Digital Lifescapes

Data has become the lifeblood of forward-thinking organizations. Market leaders leverage vast troves of data to inform decision-making, personalize customer experiences, and optimize operations. However, extracting value from this digital data requires analytics capabilities. Here's where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a powerful tool to unlock actionable insights. AI Data Analytics Market Development According to the latest Gartner market study, there's a significant shift in how organizations approach data and analytics (D&A) due to AI's growing influence on business outcomes. The study found that 61 percent of organizations actively evolve their D&A operating models in response to AI capabilities. This underscores a critical realization: the traditional approaches to data management and analysis are no longer sufficient. The integration of AI into D&A offers several compelling advantages: Enhanced Data Exploration: AI tools can automatically analyze...

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...

More CIOs and CTOs are exploring ways to accelerate the development of new software apps that enable the kind of digital transformation benefits that all senior executives crave. One emerging solution is to empower business leaders with tools to create new apps themselves. The global market for low-code, no-code, and intelligent developer technologies (LCNCIDT) continues to grow at a rapid pace, with revenue projected to reach $21 billion by 2026, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Intelligent Developer Technology Market Development "The market for LCNCDIT technologies is being driven by the global shortage of full-time developers," said Michele Rosen, research manager at IDC . "This situation is expected to continue throughout this decade, creating a strong market for technologies that increase developer productivity or expand the potential pool of developers." The LCNCIDT market includes low-code, no-code, and i...

Worldwide revenue for enterprise software applications will grow from $279.6 billion in 2022 to reach $385.2 billion in 2026 with a five-year CAGR of 8 percent, according to the latest global market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Nearly all the upside growth will come from investments in public cloud software applications, which are expected to represent nearly two-thirds of all enterprise applications revenue in 2026. While the process of migrating from legacy on-premises apps to cloud services can take years, senior executives will drive a transition to the public cloud as an essential part of their digital transformation. Application Software Market Development Companies that don't pursue this approach may sustain losses due to their competitors adopting cloud services, and their use of application programming interfaces (APIs) to gain momentum. "It's no longer enough for businesses to sit back and rely on their technological debt of software and hardwar...

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...

More organizations across the globe are investing in business technology that streamlines enterprise workflow. The quest for business process automation is gaining new momentum, due in part to the increased demand for digital transformation. Global robotic process automation (RPA) software end-user spending is projected to reach $2.9 billion in 2022 -- that's an increase of 19.5 percent from 2021, according to the latest market study by Gartner. "By achieving a growth rate of 31 percent in 2021, the RPA market grew well above the average worldwide software market growth rate of 16 percent,” said Cathy Tornbohm, VP analyst at Gartner .  Robotic Process Automation Market Development Organizations are leveraging RPA to accelerate business process automation initiatives and digital transformation plans, with the anticipated intent to improve their operational efficiency. Although growing at a slower pace than in previous years, the worldwide RPA software market is projected to con...

Government leaders must grasp new opportunities resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic and economic recovery, changing political demands, and digital transformation expectations. Thinking ahead, CIOs should design new flexible business, operating, and talent retention models. Meanwhile, worldwide government IT spending is now forecast to total $565.7 billion in 2022 -- that's an increase of 5 percent from 2021, according to the latest survey and global market study by Gartner. "The last few years of enduring pandemic challenges have mobilized a wave of digital transformation activities in government organizations across the world," said Daniel Snyder, director analyst at Gartner . Government IT Services Market Development Gartner analysts believe that governments are executing innovative activities by harnessing business technology to streamline digital services, advance automation processes, and evolve citizen services. In 2022, government IT spending is forecast to...

Secure online access plays a key role in the exchange of data and information. That resource is more valuable to executives due to the insight it can provide in improving operational efficiencies. Protection of this resource must meet IT security requirements for approved user authentication. Identity and Access Management (IAM) is the security discipline that enables the right individuals to access the right resources at the right times for the right reasons. These resources could be tools required to complete a job, access an enterprise database, or IT services and software apps hosted in the cloud. Enterprise IT's essential role in the management of user authentication requires ensuring each person is who they claim to be while also enabling ease of access for those users. An effective access management solution will fulfill the security policies outlined by the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).  Identity and Access Management Market Development According to the latest ...

The global enterprise wireless networking market is evolving. Driven by a desire to take advantage of the available 6 GHz communications spectrum, with greatly improved broadband throughput and latency rates, more organizations may choose to adopt Wi-Fi 6E technologies. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, shipments of Wi-Fi 6E access points and routers will rise from 1.5 million units in 2022 to 5.2 million units by 2024. Wireless spectrum expansion is just one facet of the commercial wireless network market transition, as the technology of Wi-Fi customer premise equipment will be upgraded once again with Wi-Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11be standard) devices. Enterprise Wireless Network Market Development "The adoption of Wi-Fi 7 access points will accelerate following the protocols standardization in 2024, and just two years later, most 6 GHz enabled access point shipments will be supporting Wi-Fi 7," said Andrew Spivey, industry analyst at ABI Research . Anot...

Public cloud computing solutions are moving closer to the edge of networks where CIOs and CTOs are hosting new apps. The edge journey is well underway for forward-looking organizations as they seek to connect with customers, improve operational efficiency, and adopt digital business technologies to drive innovation. The latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC) found that three-quarters of organizations plan to increase their edge computing spending over the next two years with an average increase of 37 percent. A combination of factors is driving this increased spending at the edge. Cloud Edge Computing Market Development The performance requirements of expanding workloads and new use cases that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) demand greater compute capacity at the edge. In addition, the amount of data being stored in edge locations are rapidly expanding, and organizations plan to keep this data longer. As a result, the numbe...

