'Internet of Things' Grows 19% in 2015; Not All Hype, Says PTC CEO
A host of major publicly traded companies aren't taking the growing Internet of Things market lightly.
"We have 28,000 customers and I haven't met one who isn't devising a strategy for the Internet of Things." said Jim Heppelmann, CEO of PTC (PTC) - Get Report , a Needham, Mass.-based software company that helps businesses utilize the Internet of Things, which refers to various products that link to the Internet.
Clients include General Electric (GE) - Get Report , Ford (F) - Get Report , Caterpillar (CAT) - Get Report , 3M (MMM) - Get Report and others.
"We have the who's-who list of major manufacturing companies globally," Heppelmann said. "It's anybody who creates and services products at scale."
The Internet of Things market is set to grow 19% in 2015, according to research firm IDC.
"There's hype [about the Internet of Things], but there's a lot of substance there," Heppelmann added. "If you look at what the Internet of Things means for these types of companies, it affects their competitive positioning in terms of the products they put on the market and on the other hand it affects their operations."
He said companies execute their business plans differently once they incorporate the Internet of Things.
Internet of Things services represented a small portion, roughly 7%, of PTC's overall revenue, per its fiscal third-quarter report. But through four acquisitions so far this year, PTC is hoping to bolster its exposure to the growing space.
Amid the buzz, Heppelmann said there are headwinds to watch out for.
The IoT "is a big strategic change and [companies] need to think through what benefits they hope to get," he said.
Second, Heppelmann said security, including worries about attacks from hackers, is a challenge for the industry.
"I liken it to computer security," he said. "We need to deal with it and the bad guys keep getting worse and we keep putting in place more safeguards, but I think this is a problem that if not solvable, at least can be mitigated."