Two-thirds of Saudi companies view IoT as critical to growth: survey

As much as 66 percent or two-thirds of medium-to-large Saudi companies believe industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies are critical to business operations, or will become critical in the next five years, according to the findings of a survey by global technology company Honeywell.

Almost half of Saudi companies are already investing in IIoT today, as per the survey findings, while the majority of Saudi companies surveyed plan to increase IIoT investments in the next five years.

The report, prepared in partnership with YouGov and IDC, analyzes the views of approximately 250 C-level executives in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, encompassing the buildings and cities, transport and logistics and industrial sectors.

In terms of benefits, as much as 51 percent of decision-makers surveyed identified increased performance, 50 percent time savings, while 38 percent said increased revenues as main benefits of leveraging IIoT solutions.

However, 50 percent of respondents cited a lack of digital culture while 46 percent cited a lack of qualified staff and training as key hurdles to IIoT adoption in Saudi Arabia, as per the survey.