The global information technology market has many different sectors; some have been around for decades, others are quite new.
The Smart Cities information and communications technology (ICT) sector, for example, was valued at more than $300 billion last year and is growing in double digits. The Internet of Things (IoT) technology platform sector reached nearly $700 million in 2016 and is expected to surpass $2 billion by 2021, a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 30%. Another active part of IT is the growth of data centers including WLAN.
Thanks to Gartner Worldwide and other research companies, the worldwide IT Spending Forecast, including IT services, data center systems, enterprise software, and telecom services, is regularly assessed on various time frames from quarters, to years, to decades, and in between. Gartner pegs global IT spending at close to $3.5 trillion in 2017.
One good source of Global Information Technology Trends are annual reports from the World Economic Forum (WEF). According to the WEF, in the Global Information Technology Report 2016, “Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Israel, Singapore, the Netherlands, and the United States are having the largest impact on information and communications technologies (ICT) through their investment activities.”
According to a Computer Weekly report and video:
“Enterprise IT security is a perpetual challenge for IT leaders. Companies are operating in a relentless and dynamic technology environment that puts all their digital assets at risk. Everyone is affected — businesses, nation states, as well as individuals’ privacy. Globally, cybercrime networks are worth $100bn — that’s twice as much as companies spend on protecting their information assets. With that in mind, what are the most important challenges for IT leaders to mitigate this threat?”
The following video from WEF identifies the most digital savvy countries in the world in 2016.
