Digital Lifescapes

As an independent management consultant, I've had a front-row seat observing how emerging technologies are transforming industries across the globe. One trend that can no longer be ignored is the rise of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). According to the latest ABI Research forecast, the global AR and VR markets are poised for explosive growth over the next six years, projected to increase 60 percent and 44 percent respectively from 2024 to 2030. AR and VR Apps Market Development The implications of this forecast are significant. We are on the cusp of a new era where immersive digital experiences will revolutionize how we work, learn, receive healthcare, manufacture products, and entertain ourselves online.  A potent fusion of AR/VR hardware and software innovations -- combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities -- is supercharging these emerging technology applications. "Together with continual improvements in hardware, allowing for more user-friend...

The integration of emerging technologies into the hospitality industry is driving new growth opportunities and changing the way guests experience properties. Smart home technology is beginning to transform the global hospitality sector. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, the smart home and connected equipment market across smart hospitality and coworking spaces will see connected shipments rise from 6.8 million devices in 2023 to 19.7 million in 2027 -- that's a CAGR of 23.5 percent. "Service flexibility, cost savings, and meeting changing customer expectations is driving investment in connected technology," said Jonathan Collins, research director at ABI Research . Some dedicated offerings address just one segment of the market. But now, new offerings are increasingly being adopted that address the broader smart homes and smart building markets.  Smart Building Market Development Smart technology is revolutionizing the way hotels operate and ...

While the consumer metaverse growth potential has attracted much of the media attention, it's the commercial apps growth trajectory that has gained the focus of savvy IT vendors. The enterprise metaverse opportunity  -- including immersive collaboration, digital twin, and simulation software and services revenue -- will approach $60 billion in revenue by 2030. Additional revenue from the augmented and virtual reality market would add billions in new growth for software and services. Enterprise Metaverse Market Development "The metaverse, being a long-term vision, means the buildup to this future is just as intriguing as the final product, and in this regard, it is the enterprise markets that are leading ahead of the consumer segment," said Michael Inouye, principal analyst at ABI Research . For example, efforts on the standardization front are being driven through the enterprise space. The Digital Twin Consortium directly targets industrial, while the Metaverse Standards ...

Let's get real, and update this market outlook. What's the overall size of the Augmented and Mixed Reality market, for both devices and the value chain? We have the answer. With investment and interest growing exponentially, the augmented reality market is set to grow at a significant rate over the next five years. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, nearly 40 million Augmented Reality (AR) smart glasses will ship in 2027, with the total augmented and mixed reality market surpassing $220 billion in the same year. According to the ABI assessment, much of this growth will stem from the consumer AR market on the back of new hardware and content, but the enterprise AR space will also continue to show strong growth. Augmented Reality Market Development "It is impossible to miss news surrounding the augmented reality market today, both from the fascinating metaverse side and the more grounded and short-term augmented reality opportunities and investme...

Forward-looking leaders across the globe continue to apply digital transformation strategies for competitive advantage. The latest release of a regional IDC market study reveals that the recent acceleration in digital investments sets Asia-Pacific ahead of the rest of the world. Investments in new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, Internet of Things (IoT),  Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and blockchain are expected to contribute close to 40 percent of total ICT investments by the end of the forecast period from around 30 percent in 2020. Digital Transformation Market Development Compared to other regions in the world, this Asia-Pacific upside opportunity is the highest and represents close to 18 percent growth in dollar terms during the IDC forecast period of 2020-2025. "The pandemic induced digital-first shift in the region led to increased investments in new technologies and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future," says Vi...

The COVID-19 pandemic created many challenges within the enterprise, but it also generated technology application innovation. Augmented Reality (AR) has helped to fuel remote worker enablement, including high-value use cases such as remote assistance, training, and workflow instruction. Combine this with an increasingly viable consumer AR market over the next few years, the market growth potential is significant. ABI Research estimates that the worldwide augmented reality market will surpass $140 billion in total market value by 2025. "While enterprise usage has dominated the augmented reality conversation over the past few years, the tides are shifting. All of the tech companies that can shift markets on a global scale are directly involved in AR already, and many are planning more dedicated AR hardware efforts over the next two to three years," said Eric Abbruzzese, research director for ABI Research . Augmented Reality Market Development According to the ABI assessment, th...

According to the latest worldwide market study by IDC, spending on augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) is forecast to be $3.7 billion in 2019 -- that's an increase of 34 percent from the previous year. Asia-Pacific spending on AR/VR products and services will continue this strong growth throughout the forecast period (2018-23), with a five-year compound annual growth rate of 62 percent. This growth is primarily driven by commercial industries which are going to be more than $11 billion larger than the consumer segment by the end of the forecast (2018-23). Despite this, the consumer segment (which is currently at $1.7 billion in 2019) continues to be larger than any other industry segment over the forecasted period. AR and VR Use Case Market Development The high growth in the commercial segment is primarily due to the AR/VR capability to solve complex business problems and streamline operations. The two industries that are seeing the most activities or implementati...

