Digital Lifescapes

Why are savvy CIOs and CTOs so focused on Hybrid IT infrastructure solutions? More enterprises are moving to hybrid and multi-cloud environments. According to the latest worldwide market study by 451 Research, the cloud services market will reach $53.3 billion in 2021, that up from $28.1 billion this year. The latest global survey found that cloud service adoption is now mainstream, with 90 percent of organizations surveyed using some type of cloud service. Moreover, analysts expect 60 percent of workloads to be running in some form of hosted cloud service by 2019 -- that's up from 45 percent today. Cloud Services Market Development This represents an ongoing pivot from DIY owned and operated on-premises IT, to a combination that includes cloud or hosted third-party IT services. 451 Research finds that the future of IT is multi-cloud and hybrid with 69 percent of survey respondents planning to have some type of diverse environment by 2019. That being said, the growth in mul...

More CTOs are being tasked to assess the commercial applications of augmented and virtual reality technologies. These systems are increasingly being applied, due to their ability to provide immersive training environments, accurately simulate dangerous situations, and avoid costly travel and equipment-related expenses. In many cases, consumer electronics Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, controllers, and tracking systems can be used in commercial settings with few modifications. That being said, it's likely that ruggedized versions of these products will be introduced for these situations. Commercial VR Market Development According to the ABI assessment, industries with high-risk working environments -- such as energy, industrial and manufacturing or construction -- are currently the early adopters of enterprise VR training applications. Technician training in industries such as the energy sector can be perilous, mainly due to the nature of the job where technicians work on of...

Digital ticketing will continue to be a high growth market. A mobile ticketing user is someone who either purchases and/or stores a ticket using their mobile handset for later redemption. In contrast, an online ticketing user is likely someone who purchases a ticket online via an Internet connected device, thereby replacing the prior conventional ticket purchase process. There's been substantial new growth in mobile and online ticketing, partly as a result of growing user adoption and usage momentum. While in some markets ticketing is a new service offering and users have simply never had this functionality open to them previously, in other markets these services are mature and well established. Digital Ticketing Market Development Online ticketing now accounts for majority of ticketing transactions in many markets across the globe, including both developed and developing countries. That said, mobile ticketing is fast becoming a popular method for transit fare collection and ...

The global networked economy thrives on new ideas and innovation. Across the globe, more nations are making technology-centered strategies the focal point of their economic development. Amid ongoing digital transformation, the world is entering the era of the digital economy, a trend that is very evident in China. Against this backdrop, the definition of the Four New Concepts, namely "new era, new balance, new way of thinking, and new grand goals" was proposed at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in October 2017, outlining the direction for China's future economic development. Five key terms were also mentioned in the report: "Cultural Revitalization, Digital Transformation, Innovation-driven Development, Globalization, and People's Well-being," serving as guidelines to the development of China’s digital economy for the years to come. China's Digital Transformation Agenda IDC predicts that in the next 3 to 4 years, a...

Information technology (IT) investment within the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region is on track to further growth.  IT spending in EMEA is forecast to reach $1 trillion in 2018 -- that's an increase of 4.9 percent from 2017, according to the latest market study by by Gartner. In 2017, however, all categories of traditional IT spending in EMEA under-performed the global averages. According to the Gartner assessment, currency effects played a significant part in the weakness during 2017, and will also contribute to the forecast shortfall in 2018. EMEA IT Sector Market Development "The UK has EMEA’s largest IT market and its decline of 3.1 percent in 2017 impacts the forecast heavily," said John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner . "Weak Sterling and political uncertainty since Brexit are reducing UK IT spending in 2017, while other major IT markets in EMEA grew steadily." Another significant currency effect is the rapid appreciat...

The global retail sector has been greatly impacted by the shift to online eCommerce. That being said, remarkable in-store innovation continues to transform the retailer employee and customer experiences. Retailers are beginning to use wearable technology to improve processes and customer satisfaction. Retailer wearables provide in-store employees with access to information such as stock levels, as well as to facilitate communication with team members. This allows shopper requests to be resolved faster and ensures that the employee continues to interact with the customer, improving the overall shopping experience. Retail Wearables Market Development ABI Research forecasts enterprise retail wearable shipments will reach nearly 10 million in 2022, increasing from just 2 million in 2017 -- that's a CAGR of 38 percent. This makes retail one of the fastest growing enterprise wearable verticals, with numerous devices improving store operations. Devices such as smartwatches, smar...

The ongoing shift to cloud computing continues across the globe. The worldwide public cloud services market grew 28.6 percent year-over-year in the first half of 2017 (1H17) with revenues totaling $63.2 billion, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). "Public cloud adoption is accelerating in large part as enterprises recognize that the cloud has become the launchpad for virtually every new IT innovation in the last 24 months -- including AI, blockchain, quantum computing and more," said Frank Gens, senior vice president and chief analyst at IDC . Public Cloud Market Development While stronger than expected growth was seen across all regions, Asia-Pacific saw the highest regional growth at 38.9 percent and this market now represents 11.5 percent of all public cloud services revenues. Strong public cloud spending in China, which saw 55.6 percent year-over-year growth in the first half of 2017, is a key driver. Among the three prima...

