IDC predicted that worldwide mobility revenues will increase from $1.5 trillion (€1.3 trillion) in 2016 to more than $1.7 trillion in 2020, driven primarily by consumer and enterprise purchases of hardware such as smartphones and services including connectivity.
However, the research company said software revenues will experience double-digit growth over the forecast period as developers race to deliver applications that meet the mobility needs of both consumers and enterprises.
The strongest growth within the software category will come from investments in mobile application development platforms, mobile enterprise applications, and mobile enterprise security, IDC added.
Carrie MacGillivray, a VP at IDC, noted that those investment areas will generate a combined increase in software spending of 15 per cent by 2020.
"Despite the belief that the mobility market is maturing, there is still plenty of opportunity to drive enterprise spend especially at the software layer," she added.
While more than half of all mobility revenue is generated by consumer spending, a number of industries are making significant investments in mobility products and solutions.
The banking industry is leading the way at the worldwide level with mobility investments forecast to surpass $100 billion by 2020. Discrete manufacturing, professional services, and retail are the next largest industries in terms of mobility investments. The industry that will deliver the fastest revenue growth over the 2015-2020 forecast period is healthcare with a CAGR of 5.1 per cent, followed by telecommunications, professional services, and utilities.
From a regional perspective, Asia Pacific (excluding Japan), led by strong investments in China, will be the largest overall mobility market in terms of revenues, which are forecast to exceed $500 billion in 2020. The U.S. represents the second largest region, and the region with the strongest growth forecast (4.7 per cent CAGR). Latin American and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) will also see revenue growth greater than the overall market, IDC added.
For more:
- see the IDC report
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