Digital Lifescapes

Organizations that were experimenting with Applied-AI in isolated pilot programs just two years ago are now embedding it into core workflows, customer-facing products, and business-critical infrastructure. But as technology matures, a troubling pattern is emerging: speed of deployment is consistently outpacing the security discipline required to protect it. A new Gartner market study exposes the risk that many technology leaders have instinctively sensed but struggled to quantify. GenAI Security Market Development By 2028, 25 percent of all enterprise generative AI (GenAI) applications will experience at least five minor security incidents per year, that's up from just 9 percent in 2025. That represents nearly a threefold increase in less than three years, and the trend does not stop there. Gartner further projects that by 2029, 15 percent of all enterprise GenAI apps will experience at least one major security incident per year, compared to only 3 percent in 2025. Meanwhile, the d...

Retailers are forging ahead in adopting artificial intelligence (AI) tools to master the increasingly complex world of supply chain management. According to the latest ABI Research market study, more than 90 percent of global retailers are deploying AI to bolster decision-making and optimize operations. This movement underscores a pivotal transformation: retail supply chains evolve from static cost centers into intelligent systems capable of real-time adaptation. Driven by pressures from fulfillment complexity, labor challenges, and rising customer expectations, AI now sits at the heart of next-generation retail strategy. Retail Supply Chain Market Development Traditionally, retailers have struggled to balance speed, cost efficiency, and customer satisfaction. Now, the combined forces of e-commerce growth and ongoing geopolitical disruptions have amplified this challenge. Warehouse congestion, longer lead times, and volatile demand forecasts have underscored the need for predictive and...

How we verify and protect our online identities is undergoing a notable transformation. Digital identity (ID) verification has emerged as a decisive technology, bridging the gap between security and user experience across multiple industry sectors. As cyber threats become more sophisticated and government regulations grow more complex, organizations are turning to solutions that can provide robust authentication while maintaining a frictionless user experience. Digital ID Verification Market Development The digital identity verification market is experiencing remarkable growth. Juniper Research forecasts a 74 percent increase in spending, from $15.2 billion in 2024 to $26.4 billion by 2029. This significant market expansion is driven by several key advances that are reshaping our thinking about online human identity authentication. Three technologies stand out as particularly promising in enhancing the digital ID verification experience. Facial recognition has evolved from a simple mat...

The global Information Security landscape is poised for significant growth, driven by escalating online cyber threats and the increasing complexity of digital business ecosystems.  According to the latest market study by Gartner, global spending on information security is expected to grow by 15.1 percent in 2025, reaching a total of $212 billion. This investment highlights the importance of cybersecurity and underscores the need for new measures to protect sensitive data and infrastructure from cyber threats. Information Security Market Development Several key trends illustrate the scale and scope of the spending: This growth reflects the increasing prioritization of cybersecurity across industries as organizations seek to safeguard their digital business assets and maintain trust with customers. Spending on Security Services is forecast to rise by 15.6 percent in 2025, reaching $86.07 billion globally. This growth is driven by the ongoing shortage of cybersecurity talent and the n...

Digital identity verification is a security method applied in the processing of digital transactions. Digital identity verification is used to enable the remote verification of an individual’s identity, ensuring that they are who they claim to be online. This is most often used for digital onboarding customers onto an online service, but can also be used to verify identity when authorizing Fintech money transfers, or for access management. With the growing threats and increasingly complex fraud methods used by malicious actors, it is vital that institutions that handle sensitive data use up-to-date methods to protect their end-users. Digital Identity Market Development Many digital identity verification vendors offer solutions that increase the accuracy, security, and user experience of the digital onboarding process, and of other digital identity verification use cases. It's important that due to the variety of digital business use cases, other secure forms of identity verificatio...

The quest for digital transformation is bringing both enormous opportunities and challenges for industrial organizations. As more processes embrace connectivity through initiatives like Industry 4.0, they are also being exposed to growing cybersecurity threats. This is prompting executives and industrial stakeholders across manufacturing, energy, mining, utilities, and other business sectors to re-evaluate how they secure critical infrastructure operations.  According to the latest worldwide study by Juniper Research, the market for industrial endpoint cybersecurity solutions is poised for massive growth in the coming years. Endpoint Cybersecurity Market Development Endpoint security refers to the processes used to monitor, manage and secure the various connected devices like PLCs, HMIs, engineering workstations, and more found within industrial facilities. Juniper analysts forecast that 210 million industrial endpoints will be utilizing endpoint cybersecurity services by 2028. Thi...