Since the first online banner advert in 1993, advertising on digital platforms has seen significant developments. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, in 2013 digital advertising revenues overtook cable TV advertising within the U.S. market. The process by which advertisements reach their target audiences has advanced from being the advertiser and publisher, and now includes a plethora of ecosystem stakeholders in between. That said, it's not an easy task to fully understand the workings behind current digital advertising value networks. There's a significant degree of ongoing consolidation, as operations begin to become siloed. Digital Advertising Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, digital advertising spend will grow by an 18 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years -- rising from $184 billion in 2017 to $420 billion in 2022. This include advertising spend across mobile, desktop,...

Private cloud services are gaining new momentum, partly due to the demand for hybrid IT solutions on-premises. 451 Research predicts that IT vendors with OpenStack private cloud revenue will exceed revenue from service providers with OpenStack-based public cloud implementations in 2018. From a regional perspective, deployments in China and the Asia-Pacific region are now growing faster than in the rest of the world. While not the primary driver, a contributing factor is the Chinese government advocating for OpenStack deployments. Private Cloud Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by 451 Research, OpenStack revenue will exceed $6 billion by 2021, as it experiences a growth rate of 30 percent CAGR. Moreover, OpenStack is benefiting from the increase in hybrid cloud environments with 61 percent of the enterprises surveyed utilizing a hybrid IT approach. Certain industry verticals and regions that are less enthusiastic about exclusively using hyperscale...

Become the disruptor of your industry's status quo, or face the consequences. To succeed, CEOs need to know the answer to a key question in 2018 and beyond. Does our CIO and/or CTO have what it takes to contribute to a meaningful and substantive digital transformation agenda? As digitally-fueled disruptors reshape industries, the clear mandate for every enterprise is to re-imagine itself to compete in the increasingly digital economy that's platform-powered and ecosystem-enabled. To help CIOs and CTOs through this period of multiplied innovation, International Data Corporation (IDC) published its Worldwide CIO Agenda 2018 Predictions. Top 10 Strategic IT Planning Changes They outline IDC's vision for the ten most important shifts that will happen in IT organizations over the next 36 months, and will guide IT executives in the formation of their three-year strategic IT plan. According to the IDC assessment, lines are being drawn that separate industry laggards from...

Research in quantum computing is closely tied to the discipline of information theory, a mathematical concept concerned with communication, coding, and encryption. Various applications of quantum information theory were developed in the last 50 years. As a result, quantum computing has been high on the research agenda of governments and technology organizations worldwide. In a quantum computing model, the basic unit of information is called the quantum bit (qubit), which can be represented by photons. Using qubits and quantum gates, the development of a quantum circuit model of computation has been made possible, enabling the use of algorithms to theoretically solve highly complex mathematical problems in a much shorter time frame than is currently possible. Quantum Computing Market Development Most experts now agree that the creation of a quantum computer is simply a matter of engineering, and that the theoretical application will happen. Optimistic estimates for commercializ...

Worldwide spending on mobility solutions is forecast to reach $1.72 trillion in 2021, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Spending on mobility-related hardware, software, and services will see a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.7 percent. Global spending on mobility solutions will total $1.58 trillion in 2017 -- that's an increase of 4.3 percent over 2016. Mobility Market Development The United States will account for a quarter of all mobility spending throughout the forecast, making it the largest geographic market at nearly $392 billion in 2021. Mainland China will be the second largest country in terms of overall spending ($337 billion in 2021), followed by Japan, Brazil, and the UK. The countries that will see the fastest growth in mobility spending over the five-year forecast period will be Venezuela (8.2 percent CAGR), India (8 percent CAGR), Philippines (7 percent CAGR) and Peru (6.7 percent CAGR). In contras...

Digital health revolves around the integration of traditional healthcare systems and newer technologies to improve efficiency, value for money and ultimately patient outcomes. Electronic Health Records (EHR) have been a big part of this evolution, promising universal access to key elements of a patient's medical history. As many nations have now adopted EHRs, the debate has moved on to what can be done with this data. Interoperability and analytics have become important requirements of healthcare IT systems. Improving access to healthcare and the convenience of that access has become a key goal. As these new IT systems develop, disruptive technologies are now being utilized as part of the digital health landscape. Leading the charge for this disruption is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and chatbots. Digital Health Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research , the annual cost savings derived from the adoption of chatbots in healthcare ...

