A look at the current level of preparedness for Australian IT departments to meet the complex challenges and opportunities created by the internet of things (IoT)

1. IOT REPORT 2O15:
BUSINESS AT THE SPEED OF IT
S URV E Y CO NDUCTE D BY RE DS HI FT RE S E ARCH
J UNE 2 0 1 5
A LO O K AT THE CURRE NT LE V E L O F
P RE P ARE DNE S S FO R AUS TRALI AN I T
DE P ARTME NTS TO ME E T THE CO MP LE X
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES CREATED BY
THE I NTE RNE T O F THI NG S (I O T)
(AUS TR AL I A)

2. STUDY OVERVIEW
• Australian IT departments cite concerns over a lack of IT skills, security issues and
growing network complexity as the key challenges for organisations looking to adopt
IoT technology in the next three to five years.
• Nearly 60 percent of respondents said that more or different IT skills will be required
as devices and robots become more intelligent, and close to three quarters (73
percent) feel the workforce is currently ill-equipped.
• Insufficient skills was also named as the top barrier to the uptake of IoT technologies
(30 percent), with 44 per cent of respondents also agreeing that staying current with
technology is the number one challenge impacting their work in the next three to five
years.
• Respondents also cited that maintaining security (42 percent) and growing network
complexity (38 percent) among the challenges that will most impact their work in the
next three to five years.
• IT decision makers also highlighted several opportunities driven by the IoT including,
improved capabilities for remote maintenance (39 percent), security management (32
percent), and the ability to offer high-margin personalised services (27 percent) to
stakeholders
2
K E Y F I N D I N G S
© 2015 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

3. STUDY OVERVIEW
3
D E M O G R AP H I C S : S U RV E Y R E S P O N D E N TS
© 2015 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
200 IT decision makers in Australia from small,
mid-size and enterprise companies participated in a June 2015 online survey
44%
27%
30%
Company Size
(number of employees)
0-49 FTEs
50-199 FTEs
200+ FTEs
34%
32%
17%
7%
6% 3% 2%
State/Territory
NSW VIC
QLD SA
WA TAS
ACT
35%
22%
11%
10%
7%
7%
5%
4%
2%
Sector
Professional Services
Other
Retail
Manufacturing
Financial Services
Education
Construction
Healthcare
Mining

4. FULL SURVEY RESULTS
4
K E Y C U R R E N T C H AL L E N G E S F O R I T D E C I S I O N S
M AK E R S
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45%
40%
39%
38%
27%
23%
61%
30%
25%
22%
21%
23%
31%
43%
54%
46%
31%
17%
32%
51%
46%
53%
31%
27%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Staying current with technology
Maintaining security (internal and external)
Reduced IT budgets
Growing network complexity
Inability to source experienced staff
The increasing use of smart devices/things on your network
Current challenges impacting most on the work of IT Decisions Makers
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
Which of these challenges currently impact most on your
work?
Almost half of IT decisions makers believe staying current with technology most impacts on their work, with
those working in organisations with more than 200 employees most impacted by network complexity

5. FULL SURVEY RESULTS
5
AN TI C I PATE D C H AL L E N G E S F O R I T D E C I S I O N S M AK E R S
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44%
42%
38%
38%
30%
24%
57%
38%
29%
20%
33%
17%
33%
44%
48%
50%
26%
28%
34%
44%
41%
53%
29%
31%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Staying current with technology
Maintaining security (internal and external)
Reduced IT budgets
Growing network complexity
Inability to source experienced staff
The increasing use of smart devices/things on your network
Anticipated challenges impacting most on the work of IT Decisions Makers in 3-5 years
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
Which of these challenges do you anticipate to impact
your work most in 3-5 years' time?
In 3-5 years the majority of respondents anticipate that staying current with technology, maintaining security
and reduced IT department will be the key challenges impacting their work