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...

Fact: online payments are a prime target of cyber-criminals. There are millions of potential loopholes to exploit as payment card details are stored while processing routine online eCommerce transactions. The Dark Web is where criminals interact without being traced. This is where fraudsters buy and sell payment card details and share information on how to steal funds, and the best tools to use. From market data, it's clear that online retail payments are convenient. However, they've also created a playground for people intent on defeating the structures on which online payments rely. Trust, it seems, is breaking down. Plus, the security threats continue to evolve and test anti-fraud measures. Online Payment Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the cumulative merchant losses to online payment fraud between 2023 and 2027 are forecast to exceed $343 billion. As a comparison, this equates to over 350 percent of Apple’s reported net...

Global cybersecurity spending within critical infrastructure sectors is forecast to reach $23 billion by the end of 2022, that's growing at a 10 percent CAGR to reach $36.67 billion in 2027 -- according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. "Businesses, industries, and in fact the entire world, have never been more connected than they are right now. They have also never been more at risk," said Michela Menting, research director at ABI Research . Organizations and key verticals continue to integrate technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G wireless networks, and blockchain-based distributed ledgers -- creating more points of connection, and more points of cyber-security vulnerability. Critical Infrastructure Security Market Development ABI Research has explored the cyber and digital security landscape in its entirety. Their analysis explores actionable cybersecurity trends and market growth forecasts from their ongoing research. According to t...

The electric distribution industry continues to invest in digital transformation projects. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) technology is becoming a driver for connected electricity meters, which will reach an installed base of 1.3 billion by 2027. AMI growth is prompting utilities and energy suppliers to revisit their IT infrastructure security and device management operations, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. Energy Infrastructure Security Market Development Digitization of traditional electricity grids and the modernization of the aging energy infrastructure is among the top concerns for utility operators and governments worldwide. Security for last-mile energy consumption applications was frequently overlooked. "However, the introduction of AMI, smart metering, and grid digitization is steadily increasing spending for secure management services, assisting implementers to transition to IT (information technologies) and OT (operational techno...

Savvy enterprise security and risk management leaders will continue to protect their organizations against new and emerging threats in 2022 and beyond, according to the latest global market study findings by Gartner. "Organizations worldwide are facing sophisticated ransomware, attacks on the digital supply chain and deeply embedded vulnerabilities," said Peter Firstbrook, vice president at Gartner . The pandemic accelerated remote work adoption, challenging the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) to secure the distributed workforce -- while dealing with a shortage of skilled IT security staff. These big challenges create three overarching trends impacting cybersecurity practices: new responses to sophisticated threats; the evolution and reframing of an IT security practice; and rethinking business technology protection. IT Security and Risk Apps Market Development According to the Gartner assessment, the following IT security and risk-related issues will have a signifi...

The healthcare sector has advanced technological innovation. But the fragmented way in which many hospitals acquire solutions can introduce cost, time, and resource inefficiencies that hinder care delivery and the ability to meet strategic objectives. Therefore, the last several years have seen healthcare providers around the world embrace the concept of the 'smart hospital' as a means of optimizing multiple aspects of their IT performance. However, hospital implementation of new technologies can present significant challenges for the adopting organizations in terms of cybersecurity, interoperability, and execution. Smart Hospital Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, smart hospitals will deploy 7.4 million connected Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices globally by 2026 -- that's estimated to be over 3,850 devices per smart hospital. This global figure represents total growth of 231 percent over 2021 when 3.2 million dev...

The adoption of fifth-generation (5G) wireless technology apps will create demand for new categories of software and related services. Topping that list of requirements is securing connections and devices from cyber threats. ABI Research forecasts that by 2026, Internet of Things (IoT) cellular wireless network connections will number more than 3 billion -- with 4G LTE and LPWA networks bearing most of these connections -- driving the $8 billion market for IoT security services. IT Security Services Market Development The opportunity to deliver secure IoT communications on these networks will be key to the successful deployment of connected things on a global scale, and for the eventual transition to 5G New Radio (NR). According to the ABI assessment, the security industry is amid significant new technology developments to provide secure cellular connectivity solutions to IoT stakeholders across the board. With the emergence of new cellular standards such as NB-IoT, LTE-M and 5G MMTC, ...

