Digital Lifescapes

The global IT server market is undergoing a transformation, fueled by the insatiable demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. As organizations across industries race to harness the power of advanced AI models, the underlying hardware ecosystem is experiencing unprecedented growth and innovation. The latest worldwide IDC market study offers a compelling view, revealing record-breaking numbers and the strategic technology shifts shaping the future of enterprise computing. Cloud Server Market Development The most striking statistic from IDC’s 2025 analysis is the sheer scale and velocity of market expansion. The worldwide server market is projected to reach $366 billion in 2025, representing a 44.6 percent increase over 2024. This surge is not a one-off anomaly; it is the culmination of several quarters of explosive growth, with the first quarter of 2025 alone recording $95.2 billion in server sales --that's up 134.1 percent year-over-year (YoY). Key...

There is a pivotal shift within the global smartphone market. Recent data from IDC highlights a more cautious outlook for 2025, with projected worldwide smartphone shipments seeing a significantly reduced growth rate. This revised forecast underscores the intricate interplay of global economic factors and geopolitical dynamics on pervasive personal communication devices. IDC's latest update projects a mere 0.6 percent growth in worldwide smartphone shipments for 2025, a stark reduction from the earlier 2.3 percent expectation. Global Smartphone Market Development This recalibration is largely attributed to prevailing economic uncertainties, including inflationary pressures and rising unemployment, alongside the persistent specter of tariff volatility. Despite these global tensions, it's interesting to note that the United States and China are still identified as the primary drivers of this modest growth. China, a critical market, is forecast to achieve a 3 percent year-over-yea...

The artificial intelligence (AI) server market stands at a crossroads, propelled by the dual engines of agentic AI and inferencing, even as it encounters the headwinds of global tariff pressures. As more organizations across industries race to harness AI's transformative power, the infrastructure underpinning these capabilities has become a focal point for investment, innovation, and strategic maneuvering. Recent findings from ABI Research underscore just how dynamic and lucrative this sector has become, forecasting robust growth and highlighting the technological and geopolitical forces at play. Agentic AI and Inferencing Market Development Agentic AI refers to AI systems capable of making independent decisions and taking actions to achieve specific goals, often with minimal human intervention. Inferencing is the process by which trained AI models generate predictions or decisions from new data inputs. Together, these advancements are driving a surge in demand for specialized serv...

Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) – comprising digital wallets, instant payments, and QR payment systems – are experiencing explosive growth that's reshaping the global financial services marketplace. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research , the combined global transaction value for APMs is projected to reach $142 trillion by 2030. What's particularly fascinating is the underlying driver behind this trend: a growing desire for financial sovereignty, with nations developing domestic payment ecosystems rather than remaining dependent on international financial networks. Payment Ecosystem Market Development In 2024, approximately 45 percent of the global population used digital wallets – a remarkable adoption rate for a technology that barely existed a decade ago. China leads this transition, with 95 percent of its population using WeChat's payment functionality. WeChat exemplifies the "super app" phenomenon, where payment capabilities are in...

The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming industries by enabling vast networks of devices to collect and share data. This data empowers businesses to optimize operations, gain deeper insights into customers, plus develop new products and services. However, a significant hurdle to IoT adoption lies in the limitations of terrestrial networks. Cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity often falter in remote locations, hindering the potential of IoT in these areas. This is where satellite IoT steps in, offering a compelling solution for connecting devices in geographically isolated or underserved regions. Satellite IoT Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, the Satellite IoT market is expected to reach a value of $4 billion by 2030. This forecast growth surge is driven by: Reduced Launch Costs: The space industry is witnessing a dramatic decrease in launch costs due to advancements in reusable rockets and launcher technologies. This makes it more cost-e...

The global telecommunications market is forecast to reach $900 billion in operator-billed revenue in 2024, according to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research. This represents a pivotal juncture for telecom operators as they navigate emerging technologies' challenges and opportunities.  While telecom operators have invested heavily in deploying 5G networks, the study highlights their struggle to effectively monetize widespread 5G adoption among wireless network service subscribers. A key issue has been the inability to command a significant price premium over 4G services, despite the superior performance and capabilities of 5G. This challenge underscores the need for operators to explore new revenue streams beyond traditional mobile services. Telecom Services Market Development As Juniper analysts indicate, a promising avenue for revenue growth lies in the enterprise Internet of Things (IoT) market. With the IoT connectivity revenue market forecasted to expand from $...

The growing need for real-time, localized artificial intelligence (AI) processing power drives demand for Generative AI (GenAI) solutions on public cloud edge computing platforms. Worldwide spending on edge computing is forecast to reach $232 billion in 2024 -- that's an increase of 15.4 percent over 2023, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Combined enterprise and service provider spending across hardware, software, professional services, and provisioned services for edge solutions will sustain strong growth through 2027 when spending is forecast to reach nearly $350 billion. Edge Computing Market Development IDC defines edge as the information and communications technology (ICT) related actions performed outside of the centralized data center, where edge computing is the intermediary between the connected endpoints and the core enterprise IT environment. Characteristically, edge computing is distributed, software-defined, and flexible. T...