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...

Much has been written about the ongoing rise of public cloud computing across the globe, as more senior business leaders choose to deemphasize investment in on-premises IT infrastructure within traditional data centers. How did this happen, and what did enterprise CIOs and CTOs learn from this transition? Well, this transition was inevitable. Legacy IT organizations could have focused more on the Line of Business leader's desired business outcomes that investment makes possible, rather than the technical features and functions of IT solutions. Of course, the same could be said for legacy IT vendors. Some learned, the hard way, that terms like "Shadow IT" and "Rogue Users" were the wrong way to refer to and respond to the initial adoption of unsanctioned Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings. They also learned that upskilling IT staff to speak the language of business is now mandatory.  So, here we are at this point in time. What happens next is predictable (e.g...

The large enterprise quest to shift more IT workloads to hyperscale cloud service providers was pursued with the expectation of streamlining business processes for new digital transformation projects. While there are benefits to adopting public cloud services, there remain inherent IT management complexities. The global public cloud services market includes a broad mix of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), System Infrastructure Software as a Service (SISaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS), which grew by 24.1 percent year-over-year in 2020 with revenues totaling $312 billion, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Spending continued to consolidate in 2020 with the combined revenue of the top 5 public cloud service providers capturing ~38 percent of the worldwide total, and it's growing 32 percent year-over-year. Due to an expanding portfolio of SaaS and SISaaS offerings, Microsoft now shares the top p...

The global market for intelligent business technology solutions continues to evolve, as more CIOs and CTOs seek ways to automate routine tasks and associated business processes. The solutions have gained momentum in the marketplace as offerings matured and became mainstream across many industries. Worldwide revenues for the artificial intelligence (AI) market -- including software, hardware, and services -- are forecast to grow 16.4 percent year-over-year in 2021 to $327.5 billion, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Artificial Intelligence Solutions Market Development By 2024, the market is expected to break the $500 billion mark with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.5 percent and total global revenues reaching $554.3 billion. Among the three technology categories, software represented 88 percent of the total AI market revenues in 2020. However, it is the slowest growing category with a five-year CAGR of 17.3 perc...

Across the globe, CEOs have learned that achieving digital growth requires an ongoing investment in their digital business transformation projects. Furthermore, legacy assumptions about the ways that enterprises should address business disruptions are no longer valid. Industry analysts believe superior 'change management' is about being resilient to market disruptions. International Data Corporation (IDC) has launched the Digital Resiliency Investment Index, which provides a view of the progress organizations are making in their investments towards digital resiliency. The initial Index results show that overall investments in resiliency have increased steadily throughout the year as businesses prioritize or accelerate the adoption of cloud computing, collaboration platforms, and other digital transformation projects. Digital Growth Resilience Market Development Modern IT infrastructure and network security have also been a major investment area, driven by the shift to more remo...

As more CEOs of forward-looking organizations accelerate their digital business growth agenda, the adoption of cloud computing continues to gain momentum as savvy CIOs and CTOs seek the most effective ways to support the demand for just-in-time IT computing and storage resources.  Vendor revenue from sales of IT infrastructure products for cloud environments -- including public and private cloud -- increased 34.4 percent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2020 (2Q20). Meanwhile, investments in traditional, non-cloud, IT infrastructure declined by 8.7 percent year-over-year in 2Q20, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation ( IDC ). These growth rates show the market response to major adjustments in business, educational, and societal activities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the role IT infrastructure plays in these ongoing adjustments. Cloud IT Infrastructure Market Development Across the globe, there were massive shifts reported to...

Forward-thinking CIOs and CTOs in the financial services sector have evolved. The increased competition from digital-only challenger banks has redefined customer expectations. While some traditional banks have been disrupted by the rise of fintech, others have advanced and prospered. Tech-savvy bankers chose to adapt and transform the way they operate, in order to lower their operating costs and compete more effectively. The adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning has been essential to their digital transformation, plus the use of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) platforms. While many of these workflow optimizations are in the back-office processes, most also have a positive customer experience impact. Chatbots are being used to offer a better online user experience. Several banks also offer AI-based insights within their mobile banking apps, or AI-assisted investing via Robo-Advisors. Fintech AI Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by...

If you want to thrive and prosper, then encouraging 'remote work' must be part of your organization's digital transformation agenda and knowledge worker culture. Each individual 'branch of one' person must be supported at the edge of an organization's secure network infrastructure. Edge Computing refers to the facilities and services between centralized enterprise data centers and intelligent endpoints -- either a branch location or more recently an employee home office. Moreover, an endpoint can be a mobile device, such as a smartphone or media tablet. It could also be a sensor. Proliferating devices benefit from a digitally transformed IT world through cloud edge capabilities. Regardless of how that edge is being defined, the compute, storage and networking cornerstones gird data creation, analysis, and management outside of the centralized core. Edge Computing Market Development A future scenario is unfolding where extraordinary value and opportunity for esse...

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...

The forward-thinking CIOs and CTOs have already acknowledged that Line of Business (LoB) leaders will continue to be the primary decision-makers of new or emerging business technology selection and adoption. That said, those who refuse to let go of the obsolete notion that 'Shadow IT' is a threat to their organization are likely to fail. There is no place for myopic thinking in a progressive enterprise's digital transformation agenda. Digital Talent Leadership Market Development For the past four years, the strongest demand for digital talent with artificial intelligence (AI) skills has not come from the traditional information technology (IT) department, but rather, from other business units in the organization, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Gartner data shows that although the IT department’s need for AI talent has tripled between 2015 and 2019, the number of AI jobs posted by IT is still less than half of that stemming from other busi...