6. FULL SURVEY RESULTS
6
I O T M AN A G E M E N T C H AL L E N G E S
© 2015 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
38%
34%
28%
27%
22%
18%
16%
16%
12%
11%
33%
22%
18%
36%
14%
13%
13%
16%
7%
21%
33%
43%
33%
15%
35%
28%
20%
19%
15%
2%
47%
44%
36%
25%
22%
17%
17%
14%
17%
5%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Cyber sercurity concerns
Network performance (to support a growing number of clients and faster
Internet)
Data overload / Big Data management
Insufficient skills
Network and Systems Monitoring and Management
Inconsistent industry standards
Employees bringing in more devices that connect to the corporate
network
Increased network administration complexity
Complexity in provisioning, tracking and managing IP addresses
No significant challenges
Top challenges associated with managing the 'Internet of Things' (IoT) (%)
Overall Small Bus Mid-Size Bus Enterprise
What are the challenges associated with managing the
'Internet of Things' (IoT) within your organisation? (top
three)
Cyber security, network performance, data overload/big data management, insufficient skills, and network and systems
monitoring and management are the top cited challenges associated with managing the IoT

7. FULL SURVEY RESULTS
7
I P AD D R E S S I N C R E AS E S
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25%
17%
16%
14%
9%
9%
7%
3%
1%
1%
1%
51%
21%
15%
7%
3%
3%
1%
4%
12%
13%
19%
15%
19%
13%
4%
9%
16%
20%
18%
11%
7%
9%
4%
2%
2%
4%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
none
0-10
11 to 20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
Percentage of IP Address increases on networks in the past 12 months
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
Has the number of IP addresses on your network
increased? If yes, by how much in the past 12 months?
Almost 50 percent (48%) of respondents have seen an increase of between 11-49 percent in IP addresses on
their networks since June 2014

8. FULL SURVEY RESULTS
8
TI M E S P E N T M AN AG I N G I P AD D R E S S E S
© 2015 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
42%
13%
17%
11%
10%
5%
2%
1%
72%
7%
16%
2%
2%
0%
0%
0%
20%
13%
13%
22%
19%
7%
4%
2%
15%
20%
22%
14%
12%
8%
3%
2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Less than 5 hours per month
5-10 hours per month
10-15 hours per month
15-20 hours per month
20-25 hours per month
25-30 hours per month
30-35 hours per month
35-40 hours per month
Amount of hours per month IT Decisions Makers spend managing IP Addresses
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
How much time do you currently spend managing IP
addresses?
Nearly half of Australian IT departments already spend more than 10 hours a month on managing IP addresses
(47%)

9. FULL SURVEY RESULTS
9
I M PAC T O F I O T O N N E TW O R K C O M P L E X I TY
© 2015 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
25%
26%
38%
10%
2%
46%
29%
24%
1%
13%
28%
44%
13%
2%
3%
20%
53%
19%
5%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Not at all
Only slightly
To some extent
To a fairly significant extent
To a very significant extent
Does IoT make network management more complex
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
Does IoT make your network management more complex?
Nearly 80 percent of organisations with 200 or more employees feel the IoT will make their network
management more complex (77%) and growing network complexity (38%) is among the major challenges that
will most impact the work of Australian IT decision makers in the next three to five years

10. FULL SURVEY RESULTS
10
I O T U P D ATE B AR R I E R S
© 2015 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
30%
29%
20%
19%
18%
16%
15%
12%
12%
11%
10%
9%
7%
6%
5%
36%
15%
13%
16%
16%
13%
3%
7%
20%
8%
3%
11%
5%
11%
3%
33%
35%
24%
26%
22%
22%
17%
13%
2%
17%
11%
6%
6%
2%
7%
17%
42%
27%
17%
15%
15%
31%
19%
10%
8%
17%
8%
12%
2%
5%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Insufficient Skills
Cyber sercurity concerns
Data Privacy laws or concerns
Security of devices / End points on enterprise networks
Managing network complexity
Network performance concerns
Finance and legal departments' risk management
Network and Systems Monitoring and Management capability
No barriers
Inconsistent industry standards
Data overload / Big Data managements
Increased network administration complexity
Complexity in provisioning, tracking and managing IP addresses
Other
Device Firmware visibility
Barriers preventing IoT uptake
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
What are the barriers preventing uptake of IoT
technologies in your organisation? (top three)
Insufficient skills was named as the top barrier to the uptake of IoT technologies (30%), closely followed by
cyber security concerns and data privacy laws or concerns

