The Budget Gap

When it comes to funding future IoT projects, IT and OT have different expectations, creating the Budget Gap.

To understand how budgetary issues might impact IT and OT plans, we asked survey respondents to assess their expectations for budget cycles over the coming 12 to 24 months. While two thirds of respondents expect budgets to either remain steady or increase slightly over this time period, slightly over a quarter expect to see dramatic increases in budget. The primary beneficiaries of this budget surplus are within the Media & Technology sector, with 34 percent of respondents expecting budgets to increase dramatically. Banking/Financial Services and Healthcare/Pharma are also expected to fare well. Those within the Public Sector and Products industries, however, are more likely to experience budgets that remain steady or only increase slightly.

Source: Futurum Research, Bridging the IoT Perception Gap, Survey of 500 IT/OT Professionals

While over two thirds of overall respondents expect increased budgets over the coming months, this optimism is not shared equally by IT and OT respondents. Over a quarter of IT respondents expect IoT budgets to increase dramatically over the coming 12 to 24 months, whereas only 2.4 percent of OT respondents expect to see budgets dramatically increase.

Source: Futurum Research, Bridging the IoT Perception Gap, Survey of 500 IT/OT Professionals

From a plus/minus perspective, the picture is even bleaker. While over 70 percent of IT respondents expect their IT budgets to increase, over 68 percent of OT respondents expect their IoT budgets to either remain steady or decrease over the same period.

Budget Gap - Bottom Line

An organization can only execute against its available resources, and it appears that OT budgets are in the decline. While this may be part of a larger shift toward increased IT spending, and a shift to control operational costs, this budget gap is a concern. As businesses begin to leverage IoT beyond traditional operational sensors, and realize the value of an IoT-connected supply chain/customer feedback network, costs will be incurred. Overcoming this gap may require not only closer budgetary collaboration between IT and OT groups, but a more customer- and outcome-driven perspective on the role of IoT in driving business value through increased leverage of operational and customer data.