• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, May 24, 2017

In many places where Internet of Things projects are underway, there’s a mixed report card on how they’re doing.

The majority (60%) of those running IoT projects said their initiatives stalled in the proof-of-concept phase of development, according to a new survey.

When organizations did complete their IoT projects, many did not succeed, based on a survey of 1,800 business and technology decision makers on their IoT projects conducted by Cisco.

Almost half (40%) of projects moved past the proof-of-concept to the pilot stage, and of those, a quarter (26%) were deemed successful by business leaders.

The two main failure points involve the complexity of integration and the lack of internal expertise.

On the positive side, 64% of business execs said they took what they learned so far from failed projects and accelerated their investment in the Internet of Things.

The majority (60%) said they have barely begun to scratch the surface of what IoT can do for their business.

Human factors, such as company culture and the interactions between business and technology departments, can complicate IoT implementations, according to Cisco.

One of the key refrains from agencies and brands at the recent MediaPost IoT Marketing Forum was to recommendation to get started on a project rather than trying to plan it to death.

The IoT reality is that the way a project starts is not the way it will ultimately end. However, starting is required to begin learning what does and doesn’t work and modifying from there.

When it comes to the IoT, doing nothing will result in learning the same.