GE Digital has released a new research report to describe the current state of digital transformation with respect to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), called the Digital Industrial Evolution Index. The Index is based on a survey of 250 IT and Operations decision makers in five industries throughout the US: manufacturing, aviation/aerospace, power/energy, transportation and utilities.
The Digital Industrial Evolution Index attempts to quantify how well each industry, and the industrial market as a whole, is prepared for the IIoT transformations we’ve seen and will continue to see going forward. The Index is based on five sub-indexes: Outlook, Outcomes, Workforce Readiness, Company Readiness and Barriers.
Let’s cut straight to the bottom line: the overall Industrial Evolution Index, averaged across all industries and sub-indexes, was a lukewarm 63 out of 100. Perhaps that doesn’t sound so bad, but consider it in comparison to the score for the Outlook sub-index, which reflects industrial opinion of the importance of IIoT transformation: 78.3.
Clearly there’s a bit of a mismatch between IIoT outlook and IIoT action. In fact, this mismatch is made even sharper by the score for the Company Readiness sub-index: 55.2. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll notice that this is a trend we’ve seen time and again: many companies understand the potential of the IIoT, yet few have plans in place to realize that potential.
So why is everybody dragging their heels on digital transformation? We’ve discussed a number of reasons before, but the Digital Industrial Evolution Index reveals the biggest: resource constraints. In total, 42 percent of industrial decision makers cited investment costs as a major barrier to IIoT transformation. In second place was a two-way tie between security concerns and data privacy concerns, at 32 percent apiece.
“The Industrial Internet is already having a profound impact on industrial companies of all sizes,” said GE Digital CEO Bill Ruh. “At the same time, a gap is emerging between outlook for the IIoT and actions. We are working to close that gap by partnering with customers to accelerate change and guide companies of all sizes along their digital journeys.”
While it’d be great to see this gap close, it also presents a competitive advantage to any companies that do have a strong IIoT plan in place. If your company doesn’t, this is a great opportunity to shift your IIoT gear into drive.
You can access the Digital Industrial Evolution Index executive summary here. For more GE Digital news, read An Integrated Solution for IIoT Asset Management.