Digital Lifescapes

For the past decade, navigating uncertainty has been a defining characteristic of the Global Networked Economy. From economic downturns to tech-driven disruptions, leaders have had to adapt in the face of constant change. According to Gartner's latest worldwide market study, there's a significant shift in C-suite priorities. Survey results reveal a focus on digital business growth, with CEOs identifying it as the top priority. About 73 percent of CEOs ranked growth as their primary objective, a 17 percent increase compared to 2023. This sentiment is underscored by the finding that 60 percent of CEOs plan to increase hiring in 2024. Digital Business Market Development "Along with the increased focus on growth, the survey showed a relatively weak position for cost management, suggesting that most CEOs and senior business executives believe the most challenging economic times are past," said David Furlonger, VP Analyst at Gartner . Several key factors are contributing to...

CEOs continue to invest in digital business technologies to stay ahead of their competition, enter additional markets, unlock new revenue streams, and streamline commercial operations. Worldwide information technology (IT) spending is forecast to reach $5 trillion in 2024 -- that's an increase of 6.8 percent from 2023, according to the latest global market study by Gartner. This estimate is down from the previous quarter’s forecast of 8 percent growth. While Generative AI (GenAI) had significant hype in 2023, it may not significantly change the growth of IT spending. Enterprise IT Market Development "While GenAI will change everything, it won’t impact IT spending significantly, similar to IoT, blockchain and other big trends we have experienced," said John-David Lovelock, vice president analyst at Gartner . Moreover, 2024 will be the year when organizations actually invest in planning for how to use GenAI. However, enterprise IT spending may be driven by more traditional...

As a savvy CEO, you may believe that your organization is an IT innovator. But are you ready to become a Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) pioneer in your industry? If not, why are you hesitant? International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that by 2028, GenAI-based tools will be capable of writing 70 percent of enterprise software tests -- decreasing the need for manual testing, and resulting in improvements to test coverage, software usability, and code quality. According to the IDC assessment, 48 percent of enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region consider code review and testing as one of the important tasks that AI could most effectively help developers streamline. GenAI Tools Market Development IDC research shows that the top areas of emphasis for utilizing AI/ML with testing include prioritizing tests, discovering the underlying cause of failed tests, creating test cases, plus self-healing and testing procedures. GenAI for test automation is becoming more popular amongst ...

Digital Transformation has been the focal point for savvy enterprise C-suites and IT organizations hoping to gain competitive advantages by modernizing their core business processes with technology. The goal was to become a Digital Business where value creation is based on new processes, products, services, and customer experiences. Now, the Digital Business era is everywhere.  Companies are seeking new digital revenue streams while transforming operations to reduce costs and increase efficiency. For the CEOs at forward-looking organizations, 2024 will be pivotal. Digital Business Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by IDC, spending on digital business technologies is growing while traditional investment is stagnating or even declining. Demand for digital experiences from customers, employees, partners, and suppliers is pervasive. "Digital transformation was only the first step -- to truly gain value from change, companies need to move to an innovativ...

In hindsight, the outcome of short-sighted CEO Return to Office (RTO) mandates was somewhat predictable. Less than one-third of employees now report they are engaged, enthusiastic, and energized by their work, according to the latest market study by Gartner. This research was showcased during their recent "ReimagineHR Conference" event. Gartner defines engagement in three ways: Employees feeling energized. Employees find purpose in their work. Employees feel empowered to do valuable work. The problem: many are not engaged. Employee Engagement Crisis Explained "Despite organizations making investments in engaging their employees, our research shows that almost 70 percent don’t feel as engaged as they should be and aren't feeling a meaningful connection to their job," said Keyia Burton, senior principal analyst at Gartner . Figuring out how to actually impact employee engagement is a huge priority because it has a significant impact on several key business outcome...

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in a new frontier of innovation, with Generative AI (GenAI) at the forefront. At the brink of this revolution, it's crucial to understand the current GenAI adoption and its implications for commerce worldwide. A recent poll conducted by Gartner provides valuable insights into this emerging trend and the potential upside opportunities. Generative AI Market Development The poll, which included 1,419 executive leaders, indicates a significant shift in the corporate world's perception and adoption of GenAI. The data reveals that 45 percent of respondents are currently piloting GenAI, while another 10 percent have put it into production. This is a substantial increase from a similar poll conducted in March and April 2023, where only 15 percent were piloting and 4 percent were in production. GenAI is no longer a mere buzzword; it has become a strategic focus for organizations worldwide. As Frances Karamouzis, VP Analyst at Gartne...

