IoT spending is on the up, driven by the promise of significant RoI and business transformation benefits, according to Vodafone's fourth annual IoT Barometer Report that found 89% of companies investing in IoT have increased their budgets over the last 12 months; while 76% believe that taking advantage of IoT technologies will be critical for the future success of any organisation.
The study also found that 63% of IoT adopters are seeing significant returns on investment, up from 59% last year.
IoT investment now accounts for 24% of the average IT budget, on a par with cloud computing or data analytics.
IoT technologies are playing a key role in mainstream business activities with 48% using the IoT to support large-scale business transformation, rising to 61% in the Asia-Pacific region.
More than half of consumer electronics companies questioned in the survey are using IoT technologies as the basis for a new generation of applications for connected homes; and 46% intend to develop new IoT-based products and services over the next two years.
Vodafone Group IoT Director Erik Brenneis said: "Three-quarters of the companies we interviewed now recognise that the IoT is a new industrial revolution that will change how people work and live forever.
"Over 50% of the companies surveyed across multiple countries and sectors told us they're already planning to bring connected network intelligence to millions of devices and processes over the next two years. 2016 is the year the IoT entered the mainstream."