SOASTA Survey: 73% of Americans Have Never Heard of Internet of Things
But a majority are excited by the possibilities of internet-enabled consumer technology, and a “Star Trek future”
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA. -June 17, 2014 – SOASTA, the leader in cloud and mobile testing, today announced the results of its first Internet of Things Survey, which shows that nearly three out of four (73 percent) Americans admit to being unfamiliar with the Internet of Things (IoT), technologies that connect “smart” devices and everyday electronic objects to themselves and the Internet to share information and drive new applications. However, when the technology is explained, an overwhelming majority – 67 percent – say they are excited about the possibilities of IoT coming to consumer technology.
As the industry leaders in cloud testing for websites and mobile apps, SOASTA commissioned the research to find out how much American consumers know about the Internet of Things. The survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of SOASTA from May 28-30, 2014 among 2,051 adults ages 18 and older.
Only six percent of Americans say they are very familiar with IoT. When provided with examples, though, consumers said that the most highly anticipated applications of internet-enabled consumer technology include:
· Cars – 39 percent
· Smart home appliances – 34 percent
· Heart monitors – 23 percent
· Pet monitors (e.g., GPS tracker) – 22 percent
· Fitness devices – 22 percent
· Child monitors – 20 percent
· Toys – 19 percent
· Drones – 18 percent
· Glasses – 15 percent
· Clothes – 15 percent
· Sports equipment – 9 percent
Nearly all Americans (77 percent) think that IoT can improve any activity. Almost half of Americans (47 percent) say IoT would help them stay healthy, and 46 percent say it would help them save energy, for example by reducing their carbon footprint. Other answers included:
· Working out – 31 percent
· Work – 29 percent
· School – 28 percent
· Updating friends and colleagues – 17 percent
· Babysitting – 16 percent
· Religious services – 8 percent
· Dating – 8 percent
When Americans were asked which SciFi story most accurately reflects the promise of the next wave of technology, including IoT and cloud computing, the respondents’ overwhelming favorite was Star Trek (12 percent), followed by The Jetsons (9 percent). Other top choices included:
· Minority Report – 5 percent
· 1984 – 5 percent
· Her – 5 percent
· Wall-E – 5 percent
· Total Recall – 4 percent
· X-Men – 3 percent
· The Terminator – 3 percent
· Star Wars – 3 percent
· Blade Runner – 1percent
· Battlestar Galactica – 1 percent
· 2001 – 1 percent
“As our research shows, most Americans may be unfamiliar with the term ‘Internet of Things’ but they’re excited by the promise of the technology,” said TomLounibos, CEO of SOASTA. “We’re already seeing that potential being realized by consumer technology companies with the advent of the smart home and the variety of connected fitness devices on the market today. We expect that IoT will accelerate the demand for innovation in the DevOps space. We’re already working with companies to test the strength of their IoT apps and sites to meet users’ high expectations.”
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of SOASTA from May 28-30, 2014 among 2,051 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated