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) and/or the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) will guide Generative AI initiatives within the large enterprise C-Suite. They may already have the technical expertise and experience to understand the capabilities and limitations of Gen AI. They also have the authority and budget to make the necessary investments in infrastructure and talent to support Gen AI initiatives. Enterprise AI infrastructure is proven to be expensive to build, operate and maintain. That's why public cloud service provider solutions are often used for new AI use cases. AI Semiconductor Market Development Semiconductors designed to execute Artificial Intelligence (AI) workloads will represent a $53.4 billion revenue opportunity for the global semiconductor industry in 2023, an increase of 20.9 percent from 2022, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. "The developments in generative AI and the increasing use of a wide range AI-based applications in data c...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool to drive digital business growth, make better decisions, and personalize offerings to customers. As a result, forward-thinking CEOs are now actively pursuing AI investments to gain a competitive advantage. Generative AI apps originated with tools such as ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, Generative AI is forecast to add more than $450 billion to the enterprise market across twelve different vertical industries over the next seven years. Gen AI already has hundreds of compelling use cases across these enterprise verticals. But accuracy, performance, and enterprise readiness will mean that use cases will come in three distinct waves. Generative Artificial Intelligence Market Development "Content-heavy verticals like marketing and education are already seeing disruption across a range of job roles in the first wave of adoption," said Reece Hayden, senior analyst at ABI Res...

Enterprise IT is no longer a cost center. It is a strategic enabler of business growth. More senior executives are realigning their IT budgets to focus on growth initiatives. By reinvesting IT budget savings, they can ensure that their organizations are well-positioned to succeed in the future. Growth remains the top strategic business priority for both CFOs and CEOs, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Forty-five percent of CEOs surveyed ranked growth in their top 3 strategic priorities, down from 53 percent in 2022, while 62 percent of CFOs put it in their top 3 -- that's up from 59 percent in 2022. Enterprise Digital Technology Market Development   While CFOs and CEOs agree on growth as their top priority, their emphasis on this and other priorities differ, according to the Gartner survey of CEOs, CFOs, and other senior executive business leaders. For example, the CFOs’ second top priority is corporate action such as M&A and restructuring (41 percent),...

Forward-thinking CEOs create a digital business transformation agenda. They're eager to develop and deploy new digital business models. However, their IT team often lacks the skills and experience to reach key business outcome objectives. There's growing demand for skilled digital talent in 2023, and beyond. As a result, 81 percent of large enterprise (LE) CIOs plan to increase their IT headcount in 2023, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Meanwhile, only 14 percent expect their IT staff to decrease and 5 percent expect their headcount to remain the same. Enterprise IT Talent Market Development "Attracting and retaining technology talent remain critical areas of concern for CIOs," said Jose Ramirez, senior principal analyst at  Gartner . Even with advances in artificial intelligence (AI), Gartner predicts that the global job impact will be neutral in the next several years due to enterprise adoption lags, implementation times and learning curve...

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector is somewhat resilient to the current volatility in the Global Networked Economy. Forward-thinking CEOs will continue to invest in their high-priority strategic initiatives. For example, here is a case in point on the European continent. ICT spending in Europe will reach $1.2 trillion in 2023 and will surpass $1.4 trillion by 2026, posting a 5.4 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). European ICT Market Development Overall European ICT spending is forecast to grow by 4.2 percent year-on-year in 2023, driven by the Scandinavian countries and the United Kingdom. On the other hand, sanctions imposed by the EU and the growing number of companies leaving Russia will result in the Russian ICT market shrinking by 9.4 percent year-on-year. "While organizations in most countries are anticipating a recession this year, the outlook for European ICT spen...

Across the globe, many forward-thinking CEOs and CFOs continue to fund business technology investments that enable meaningful and substantive digital transformations, ahead of their industry peer group. That's why CIOs and other IT leaders must now accelerate the quest for value creation and drive digital growth from those ongoing investments, according to the latest market study by Gartner. "The pressure on CIOs to deliver digital dividends is higher than ever," said Daniel Sanchez-Reina, VP Analyst at Gartner . "CEOs and boards anticipated that investments in digital assets, channels, and digital business capabilities would accelerate growth beyond what was previously possible." Digital Business Market Development   CIOs expect IT budgets to increase 5.1 percent on average in 2023 -- that's lower than the projected 6.5 percent global economy inflation rate. A Gartner survey analysis revealed several ways in which CIOs can deliver "digital dividends...

Business model evolution and growth are still top priorities for forward-thinking leadership. In fact, 70 percent of surveyed boards of directors will accelerate digital business initiatives, steering the organization to digitally-enabled growth. Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) also plan to protect their digital transformation investments as they cut costs elsewhere in their operations, according to the latest market study by Gartner. Among technology priorities, CFOs have particularly prioritized back-office business automation technology as a key to driving down costs in the face of ongoing inflation and supply chain challenges. Digital Applications Market Development A survey of CFOs found that digital business app acceleration was the top spending priority over the next 12 months, with 98 percent of respondents saying they will protect digital investments. Meanwhile, 66 percent of surveyed CFOs said they plan to increase their digital app investments. A separate survey of CEOs high...

