IDC: Worldwide ICT Spending to Exceed $5.6 Trillion in Three Years

Worldwide information and communications technology (ICT) spending is expected to exceed $5.6 trillion in 2021, driven partly by investments in new technology categories, according to the latest version of IDC’s Worldwide Black Book.

According to the Framingham, Massachusetts-based researcher, new technologies, including Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, robots and drones, augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) headsets, and 3D printers, will account for almost a quarter (23%) of total ICT spending. Meanwhile, cloud, mobile, big data & analytics, and social will jointly represent more than 70% of worldwide ICT spending.

China accounted for 28% of worldwide IoT spending in 2017, and 29% of total robotics investments, compared to just 12% of traditional ICT spending categories (hardware, software, services and telecom). Japan and some other Asia/Pacific countries are also early adopters of robotics and IoT. 3D printing has seen strong early adoption in China and Germany. Cognitive AI investments are dominated by U.S. businesses, which are also leading the way in AR/VR prototypes, according to the report. Emerging markets, such as India and Brazil, are major contributors to overall mobility spending, but are still playing catch up when it comes to cloud.

“The U.S. is once again at the forefront of much new software innovation, while countries like China and Germany are driving industry-focused categories,” said Stephen Minton, vice president, Customer Insights & Analysis at IDC. “Understanding these regional and country-level differences, including the drivers and inhibitors behind likely adoption curves for new technologies, will be key to ICT vendor strategy in the next 5-10 years.”

The latest version of IDC’s Worldwide Black Book includes forecasts for 33 countries segmented by 44 technologies and 11 platforms.

Channel Impact^®
Many channel partners are looking for information on how to place bets on emerging technologies while preserving the types of offerings that have brought them success to this point. While technology adoption is broadly positive across all countries, there are key geographic differences in terms of early adoption and short-term opportunities.