The global 5G mobile communications sector continues the remarkable progress across many key markets. As of Q3 2023, the world added 537 million 5G wireless connections, bringing global totals to 1.6 billion, which represents an increase of 71 percent over the past year. This growth trajectory suggests an optimistic outlook for the future of 5G adoption according to 5G Americas, and the latest market data from Omdia research. "The global 5G landscape shows positive momentum as innovation and collaboration continue to be the mainstays for long-term progress," said Chris Pearson, president of 5G Americas . 5G Networks Market Development Looking ahead, Omdia forecasts that the global 5G connection base will likely reach 1.8 billion by the end of 2023 and 7.9 billion by 2028, as 5G-Advanced network improvements are implemented and work towards 6G is completed. While this represents a significant expansion, it is important to note that this growth may not be linear.  Factors such ...

Growing awareness of sustainability and the threat of a global temperature increase is motivating strategic shifts in government and commercial organizations. Leaders are adopting carbon management tools to address the anticipated 18 percent GDP loss from climate change by 2050. These carbon management tools are used to calculate, manage, monitor, and report emissions, and help measure operational results throughout the global supply chain. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, the carbon management software solutions market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 19.7 percent, reaching $5.5 billion by 2032. Carbon Management Apps Market Development Scope 3 emissions, which can be 5 to 25 times higher than Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, constitute up to 90 percent of the overall environmental impact, according to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). Accurate measurement of Scope 3 emissions is crucial for government and business leaders to enhance resilience and eff...

In an era defined by rapid technological advancements, the automobile sector has emerged as a vanguard of innovation, boldly steering into the digital technology era. And, this is just the beginning of an amazing digital transformation. Automobile manufacturers face the considerable challenge of transferring their legacy products to Electric Vehicles (EVs) while balancing the need to maintain revenue and profits to afford the switchover from internal combustion engines. Automobile Digitalization Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, automobile manufacturers will have invested $83.3 billion in digital technologies in 2023, growing by a CAGR of 8.5 percent to surpass $188 billion in 2033. "The transfer to EVs is driving demand for software, as manufacturers need to design new vehicles and simulate the vehicles' performance. The new production lines will also need to be simulated before launch," said Michael Larner, research direc...

Chatbots are now integrated within messaging software, mobile apps, websites and online services that use Digital Assistants as a form of communication. Chatbots can also be hosted on APIs in a variety of digital channels such as Over-the-Top messaging apps and telecom provider Rich Communications Services platforms. According to the latest worldwide market report by Juniper Research, global retail spend over chatbots is forecast to reach $12 billion in 2023 -- that's growing to $72 billion by 2028. AI Chatbot Market Development Increasing by 470 percent over 5 years, much of this growth will be driven by the emergence of cost-effective open language models, most notably ChatGPT, in regions such as North America and Europe. Open language models consist of large neural networks that are trained on substantial quantities of online information and learn through low levels of human supervision. According to the Juniper assessment, they are implemented into chatbots to automate function...

Supply chain resolved, or overcapacity, what's the issue? Global semiconductor revenue is projected to decline by 3.6 percent in 2023, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. In 2022, the market is on pace to grow 4 percent and total $618 billion. Moreover, global semiconductor revenue is forecast to total $596 billion in 2023 -- that's down from the previous forecast of $623 billion. "The short-term outlook for semiconductor revenue has worsened," said Richard Gordon, vice president at Gartner . "Rapid deterioration in the global economy and weakening consumer demand will negatively impact the semiconductor market in 2023." Semiconductor Technology Market Development Currently, the semiconductor market is polarized between consumer-driven markets and enterprise-driven markets. Weakness in the consumer-driven markets is being driven largely by the decline in disposable income caused by rising inflation and loan interest rates. Also, it...

The business case for an Application to Person (A2P) messaging market is starting to evolve, with enterprise use cases being developed based on the requirements of informed CIOs and CTOs across industry sectors. Notably, the commercial requirements of these organizations will emerge in response to marketplace demand and will vary depending on the application and associated use case. To date, traditional one-way notifications represent the common A2P messaging use case. Looking to the future, that could change as adoption increases exponentially. A2P Messaging Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the total value of the mobile business messaging market will increase from $48 billion in 2022 to $78 billion by 2027. Juniper analysts found that this 63 percent growth will be driven by enterprise adoption of Rich Communication Services (RCS), with more organizations harnessing the end-to-end encryption and verified sender identities RCS provi...

