Internet of Things (IoT) adoption by SMBs presents a $9 billion opportunity in the United States, and the channel should partner with IoT suppliers like Dell to implement IoT devices and appliances.

That’s according to Techaisle CEO Anurag Agrawal, addressing the findings of his company’s U.S. SMB and midmarket IoT adoption trends data survey. Three times as many U.S. midmarket firms are adopting IoT solutions compared to small businesses. This trend will continue for the next two to three years.

IoT adoption within SMBs is likely to be quicker than cloud, Agrawal said. Average spending on IoT by SMBs is reaching the same levels of average spending on cloud, while midmarket businesses are increasing their budget allocation for IoT.

Just over half of SMBs that are using IoT today are at one of two bottom levels: They either have a limited number of sensors feeding isolated systems, or they are using IoT devices to enable remote monitoring/service/control, he said.

Another 30 percent of IoT users are applying contextual analytics, and tight integration of analytics and sensor data within business activities is the foundation of sophisticated IoT use, Agrawal said. As a result, this is the step at which advanced IoT begins, he added.{ad}

“(Partners) with analytics skill-sets will have the most to gain as deploying devices is only a small step for IoT adoption; the real return on investment is obtained from analytics,” he said “But as the data suggests, most channel partners can begin addressing the needs of those 50 percent of the SMBs, lower-rung of adopters, by installing sensors for various activities and slowly use analytics to demonstrate results. Techaisle believes that strategy starts with the buyer, which in this case means understanding who the buyer is, [which] factors are motivating purchase decisions, and how much is available for spend on IoT.”

Generally, early IoT adopters are focused on one or more of security/surveillance, asset tracking or proactive alerts — horizontal benefits that apply across the vertically oriented IoT landscape,” Agrawal said.

“Broadly speaking, small and midmarket firms recognize IoT’s potential to increase productivity, improve processes and boost revenue,” he said. “Midmarket firms, though, which have deployed more productive infrastructure, are much more apt to see this potential than their small-business counterparts. The key point is that when SMBs deploy IoT, they should be quickly ushered into analytics — how the data collected helps them with productivity gains, new revenue sources and process improvements.”