Across the globe, CIOs and CTOs are evaluating the adoption of intelligent automation and other technologies that will be applied within a factory environment. New applications, such as Digital Twin, will transform the manufacturing process by creating a replica of the physical production plant. Technology investments in the industrial and manufacturing sector are set to grow significantly, going from $59 billion in 2019 to $375 billion in 2030. Including hardware revenues, that figure will climb to over $1 trillion, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. Manufacturing is in the midst of a major digital revolution and is investing in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), robotics (AGVS, AMRs) and cloud-based simulation and modeling. Digital Factory Market Development "The transformative shift toward Industry 4.0 technologies and the broader field of software-defined manufacturin...

Many CIOs and CTOs are pursuing a competitive advantage that's enabled by emerging technologies. As an example, early-adopters in the automobile industry are exploring use cases with Augmented Reality (AR), because it offers benefits to the whole value chain -- from product design through production and sales. As a result, smart glasses shipment for global automotive industry use will reach 1.7 million units in 2022. The total automotive AR market is expected to grow at CAGR of 177 percent during the forecast period and reach $5.5 billion in 2022, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. Augmented Reality Apps Market Development "Augmented Reality benefits automotive manufacturers at many stages of a product cycle, including design, prototyping, manufacturing, and marketing," said Marina Lu, senior analyst at ABI Research . In design, digital 3D visualization and analysis of body structure and components can save time and resources. Collabor...

Worldwide revenues for the augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) market are forecast to increase by more than 100 percent over each of the next four years, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Total spending on augmented and virtual reality products and services is expected to soar from $11.4 billion in 2017 to nearly $215 billion 2021, achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 113.2 percent along the way. AR and VR Market Development The United States will be the region with the largest AR/VR spending total in 2017 ($3.2 billion), followed by Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan)(APeJ) ($3.0 billion) and Western Europe ($2.0 billion). But then APeJ jumps ahead of the U.S. in total spending for two years before its growth rate starts to slow in 2019. The U.S. then pushes back into the top position in 2020 driven by accelerating growth in the latter years of the forecast. Meanwhile, Western Europe is expected to overtake APeJ f...

Emerging technologies, such as IoT, Robotics, and Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality (AR/VR), will drive the next wave of growth in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, increasing the overall opportunity to $5.5 trillion by 2020, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The IDC forecast illustrates that the ICT sector is dependent upon new technology innovation for growth, as traditional business technology revenue streams begin to decline in the face of cannibalization, substitution, and the shift to cloud-based computing solutions. Global ICT Market Development New technologies, which IDC calls "Innovation Accelerators," will provide almost $7.4 trillion in aggregate industry revenue from 2015-2020 -- adding $1.8 trillion to the overall size of the industry in terms of annual sales by the end of the forecast period. A large proportion of this growth will come from the fast-growing IoT market, which is f...

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) continue to gain momentum in the emerging technology marketplace. Dedicated AR and VR headsets are now expected to grow from just under 10 million units in 2016 to about 100 million units in 2021 -- that's a 5-year CAGR of 57.7 percent. VR headsets have led the device shipment volume to date, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation, (IDC). Within that category, screen-less viewers (VR headsets powered by a smartphone), which are the least expensive available form factor, have been leading the charge. AR and VR Market Development The second half of 2016 saw an increase in volume from three market leading VR device products - the Sony PlayStation VR, the HTC Vive, and Facebook's Oculus Rift. The next few months will further advance the VR market as PC vendors introduce tethered headsets and high-end standalone VR headsets also enter the market. With lower hardware requirements on the ...

Worldwide shipments of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) headsets grew to 2.3 million units in 1Q17, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). With more products scheduled to ship in the second half of 2017, IDC is forecasting triple-digit growth for the full year. VR represented more than 98 percent of headsets shipped during the first quarter. Within VR, about two-thirds of all headset shipments were screen-less viewers -- such as Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream View. Tethered VR headsets, such as the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Sony PSVR, accounted for one third of the market. AR and VR Market Development "The VR market is still very young and consumers seem to be taking a cautious approach," said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst at IDC . "With plenty of headset options already in the market and even more coming soon, hardware isn't the issue." According to the IDC assessment, the bigger chall...

