IDC: Smart Cities Initiatives Forecast to Reach $80 Billion This Year

Worldwide spending on the technologies that enable Smart Cities initiatives is forecast to reach $80 billion in 2018, according to new research from International Data Corporation (IDC).

“Smart Cities have recently evolved from a collection of discrete flagship projects to a sizeable market opportunity that will drive significant technology investments in 2018 and beyond,” said Serena Da Rold, program manager in IDC’s Customer Insights & Analysis Group.

The strategic priorities that IDC believes will see the most spending in 2018 include intelligent transportation, data-driven public safety, and resilient energy and infrastructure. Intelligent traffic and transit and fixed visual surveillance are the two largest use cases in terms of worldwide spending, followed by smart outdoor lighting and environmental monitoring.

On a geographic basis, the United States will be the largest market for Smart City technologies with spending forecast to reach $22 billion in 2018. China will be a close second with 2018 spending expected to be nearly $21 billion. The two countries will share a similar growth trajectory with five-year compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 19.0% and 19.3%, respectively. The regions that will see the fastest spending growth are Latin America (28.7% CAGR) and Canada (22.5% CAGR).

IDC expects spending to accelerate over the 2016-2021 forecast period, growing to $135 billion in 2021.

Channel Impact^®
The research can be leveraged as an effective tool to help channel partners and vendors identify the best opportunities for each specific use case over the next several years.