Some leaders reject the notion that "wait and see" is the best response to disruptive change. Savvy senior executives are already driving digital business transformation throughout their organization in an effort to gain a bold strategic advantage. According to the latest market study by International Data Corp (IDC), Digital-First CEOs plan to drive at least half of their income from digital business products, services, and experiences by 2027 -- that's ahead of the market average of 39 percent. Driven by their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, these business leaders have changed how they think about the relationship between business and technology, and how they approach the next digital transformation era -- from scaling digital technology to guiding a viable digital business. Digital Business Market Development IDC defines digital business as value creation based on technology, which entails: 1) Automated customer-facing processes and internal operations; 2) Provision...

The global cloud computing market is driven by the belief that provisioning IT infrastructure is without differentiation. Cost reduction is often the key motivation. Moreover, in order to shift their human resources toward the enablement of digital business outcomes, IT leaders are reskilling their legacy IT staff. The total worldwide public cloud services market grew 29 percent year-over-year in 2021 with revenues totaling $408.6 billion, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Market consolidation continued in 2021 with the revenue of the top five public cloud service providers capturing nearly 40 percent of the worldwide total and growing 36.6 percent year-over-year. Public Cloud Computing Market Development With offerings in all four deployment categories, Microsoft captured the top position in the overall public cloud services market with 14.4 percent share in 2021, followed closely by Amazon Web Services with 13.7 percent share. "Organiz...

The forward-looking CEO's commitment to ongoing investment in Information Technology (IT) is persistent. Worldwide IT spending is forecast to total $4.4 trillion in 2022 -- that's an increase of 4 percent from 2021, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner, Inc.   "This year is proving to be one of the noisiest years on record for CIOs," said John-David Lovelock, vice president at Gartner . Regardless, digital transformation remains a high priority across the globe. Geopolitical disruption, inflation, currency fluctuations, and supply chain challenges are among the many market volatility factors vying for attention, yet contrary to what Gartner saw at the start of 2020, enterprise CIOs are accelerating IT investments in 2022. Digital Transformation Market Development As a result, purchasing and investing preferences will be focused on areas including data analytics, cloud computing, seamless customer experiences, and IT security. Inflation impacts on ...

CEOs who have continued their quest for a "return to normal" environment during the COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges for human resource (HR) leaders who had to develop new policies. Senior executives that resisted the need to change perpetuated a culture of ongoing denial. Now, organizations must focus on equipping people managers, who are the stewards of sustainable performance, with the right skillsets to ensure they and their teams succeed in their preferred "hybrid working" environment, according to the latest research by Gartner. To achieve these desired outcomes, Gartner recommends that organizations pursue new tactics to ensure managers are prepared to lead people in this new setting -- hoping that a hybrid work model is eventually manageable and successful. However, many troubling questions still remain. Why not simply accept the 'remote working' phenomenon, and learn how to evolve away from a 'command and control' mindset tha...

Chief executives are eager to accelerate a digital business growth agenda. Focused on business model reinvention, the remediation of technical debt, sustainable IT infrastructure and more, International Data Corporation (IDC) unveiled their Worldwide CIO Agenda 2022 Predictions. The key IDC predictions will likely impact CIOs and IT professionals over the next one-to-five years. IDC analysts believe IT leaders have opportunities that will not present themselves again in their lifetimes. Chief Information Officer Agenda Predictions With forward-looking insights, IDC provides senior IT leaders and Line-of-Business (LoB) executives with actionable guidance for managing IT investment priorities and implementation strategies as they continue to navigate the winds of change. The top ten IDC predictions are: 1: Through 2026, 65 percent of CIOs will sustain a cycle of tech-based empowerment, agility, and resilience through collaborative governance, new service delivery models, and a business o...

Today, it's challenging to be in an organization led by a CEO with a custodian mindset. They may reflect back on their legacy of serving longtime customers, even when they're losing customers at an alarming rate. Meanwhile, carefully chosen loyal lieutenants defend their static corporate culture and smile reassuringly. However, there are agile large multinational companies with leaders that reject the status quo. These are the leading organizations that will pursue digital growth in 2021 and beyond. They willingly embrace change.  More savvy CEOs anticipate an economic boom (60 percent) in 2021 and 2022, according to the latest worldwide survey of CEOs and senior executives by Gartner. Digital Business Market Development "CEOs’ top priorities for 2021 show confidence," said Mark Raskino, vice president at Gartner . Over half report 'growth' as their primary focus and see opportunity on the other side of the crisis, followed by 'technology change' and ...

Enterprise CEOs are looking to their most senior technology leaders to deliver competitive digital business transformation projects that enable new revenue growth. Furthermore, they crave business technology champions that are skilled in motivating and developing IT talent for their top priorities. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to transform how CIOs manage, collaborate, and respond to their key stakeholders. Seventy percent of hiring processes for new CIOs rank individual determination and sensitivity as critical characteristics in 2021, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Digital Business Talent Development "CEOs are looking for executives who are capable of weathering crises," said Daniel Sanchez-Reina, senior research director at Gartner . "They are still unsettled about the future and want determined CIOs who make and implement timely decisions while displaying emotional dexterity to be tactful and supportive." Gartner says determination...