More CIOs are investing in business technology that improves their organization's resilience to cyber threats. Worldwide spending on IT security-related hardware, software, and services is forecast to reach $119.9 billion in 2021, according to the latest global market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). With nearly every industry investing in IT security solutions, enterprise spending will achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6 percent over the 2016-2021 forecast period. Worldwide spending on security products and services will total $83.5 billion in 2017, an increase of 10.3 percent over 2016. IT Security Market Development "Three overarching trends are driving security spending: a dynamic threat landscape, increasing regulatory pressures, and architectural changes spurred by digital transformation initiatives," said Sean Pike, vice president at IDC . "While IDC expects spending to continue growing, organizations are actively searching ...

Digital transformation has begun to impact the industrial sector where maintaining security is a high priority. According to the findings from a recent survey of U.S. based utility companies, 40 percent of respondents believe that data security is the leading barrier to the adoption of new digital technologies. However, it's clearly a barrier that can be overcome, with 64 percent of large utility organizations expressing a willingness to adopt innovative technologies -- such as Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and wearable solutions -- within the next twelve months. Utility Technology Market Development "Technological transformation on energy as in the deployment of smart meters, sensors, and other IoT devices embedded into energy infrastructure, presents potential security vulnerabilities such as cyberattacks and threats from hackers, which have the potential to cause catastrophic results," said Raquel Artes, industry analyst at ABI Research . ABI survey findi...

Savvy technology vendors know the trend, CIOs and CTOs are laser focused on digital transformation projects that will fuel enterprise growth, enabled by new online business models and other strategic imperatives. That said, IT infrastructure investment within many markets is still relatively flat. According to the latest regional market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), IT spending in Western Europe will total $453.8 billion in 2017 -- that's a 2.7 percent increase compared with 2016. IT spending in this market will continue to grow at about a 2 percent five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR). European IT Market Development Investments in new technologies -- such as augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR), artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive computing, robotics, 3D printing, and Internet of Things (IoT) -- will drive demand as companies strive to innovate, improve customer experience, and streamline business processes. During 2017, consumer,...

Personal computer (PC) manufacturers will find no relief from the latest overall industry assessment. Worldwide PC shipments totaled 67 million units in the third quarter of 2017 -- that's a 3.6 percent decline from the third quarter of 2016, according to the latest global market study by Gartner. Note, this is the twelfth consecutive quarter of declining PC shipments. Optimistic industry analysts continue to seek an upside for this historically weak technology market, but some of the largest regions still show no sign of a meaningful recovery. Personal Computer Market Development "While there were signs of stabilization in the PC industry in key regions, including EMEA, Japan and Latin America, the relatively stable results were offset by the U.S. market, which saw a 10 percent year-over-year decline in part because of a very weak back-to-school sales season," said Mika Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner . Business PC demand, led by Windows 10 upgrades, conti...

When implemented correctly, the potential benefits that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can bring to the digital advertising industry are significant. Enhancing a digital advertising platform's ability to efficiently target the correct audience, while detecting fraudulent publisher activities, would be a huge advantage. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the use of AI for advertising purposes overlaps with the development of other applications. For instance, as bots and digital assistants are mechanisms for human to machine communications, the opposite may also be true -- where the AI machine, aware of the user's interests, can be used as a tool for brand advertising. However, the applications of AI in advertising extends beyond this use case. AI for Advertising Market Development That said, what's primarily driving the demand for AI apps in advertising? The Juniper Research study found that advertisers will lose an estimated $19 billio...

The ongoing momentum for progressive digital transformation projects continue to fuel IT infrastructure investments across the globe. Open innovation, that will be enabled by emerging business technologies, is the commercial catalyst that can drive a strategic competitive advantage. Worldwide IT spending is projected to total $3.7 trillion in 2018 alone -- that's an increase of 4.3 percent from 2017 estimated spending of $3.5 trillion, according to the latest global market study by Gartner. Global IT Infrastructure Market Development Enterprise software and IT services continue to register strong growth, with communications services driving the majority of new spending. Software spending is projected to grow 8.5 percent during 2017, and it will grow another 9.4 percent in 2018 to total $387 billion. IT services spending is on pace to grow by 4 percent in 2017 to reach $931 billion, and that's an increase of 5.3 percent in 2018 to reach $980 billion. Moreover, the device...

As more CIOs and CTOs prepare for the data deluge that's driving demand for enterprise storage solutions, savvy IT infrastructure vendors are already offering next-generation systems that meet the evolving requirements of their customer's digital transformation projects. Software-defined storage (SDS) is one of several new technologies that are rapidly penetrating the IT infrastructure of enterprises and cloud service providers. SDS is gaining traction because it meets the demands of the next-generation data center much better than legacy storage infrastructure. As a result, International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts the worldwide SDS market will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.5 percent over the 2017-2021 forecast period, with revenues of nearly $16.2 billion in 2021. Enterprise Storage Market Development Enterprise storage spending has already begun to move away from hardware-defined, dual-controller array designs toward SDS and from traditional on-...