Digital Lifescapes

The ongoing adoption of flexible working models within the enterprise market has significant implications for typical IT organizations that must now support knowledge workers and front-line employees that operate outside the corporate network perimeter. The global COVID-19 pandemic created IT networking and security challenges. The expansion of the distributed workforce, an increasing reliance on cloud computing infrastructure, and the requirement to securely connect online employees -- wherever they choose to work, at any given moment in time. Legacy IT solutions that have rigid network underlays and a requirement for on-premises infrastructure cannot adequately deal with these trends. This 'Anywhere, Anytime Workplace' led to demand for new Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions, with networking and security delivered as-a-service. Anywhere, Anytime Workplace Market Development   Although converging networking and security capabilities offer enterprises a promising solut...

Cloud computing solutions continue to move closer to the edge of networks across the globe, where compute and storage are located near the source of the data. Worldwide spending on edge computing is forecast at $176 billion in 2022 -- that's an increase of 14.8 percent over 2021. Enterprise and service provider spending on hardware, software, and services for edge solutions is forecast to sustain this pace of growth through 2025 when spending will reach nearly $274 billion, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). IDC defines edge as the technology-related actions that are performed outside of the centralized data center, where edge computing is the intermediary between the connected endpoints and the core IT environment. Characteristically, the edge is distributed, software-defined, and flexible. Edge Computing Market Development "Edge computing continues to gain momentum as digital-first organizations seek to innovate outside of...

Enterprise network management complexity grows as more devices require connectivity from more locations. Case in point, the remote working phenomena has driven demand for software-defined solutions to reduce networking costs, improve scalability, and enable the integration of security. Although the emergence of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) -- which integrates SD-WAN with edge security -- has caused some vendors to rethink their solutions, market opportunity remains across the software-defined networking sector for innovative vendors to explore vertical industry demand. Established networking vendors already lead the SD-WAN market. Next, the cloud-native innovators will drive growth by also offering solutions that shift end-user computing and integrated security to the cloud, enabling CIOs and CTOs to develop versatile enterprise networking strategies. SD-WAN Market Development Cloud-based solution providers will become increasingly important, given the benefits that shifting netwo...

Leaders of Customer Care and Support teams have discovered that the legacy approach of designing and building call centers with rows upon rows of agents in tiny cubicles is obsolete. Staff turnover is typically very high in these environments. Now, there's a better approach on the horizon, as a result of experience gained from the COVID-19 pandemic era. Contact center as a service (CCaaS) will likely reach full mainstream adoption in less than two years, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Some customer service and support early adopters of CCaaS have overcome the initial hurdles and are beginning to experience the benefits. "CCaaS is a growth market," said Drew Kraus, vice president at Gartner . "The technology offers greater software agility with a lower cost of ownership, making it a key area of investment in innovation and customer service applications that surpasses the offers of legacy premises-based or server technology." Contact Ce...

Many organizations across the globe have considered ways to optimize and contain their information technology (IT) investments, due to the current economic environment. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has actually proven to be an accelerator of cloud services adoption, driving the quest for greater results from digital business transformation projects. Total worldwide spending on cloud computing -- the hardware and software components underpinning cloud services, and the professional and managed services opportunities around cloud -- will surpass $1 trillion in 2024 while sustaining a double-digit compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.7 percent, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Whole Cloud Computing Market Development "Cloud in all its permutations – hardware/software/services/ 'everything-as-a-service', as well as public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, multi-cloud and edge computing – will play ever greater, and even domi...

Most enterprise CIOs and other information technology (IT) executives have the support of their organization's forward-looking board of directors. However, given the current global economy, IT cost optimization is a hot topic at executive briefings about the CFO's budget allocations. Worldwide IT spending is forecast to total $3.8 trillion in 2021 -- that's an increase of 4 percent over 2020. Meanwhile, IT spending during 2020 is now expected to total $3.6 trillion -- that's down 5.4 percent from 2019 levels, according to the latest market study by Gartner. "In the 25 years that Gartner has been forecasting IT spending, never has there been a market with this much volatility," said John-David Lovelock, vice president at Gartner . "While there have been unique stressors imposed on all industries as the ongoing pandemic unfolds, the enterprises that were already more digital going into the crisis are doing better and will continue to thrive going into 2021....

It's inevitable, the Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) and Chief Information Officer (CIO) must now work together more closely to deliver the progressive employment policies, flexible business processes, and adaptable IT platforms that enable the work-from-anywhere economy. The American mobile worker population will grow over the next four years, increasing from 78.5 million in 2020 to 93.5 million mobile workers in 2024, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). By the end of the forecast period, IDC expects mobile workers will account for nearly 60 percent of the total U.S. workforce. "COVID-19's disruption of the U.S. labor force has had a dramatic impact on how large businesses operate and will continue to shape how and where people work in the months to come," said Bryan Bassett, senior research analyst at IDC . Mobile Worker Market Development The ability to quickly mobilize different segments of a company's workforce wi...

While many organizations are concerned about cash flow and other financial metrics, given the current economic environment, the most forward-looking leaders plan further investments in strategic Digital Transformation projects.  Sixty-nine percent of enterprise boards of directors (BoDs) accelerated their digital business initiatives in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic disruption, according to the latest market study by Gartner. Almost half anticipate changing their organizations’ traditional business model as a result of the pandemic. The '2021 Gartner Board of Directors Survey' was aimed to understand how boards of directors view digital business model evolution in their enterprises, along with the role of the CIO and other executive leaders, specifically in the context of responding to the current economic crisis. Digital Business Market Development "BoDs play a strong role in helping the executive leadership team focus beyond the short-term risks associated with this...

Enterprise IT security leaders need to protect endpoint devices from cyber attacks. Moreover, they want to offer effective and secure remote access for employees who are now working from home. Besides, this demand will continue to grow as more organizations embrace flexible working models.  According to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner, two trends will have a transformational impact on global businesses within the next 10 years. Bring Your Own PC (BYOPC) security will reach mainstream adoption in the next two to five years, while it will take five to 10 years for mainstream adoption of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE). "Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was little interest in BYOPC," said Rob Smith, senior research director at Gartner . "At the start of the pandemic, organizations simply had no other alternative." Endpoint Security App Market Development The urgent need to enable employees to work from home and a lack of available hardware b...

As the impact of the global pandemic disrupted enterprise operations, more CIOs and CTOs determined that their highest priority was maintaining existing IT services. For many, that meant scaling-up public cloud services and enhancing the management of on-premises IT resources. The worldwide public cloud services market is forecast to grow 6.3 percent in 2020 to reach a total spend of $257.9 billion -- that's up from $242.7 billion in 2019, according to the latest global market study by Gartner. Also, infrastructure that supports remote working, such as SD-WAN and virtual workspace solutions, has gained new momentum as more organizations deploy the capabilities that enable their employees to connect to enterprise IT systems from their home-based office. Public Cloud Services Market Development Desktop as a service (DaaS) is expected to have the most significant growth in 2020, increasing 95.4 percent to $1.2 billion. DaaS offers an inexpensive option for enterprises that are...