companies; however, experience, network reach, and technology expertise can be instrumental in addressing their concerns. Using private networks to avoid the inherent risks of the public internet is a viable but technically complex approach. Today, enterprises are eager to adopt and realize the economic and productivity benefits but understand they can’t go it alone in their deployments.

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