Nothing can stop the continued growth of global wireless communications. Despite a slight decline in the worldwide mobile subscriber base resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, mobile network operators across different markets continue to expand fifth-generation (5G) infrastructure deployments. By the end of 2020, 264 million subscriptions were achieved. According to the worldwide market study by ABI Research, the 5G market will continue to accelerate and reach 2.6 billion subscriptions -- that's a significant contribution to mobile network operator revenue of $942 billion in 2026. 5G Wireless Network Market Development Driven by the investment of local network operators, China is a leader of the 5G market, holding more than two-thirds of worldwide 5G subscriptions at present. The United States is second in 5G adoption with more than 50 million subscribers, followed by the leading markets in Japan and South Korea. "Operators' effort to expand 5G networks, combined with qui...

Business-to-Business (B2B) payments represent a significant upside growth opportunity for fintech vendors. While many businesses have been transferring funds to each other for a long time, the typical process remains difficult to navigate due to the many workflow challenges. B2B payments can take a variety of forms ranging from basic cash payments to sophisticated instruments like virtual cards, which solve the problems of B2B payments to varying degrees, but some core challenges remain. The ever-greater use of process automation is also a key trend within the B2B payments arena and represents a potential solution if the underlying payment systems can support the necessary elements. B2B Payments Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the transaction value of B2B domestic payments across payment methods will exceed $54 trillion in 2023 -- that's up from $49 trillion in 2021. The research findings predict a growth rate of 10 percent, re...

The global COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation across many industries. As an example, consider the healthcare sector. Some routine medical situations can be diagnosed and resolved online. While the trend was already in motion long before the pandemic arrived, the adoption of telehealth increased rapidly in 2020. Around the world, many governments responded to the disruption and inaccessibility of healthcare facilities by loosening previous regulations and restrictions on the practice of telemedicine apps, and teleconsultations. This decision resulted in the mass adoption of these medical services among patients and providers. According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, telemedicine will save the healthcare industry $21 billion in costs by 2025 -- that's rising from an estimated $11 billion in 2021. This increased app usage represents an anticipated growth rate of over 80 percent in the next four years. Telehealth Services Market Development The co...

In today's economy, broadband internet access is an essential enabler for users of online government services and active participants of commercial eCommerce applications. While people in most urban settings may have access to affordable offerings, that's typically not true for many rural residents. There's a significant need in most remote locations for high-speed internet connectivity. Demand for internet access via broadband services over both fixed and mobile networks has increased dramatically. Yet, despite telecom network expansions and upgrades, it's estimated that only half of the households worldwide currently have access to fixed broadband services. With the rollout of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations, satellite broadband services could improve broadband penetration. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, the satellite broadband market will reach 3.5 million subscribers in 2021 -- growing at a CAGR of 8 percent to reach 5.2 million users in ...

Where can you find the most value for your hard-earned money? Informed people everywhere seek the best consumer product purchase options via their mobile device and buy what they need with the expectation of reliable and fast delivery. This trend forces legacy retailers to shift their strategies and increase their digital presence and product availability. Moreover, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the omni-channel retail laggards. Most retailers feel under pressure to offer streamlined shopping experiences and support omni-channel payments. The line between physical and digital commerce is becoming increasingly blurred. These key trends are truly transformational. Omnichannel Mobile Payments Market Development It's now forecast that mCommerce payments will reach $3.1 trillion in 2025 -- that's up from $2.1 trillion in 2020, according to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research. The analyst found that the pandemic’s massive boost to digital wal...

Leading public cloud service providers continue to gain market share across the globe. The cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) market grew 37.3 percent in 2019 to reach $44.5 billion -- that's up from $32.4 billion in 2018, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Amazon (AWS) retained the number one position in the IaaS market in 2019, followed by Microsoft (Azure), Alibaba, Google and Tencent. The remaining cloud service providers are essentially niche players, by comparison. "Cloud underpins the push to digital business, which remains at the top of CIOs’ agendas," said Sid Nag, vice president at Gartner . “It enables technologies such as the edge, AI, machine learning and 5G, among others." Public Cloud IaaS Market Development Each emerging technology requires a scalable, elastic and high-capacity infrastructure platform like public cloud IaaS. In 2019, the top five IaaS providers accounted for 80 percent of the market -- that's ...

Fixed wireless broadband communication services based on Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology have been deployed globally, focused on areas with a poor wireline network infrastructure. Now, 5G wireless technology could open more opportunities for the fixed wireless broadband segment. As mobile network operators continue to deploy 5G network infrastructure, the commercial launch of 5G fixed wireless broadband services will accelerate in the next few years. This will ultimately drive the 5G fixed wireless Consumer Premise Equipment (CPE) market. ABI Research forecasts that shipments of 5G fixed wireless broadband CPE will reach more than 2 million units in 2020. 5G Broadband Market Development 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) delivers several benefits to both telecom network operators and consumers. The deployment of 5G fixed wireless broadband networks in place of last-mile fiber connectivity will save costs and time to install fiber-optic lines while providing Gigabit capacity b...