According to a current study by business consultant BearingPoint , companies in German-speaking countries are still reluctant to consistently implement the existing possibilities offered by predictive maintenance. Only 20% of those surveyed are utilizing modernized maintenance concepts to their full potential. This is puzzling, since 76% of survey participants already collect the necessary sensor data; still, 59% of the raw data generated is then processed by an analytic tool. In other words, the machines are already incorporated into many companies’ networks, where they gather data and send it to an evaluation system. However, the companies are not taking advantage of automated maintenance processes such as procuring replacement parts.

Though the companies do seem to recognize the versatile utility of smart maintenance concepts, especially as regards increased facility availability (80%), the majority (61%) is wary of the expenses and effort involved in implementation, which they consider to be very high. Yet these concerns are only partially justified: Providers of these solutions saw the writing on the wall long ago. For example, SAP and 18 of its strategic partners support companies with installing IoT services, while also offering its own software packages for implementing suitable predictive-maintenance services.