In 2017, we'll discover more about Mixed Reality solutions that combine the best attributes of visual enhancement technologies and associated wearable devices. The rapidly growing AR/VR space continues to be an area for R&D within a number of related tech fields -- including spatial mapping, machine vision, holographics, video distribution and optics. ABI Research has identified several companies that will lead the ongoing shipment of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) head-worn devices, which are forecast to reach 37 million units by 2018, at an 83 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Manufacturers in adjacent markets, particularly within the Machine Vision segment, will have the most substantial impact. New companies entering this space will drive overall market development, and help to position Mixed Reality (MR) as a key use case for AR enterprise implementations. Machine Vision Market Development "Machine vision is the driver behind advance...

The savvy CEOs anticipate that trends in 2017 are likely to follow the path of disruptive events in 2016. Change is the norm. Digital technology will continue to have a dramatic impact on legacy players in the marketplace. Technology, Media and Telecommunication (TMT) sectors completed 3,021 deals worth $698.2 billion in 2016, representing a decrease of 4.5 percent in value and 5.7 percent in deal count compared to a record 2015, while deal count remained consistent, according to the latest market study by Mergermarket . The TMT sector accounted for 21.4 percent of global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity -- that's up from 18.5 percent in 2015, and its second highest share on Mergermarket record (since 2001) after 2013 (22.4 percent). TMT Sector Market Development Deal activity accelerated towards the end of 2016, with deals announced in the final quarter of the year (683 deals, $295 billion) marking the highest Q4 value on record. U.S. M&A activity rampe...

The augmented reality (AR) market in industrial industries, specifically the logistics and manufacturing sectors, will reach an inflection point in 2017 and grow by more than 400 percent over the previous year, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. This momentum will continue into 2018 with shipments expected to jump from 440,000 in 2017 to more than three million. Given the current growth trajectory, industrial AR shipments are now forecast to reach 16 million by 2021. This adoption will occur as large multi-national companies -- such as Boeing, DHL, GE, and Shell -- complete trials of the technology alongside the support of device manufacturers and platform vendors. Augmented Reality Market Development "Many companies see the potential value of AR within the space, and while a level of misunderstanding surrounding the technology and its capabilities can cause challenges, trials will allow workers to test and understand the benefits of the techno...

The occupational use of new video technologies is about to transform the way that many people perform their daily work. As an example, augmented reality is the blending of virtual reality and real life. Software developers can create video images within applications that enhance our experience in the real world. Worldwide revenues for the augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) market will grow from $5.2 billion in 2016 to more than $162 billion in 2020, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 181.3 percent over the 2015-2020 forecast period. New Applications Drive Market Development Sales of AR/VR hardware will generate more than 50 percent of worldwide revenues throughout the forecast period. AR/VR software revenues will grow more than 200 percent year over year in 2016. However, services revenues will overtake software in the middle years of the forecast, as logistics and manufa...

If you really want an immersive experience, there's nothing better than a 360-degree three-dimensional visual representation of an environment. Innovative forms of visual experiences are going to transform the world as we know it. Can you image that? Soon, you will see. As a variety of new augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) devices reach the market, ABI Research predicts that business leaders should be prepared for a plethora of new enterprise applications for enhanced video -- as the focus shifts to the corporate and gaming verticals. AR usage in enterprise environments is on the rise, with smart glasses for gaming forecast to grow by 82 percent through 2021 -- VR will see similar crossover into enterprise, with an 88 percent CAGR through the same forecast period. AR/VR Applications Market Development "The promising use cases for AR in enterprise remain the primary drivers for the technology; though, it is worth noting that the consumer AR market opportun...

Car manufacturers are both excited and cautious about how new technology is reshaping their industry. As an example, innovative automotive applications for Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) will redefine the vehicle driving and ownership experience, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. AR Heads-Up Displays (HUDs) will enable advanced autonomous vehicle operation by painting 3D navigation instructions onto road geometry, highlighting moving obstacles like crossing pedestrians, and enhancing driver awareness of autonomous operation. By 2025, ABI Research analysts predict that more than 15 million AR HUDs will ship -- with more than 11 million to be embedded solutions. However, there are numerous issues that must be resolved, in order for mainstream market development to blossom. Automotive Use Cases for AR/VR Technology "Automotive OEMs need to address technological challenges before AR HUDs hit the mainstream market," says Domin...

Augmented Reality (AR) is defined as a technology that identifies and tracks data from the physical world, in combination with data drawn from digital sources, to present the user with a view of the physical world overlaid with relevant computer-generated information. Or, put another way, AR applications tend to be limited by the developers own imagination. Creative designers will find new ways to apply this unique capability. According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, augmented reality technology used in the enterprise and industrial markets will drive annual software application revenues of $2.4 billion in 2019, that's up from $247 million in 2014. This translates to a tenfold increase over the forecast period. Juniper notes that enterprise interest in AR has reached new heights, due to improvements in software, wearable technology and the promise of significant efficiency gains. However, the varied individual needs of enterprises dictate that AR app costs wi...