IT Industry Poised for Modest Growth in 2016

Cloud confidence

IT Industry Poised for Modest Growth in 2016

The tech industry will see modest but steady growth this year, according to a combination of survey findings and “year ahead” forecasting from CompTIA.

Slight Uptick

Overall, global IT industry revenue will increase to $3.8 trillion in 2016 from $3.7 trillion last year.

Segment Breakdown

Hardware, software and services will account for 59% of the global IT market, while telecom will account for 41%.

Confidence Holding Steady

The CompTIA IT Industry Business Confidence Index is now 64 (on a 100-point scale), about the same as it was this time last year.

Business From Old and New Customers

57% of survey respondents are optimistic about their company’s potential to reach new customer segments, and 54% expect to see a pick-up in business from the existing customer base.

Some Expressions of Caution

55% express concerns about the possibilities of customers postponing IT purchases, and 40% voice pessimism about the potential for customers to opt for less expensive or smaller IT purchases from competitors.

Cloud/SaaS, Security to Overperform Expectations

44% expect cloud apps/software as a service to overperform market expectations this year, and 43% said the same about cyber-security.

Cloud/IaaS and Mobile Also to Exceed Expectations

38% predict that cloud infrastructure/Infrastructure as a service will over-perform market expectations in 2016, and 35% forecast the same for mobile devices.

2016 Trends: User Experience Tech Takes ‘Push’ and ‘Pull’ Directions

Intensifying efforts to improve the user experience, providers will implement “push” innovations to encourage certain user behaviors and “pull” initiatives to respond to user preferences.

2016 Trends: Organizations Will Develop More Tech Talent In-House

While solution providers and managed services companies will continue to play critical roles, businesses will seek further development of internal IT talent to address needs, such as software development, IT support, cyber-security and data analytics.

2016 Trends: Cloud Is the “New Electricity”

Remember when the cloud was considered an abstract concept? No longer. Now viewing the benefits as obvious, organizational leaders are adopting a “cloud-first” strategy for tech projects—a concept that will make the cloud an accepted norm, just like the Internet or electricity.

2016 Trends: Companies Will Take Offensive Approaches to Security

Information assurance will shift further away from passive/reactive prevention measures, moving toward penetration testing, external audits, end-user evaluations, security training and other proactive tactics.