• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, April 6, 2016

For all the promise of big data being used to provide new and great consumer experiences, most of that data remains just that: data.

Even though The Internet of Things is starting to generate large amounts of data, most companies are not yet using it.

Only a small number (8%) of businesses are actually using more than 25% of their IoT data, based on a new study looking at the state of the Internet of Things this year.

The study comprised research by Oxford Economics, commissioned by Verizon, in combination with Verizon usage data that included new IoT connections from 2015.

The somewhat good news is that nearly half of businesses already on the IoT journey estimate that in two to three years they will be using more than 25% of their data, primarily to drive down costs and increase revenue.

Of course, that means that half of businesses essentially will be letting the data lie dormant.

Revenue growth is the biggest factor driving IoT adoption.

Interestingly, the range of things being Internet-connected varies widely, including programmable home thermostats, wearable health and fitness devices along with aircraft jet engines and the nation’s power grid.

For marketers, this means that new ways to manage connected devices and tap into consumer data may come from what may be thought of as unlikely places.

Data streams can come from any number of categories of things. For example, here are potential big data streams and what could be measured and leveraged from connected cars, based on the study:

• Dealerships – Vehicle diagnostics, in-car service consumption
• Insurance companies – Aggregated driving data, incident data
• Fleet customers – Fleet performance compared against competition
• Advertisers – Customer/passenger demographics
• Smart cities – Real-time traffic flow, incident alert, parking
• Federal/State Department of Transportation – Breakdown data, accident data
• Other B2B – Content usage, frequency, length

Businesses looking to grow their IoT revenue will exploit information they collect via things to better understand and serve customers, improve products and create customized solutions for individual customers.

Over the next 18 months, IoT adoption will grow significantly, driven by falling costs, the continuing convergence of data and services and the increasing simplification of IoT technologies.

This means homeowners can look forward to a simplified user interface to address everyday issues, like controlling and monitoring home security or monitoring their teenager’s driving habits.

All of this will present marketers with a massive new trove of customer data.

The data is coming. The question is who will be ready to do what with it?