About 75% of all IoT projects fail – a survey by Cisco reveals. Just one-fourth of all projects are successful, according to participating companies. About 60% of the projects fail at a proof-of-concept stage. What can we learn from these statistics?
Poor project management is the number one reason software projects fail (including IoT projects). But wait, this is very vague and imprecise. Let’s dig deeper.
Internet of Things projects often begin with a strong technical or business-driven approach. However, effective communication between the tech and business teams can be difficult and challenging, which puts the successful and timely completion of the project at risk.
According to the survey by Cisco, 48% of participants admitted that they underestimated the complexity of the project (as is most software projects), emphasizing that specialized IoT expertise is key to successful projects and a reason why most projects fail or are delivered after deadline. Supporting this point, another survey found that the most successful organizations actively engage the IoT partner ecosystem at every stage of their projects. In recent years, nearshoring IoT projects has gained popularity and improves the chances of successful projects.
While security is often misleadingly cited as the number one reason for failed projects, this concern mainly applies to projects that reach the market. Unfortunately, most IoT projects fail long before that, leaving organizations with huge upfront costs and a lack of any return on investment.
To increase the success rate of IoT projects, organizations must therefore bridge the gap between technical and business teams and invest in specialized IoT expertise.