Australia is ranked fourth in IDC’s Asia Pacific IoT Readiness index – behind South Korea, Singapore and New Zealand, but ahead of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam.

The index is based on 13 criteria that measure APAC countries’ readiness for sustained IoT adoption and accelerated development, the research firm said.

“Both Australia and New Zealand must be considered attractive investment targets by virtue of their level of overall infrastructure maturity, size of the digitally-aware skills base and the level of innovation expressed in those markets,” said Hugh Ujhazy, IDC’s associate vice president for IoT research in Asia Pacific.

However, New Zealand was singled out for its exceptionally high scores on measures such as ease of doing business and startup procedures, government effectiveness, regulatory quality and innovation, all of which “point to necessary components for a business environment that is ready for the growth of the IoT”.

Ujhazy said the rankings in the loT index would help IT vendors identify the opportunities as they develop their strategies at federal, local and enterprise levels.

“Countries at the top of the index are more likely to have adaptability for efficiencies that IoT solutions can create, be more conducive for business and product innovation, and more likely to have access to the technologies that align with IoT use cases,” he said.

IDC’s Asia Pacific IoT Readiness index is based on “13 criteria that IDC views as necessary for sustained development of the IoT and reflects each nation's economic stature, technological preparedness, and business readiness to benefit from the efficiencies linked to IoT solutions,” the research firm said.

It follows a similar assessment of Australia in November 2016, when IDC published an update of its G20 Internet of Things Development Opportunity Index Ranking, first published in 2013. In that assessment, Australia was in fourth place after the US, South Korea and the UK, and ahead of Japan in fifth place. (New Zealand is not a member of the G20).