Despite growing enthusiasm among IT pros, the UK still isn’t ready for smart spaces, with new research from TalkTalk Business revealing a gap between ambition and infrastructure.

Polling over 360 IT professionals across diverse industries, the study found that while 88% said smart spaces were on their organisation’s radar, only 34% felt their networks were fully equipped to support them.

Added to that, TalkTalk’s report, Smart Spaces, Stalled Ambitions, found that just 22% of UK businesses have fully rolled out IoT or smart systems across their sites, with nearly half saying that outdated infrastructure is holding them back.

Yet despite these barriers, 73% believe smart technologies will be essential for strengthening operational resilience over the next five years, while 45% of businesses say smart-space tech will soon be critical, illustrating a clear tension between long-term goals and current capability.

In the retail sector, for example, which has long been a hotbed of innovation, the report found that only 38% of businesses consider their networks ready to support smart spaces, despite many already integrating customer-detecting cameras and shelf-sensors, while others have fully automated stores.

As is the case across much of the tech industry, the skills shortage is stalling wider ambitions. The survey found that half (49%) of UK employers say they’re struggling to find the digital and tech talent they need, forcing them to put their plans on hold.

Beyond staffing issues, several other barriers are slowing smart space adoption. Budget constraints are the top concern for 77% of retail firms, while 69% of hospitality businesses cite a lack of infrastructure partners. Meanwhile, 67% of logistics firms point to limited internal expertise as a key obstacle.

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Despite those barriers, a number of businesses have already begun to future-proof with smart spaces in mind. The study found that nearly one in five (17%) of organisations were able to skip costly upgrades thanks to early adoption of SD-WAN, which had already prepared their networks for smart space deployment.  

“Whether it’s a hospital wing adjusting its airflow, a shop reacting to footfall, a town hall automating its lighting or a warehouse reconfiguring around stock levels, the smart space is no longer sci-fi – it’s already here. But it’s not yet here for everyone, everywhere,” says the report.

“Smart spaces won’t stay ‘smart’ for long. Like ‘smart’ phones before them, they’ll soon be the baseline. What we do now, the groundwork we lay, the decisions we make, will shape whether our estates are ready to meet that future, or fall behind it.”