11. FULL SURVEY RESULTS
11
TR E N D S I N I O T D E P L O Y M E N T M E TH O D S
© 2015 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.How is your IoT environment set up?
Australian organisations mainly have their IoT environment set up via a dedicated wide area network (55%)
28%
33%
11%
30%
26%
13%
8%
53%
30%
44%
15%
11%
27%
51%
10%
12%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Deployed over the internet
Has its own dedicated wide area network
Outsourced management
No formal policy/managed as-hoc at present
IoT Deployment Methods
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise

12. FULL SURVEY RESULTS
12
S K I L L S E V O L U TI O N I N I O T W O R L D
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59%
21%
21%
47%
16%
37%
61%
33%
6%
73%
15%
12%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
More or different technical skills required from the IT department
Less skills required due to automation
No change in skill demand
Change in skills driven at IoT makes devices and robots more intelligent
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
What will happen in terms of skills required as IoT makes
devices and robots more intelligent?
Nearly 60 percent of respondents said that more or different IT skills will be required as devices and robots
become more intelligent

13. FULL SURVEY RESULTS
13
AU S TR A L I A N I T I O T S K I L L S
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4%
20%
49%
24%
4%
5%
21%
54%
20%
1%
4%
20%
46%
24%
6%
2%
19%
42%
31%
7%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Not at all
Poorly
To a limited extent
Fairly well
Very well
How equipped is the Australian workforce currently to meet IoT skill demands
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
How equipped is the current Australian workforce placed to
meet IoT skill requirements?
Close to three quarters (73%) feel the workforce is currently ill-equipped to meet IoT skills demands

14. FULL SURVEY RESULTS
14
TH E O P P O R TU N I TI E S F O R I O T
© 2015 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
39%
32%
27%
22%
22%
20%
19%
19%
30%
23%
18%
15%
13%
13%
13%
36%
44%
39%
37%
28%
22%
26%
17%
4%
47%
37%
31%
27%
34%
24%
31%
7%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Remote maintenance
Security management
The ability to offer high-margin personalised services
Devices can diagnose their own problems
Mineable data to feed into Business Intelligence
Supply-chain optimisation
Infrastructure management
Don’t know yet
What are the key opportunities in in IoT world
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
What are the main opportunities for your organisation
with IoT? (top three)
IT decision makers highlight several opportunities driven by the IoT including, improved capabilities for remote
maintenance (39%), security management (32%) and the ability to offer high-margin personalised services
(27%) to stakeholders.

15. FULL SURVEY RESULTS
15
TH E I O T M AS T E R M I N D S
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48%
15%
13%
11%
10%
30%
24%
25%
11%
9%
59%
9%
4%
6%
15%
63%
7%
2%
14%
7%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
IT
Operations
Other
Marketing & Sales
C-Level
Who is driving IoT In the Australian workplace
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
Which department is driving IoT within your
organisations?
As expected, IoT is largely driven by the IT department with 45 percent of organisations citing this

16. FULL SURVEY RESULTS
16
C H AN G I N G U S E R E X P E C TATI O N S
© 2015 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
48%
15%
23%
16%
41%
10%
22%
26%
59%
22%
15%
4%
46%
14%
31%
10%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Yes the same
No, lower
No, higher
Don't know
User expectations on device performance in an IoT environment
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
Do you expect users to have the same level of
expectation of device performance in an IoT
environment?
Respondents don’t anticipate user expectations of device performance to sway that much with almost 50
percent indicating that expectations will remain the same in an IoT environment, 25 percent however do
anticipate user expectations to be higher.

17. FULL SURVEY RESULTS
17
TH E I M PAC T O F TH E N B N O N I T D E PAR T M E N T
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36%
34%
29%
24%
22%
21%
20%
18%
28%
18%
22%
23%
22%
16%
33%
8%
48%
56%
30%
19%
19%
20%
7%
28%
37%
36%
39%
29%
25%
27%
10%
24%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
IT skills
Network complexity
Managing an increased mobile/remote workforce
Increased emphasis on service delivery and uptime
More smart devices on the network
Ensuring uptime
Don’t know
Application management
Anticipated impact of the challenges in managing IT with the NBN
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
What do anticipate will be the challenges in managing an
IT environment with the NBN? (top three)
The major challenges in managing IT with the NBN include skills, network complexity and managing an
increasingly mobile and remote workforce

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