Businesses and consumers in the UK are missing out on 9.25 billion a year by not making the most of smart technology, according to a recent study.
The poll of 1,000 businesses and 2,500 consumers in the UK carried out by research firm Vanson Bourne, found that cost and a lack of skills were barriers to adopting smart technology.
The Smart Society Barometer research found that UK businesses could lose 5.6 billion over the next 12 months through not embracing this kind of technology while 3.6 billion will be missed out on by consumers through a lack of understanding of the benefits of smart technology.
According to the findings, this "smart deficit" is being felt across all areas of business with more than one in four businesses (27 per cent) admitting they have lost out on a contract or client because they haven't had the right smart technology in place. This figure increases in the telecoms and utilities sector to 41 per cent. one in three companies (37 per cent) within the financial sector have admitted to losing work due to their lack of adoption of smart devices and cloud services.
UK business leaders said they thought they could save around 81,000 a year by adopting smart technology, citing increased productivity and data access as the key areas where it could help drive efficiencies.
The firms where such adoption has taken place have managed to save 75,000 to date, but have found several barriers stopping a more rapid acceleration of smart technology adoption. IT Managers said there has been a lack of financial investment and training in the UK with only 11 per cent of their annual IT budget going towards smart technology. And, one in five companies admitted the lack of smart adoption is because it is too time consuming to train people up on new technology.
In the consumer sphere, nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of respondents said a lack of understanding of what smart technology is and how it can benefit them was the reason they were not currently investing in it. Consumers were failing to save because of smart technology such as smart meters and other devices for controlling energy costs in the home. These have the lowest adoption rates (around six per cent) yet are among the things people would most like to invest in.
"Smart technology adoption is happening and where it is being used most effectively, the benefits are already being felt both by individuals and businesses," said Andy Griffiths, president of Samsung UK and Ireland, the firm that commissioned the study.
"If we are to accelerate as a smart society, we need to fully understand how to get the most out of this technology."
