Billions in AI investment threatened by ‘fundamentally unreliable’ IoT connectivity, warns study

Eseye

IoT Hardware and Connectivity Specialists

LinkedIn

A third (34%) of businesses say poor IoT connectivity is a barrier to AI adoption, as new research shows just 2% of deployments are reliable enough for success.

Poor connectivity from Internet of Things (IoT) devices is hindering the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a third of businesses (34%), according to the new 2025 State of IoT report from global IoT firm Eseye. The research, which surveyed 1,200 senior IoT decision-makers, warns that these unreliable data streams are putting corporate AI strategies at risk, with findings showing only two per cent of firms achieve the high levels of connectivity required.

This performance gap exists despite the majority of business leaders stating that high connectivity performance is essential for device uptime. The research found that ‘74% agreed that achieving near 100% global connectivity is crucial to my business case.’

Now in its 5th year, the research commissioned by Eseye  warns that this unreliability has direct operational consequences. More than a third of businesses cited an ‘Inability to gather timely and accurate data due to device downtime, leading to poor business decisions’ (36%) and damage to their company’s reputation (36%) as key risks they face. A similar number pointed to a ‘Loss of operational efficiency and increased costs due to unreliable connections’ (35%).

Paul Marshall, Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer at Eseye, said: “We all hear about the incredible promise of AI to help us solve major global challenges, from creating smarter healthcare and more sustainable cities, to managing our energy and water resources. But what’s often missed is that these revolutionary AI models are completely dependent on a constant stream of real-world data from a vast network of IoT sensors.”

“Our research reveals a critical flaw in this foundation. We found that only 2% of these IoT deployments are achieving the near-100% connectivity they need. This means we may be building our transformative AI ambitions on a network that isn’t yet consistently dependable. This isn’t just a risk to business ROI, it’s a risk to the evolution of AI applications.” 

“In mission-critical IoT scenarios, failure isn’t just inconvenient – it’s life-threatening. Imagine a life-saving medical sensor detecting a dangerous drop in a patient’s oxygen levels. If that data point can’t be transmitted and then analysed by AI applications due to a failed connection, the alert never reaches clinicians in time. The result? A missed opportunity to intervene, and potentially a preventable fatality. To make the promise of AI a reality for everyone, we must first solve this foundational IoT connectivity challenge.”

The findings are based on the 2025 State of IoT report, which captured insights from 1,200 senior decision-makers in Enterprises across the UK and US with responsibility for IoT projects.

Research methodology

The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 1,200 senior decision makers and implementers of IoT strategy (who have undertaken at least 1 IoT project in the last 12 months), with IoT devices deployed across at least 3 countries and that connect through cellular networks. (Minimum of 50 respondents per market per sector in the following industry sectors: Supply chain / logistics, Healthcare / medical devices (telehealth), Manufacturing (consumer electronics etc), EV charging / Smart Grid, Smart Vending (not retail per se) and Agritech (i.e. companies leading with animal livestock technology, crop health and protection, agriculture manufacturers).

Company size must be 500+ employees. (600 respondents across the UK and 600 respondents across the USA).

The data was collected between 28.05.2025 – 03.06.2025.

Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.

Eseye

IoT Hardware and Connectivity Specialists

LinkedIn

Eseye brings decades of end-to-end expertise to integrate and optimise IoT connectivity delivering near 100% uptime. From idea to implementation and beyond, we deliver lasting value from IoT. Nobody does IoT better.