74 percent of businesses wish to adopt machine-to-machine (M2M) technology but face barriers in doing so, according to new research from Advanced.
Respondents stated several business challenges are preventing them from adopting more M2M applications. 43 percent admitted that they were confused about what M2M is and how it works.
Insufficient time and cost restrictions were cited by 33 percent and 19 percent of respondents respectively. Other factors included cultural resistance, cited by 19 percent, and concerns about network connectivity from 12 percent.
However, M2M was already seeing adoption in many businesses, with 52 percent of businesses using sensors to track service vehicles and 24 percent monitoring mobile handhelds used by field workers.
Greg Ford, Managing Director of Advanced Field Service, says, "Balancing costs and resources will always be a key priority for businesses and those which fail to invest in new technology could be at a disadvantage against their competitors."
Ford added, "Many service management organisations already rely on connected devices to determine the location of their field resources. M2M is a natural extension of this and uses predictive and prescriptive analytics to reduce reactive works and increase planned maintenance and first-time fix, providing a rapid ROI."
The survey quizzed senior managers and engineers from 58 UK businesses.