Corporate risk management leaders must face the trade-off between delivering timely guidance and conducting detailed risk audit assessments. Meanwhile, the ability to protect assets, reputation and sustainability is becoming more challenging amid rapid shifts in the global economic environment. Enterprise information technology (IT) security control failures were listed as the top emerging risk in the first quarter of 2021 during a poll of senior executives, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Despite a myriad of potential risks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic -- such as alternative work locations and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) concerns -- cybersecurity risk was consistent across all global regions and most industries, cited by 67 percent of survey respondents. Comprehensive IT Security Market Development The next highest cited risk, "the new working model" was cited by 43 percent of respondents. "Many organizations were forced...

Next-gen mobile technology is being deployed globally, and cloud-native apps on fifth-generation (5G) networks will drive advances within the IT security industry. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, 5G network security will be a $9 billion enterprise market opportunity in 2025. The deployment of cloud edge computing infrastructure and network-function virtualization (NFV), plus API-driven platforms, and the isolation capabilities of network slices provide significant growth opportunities for new offerings. Both security software and services will be in demand from large enterprises seeking to leverage Massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), and Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) technologies. 5G Network Security Market Development "Initial spending on security will be by Communication Service Providers (CSPs) as they focus on securing their own mobile infrastructure and network. As CSPs advance, there is an opportunity for them to rec...

The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) role has gained new importance, due to increased cyber threats. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on security-related IT investment in Europe, which will continue to grow rapidly in 2021. During the pandemic, organizations have been re-architecting their IT security perimeters to protect operations and critical data. The pandemic, and measures to curb it with remote working, have pushed the enterprise network outwards and heightened the risk for CISOs. According to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), overall investment in IT security within Europe is projected to exceed $35.6 billion during 2021 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8 percent between 2020 and 2024 -- now forecast to reach $46.4 billion in 2024. IT Security Market Development The banking sector traditionally has the highest spending on IT security due to the particularly sensitive customer data that i...

Enterprise IT Security investment in critical infrastructure has been consistent over the last 12 months, regardless of huge disruptions from the global Covid-19 pandemic. The resulting effect has been mostly in increased demand for secure 'remote working' connectivity. Cybersecurity spending announced by governments has not really changed significantly, with most maintaining similar funding planned in previous years, and an average year-on-year growth rate between 5 percent and 10 percent. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, cybersecurity spending for critical infrastructure (CI) will increase by $9 billion over the next year to reach $105.99 billion in 2021. IT Critical Infrastructure Market Development The primary challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic has been for CI operators to ensure that systems and services keep running smoothly, despite an increasingly distributed and remote enterprise workforce. As such, greater emphasis has been placed on ens...

Given the ongoing reports from the SolarWinds Orion breach, most senior executives agree that Information Technology (IT) security must be a priority that includes all enterprise leaders in the decision-making process of ensuring that all assets are fully protected. The big picture : new revelations suggest that the access gained into SolarWinds software was only one part of a broader Russian hacking campaign that impacted other providers. And the initial point of entry, or the ultimate goal, remains unknown. Furthermore, the primary target was stealing intellectual property (IP), instead of customer data. Why is this fact significant? Most public company cyber insurance policies do not cover losses from the theft of intellectual property assets. Therefore, these losses directly impact the firm's shareholders. Cybersecurity Solutions Market Development By 2025, 40 percent of boards of directors will have a dedicated cybersecurity committee overseen by a qualified board member -- t...

The concept of a 'digital identity' is now established as a high priority, in an online world that's plagued with cybercriminals and others that profit from fraudulent activities. That said, digital identity is less about presenting a digital persona, and more about sharing verified identifiable data. A digital version of ‘you’ does have a place in the commercial ecosystems being built today. With the versatility inherent in many modern digital identity systems, life events and portable identities take on new meaning. Besides, there's a significant market opportunity for telecom service providers. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, mobile network operator (MNO) revenue from digital identity will reach $8.1 billion in 2025 -- that's up from just $1.3 billion in 2020. Secure Digital Identity Market Development Juniper analysts found that, as the online identity space evolves, MNOs will play an increasingly important role in providing v...

Given the strategic significance of digital transformation, IT security leadership is a really important role. And yet, only 12 percent of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) excel in all four categories of the 'CISO Effectiveness Index', according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Gartner analysts presented their global survey findings and discussed the key traits of top-performing CISOs during their recent 'Security & Risk Management Summit'. "Today’s CISOs must demonstrate a higher level of effectiveness than ever before," said Sam Olyaei, research director at Gartner . "As the push to digital deepens, CISOs are responsible for supporting a rapidly evolving set of information risk decisions, while also facing greater oversight from regulators, executive teams and boards of directors." IT Security Market Development These significant enterprise challenges are further compounded by the pressure that the COVID-19 pandemic h...