Type of Article: MacTech Blog

Canalys (www.canalys.com) forecasts that standalone smart VR headset shipments will pass 1.5 million in 2018, and grow with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 140% to reach 9.7 million units in 2021.

The rate of adoption of smart speakers continues to defy expectations and there are clear signs that the market is starting to move from the early adopter phase to hitting the mass market, according to Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com). What’s more, the Chinese market for smart speakers will receive a kick-start in quarter fourth thanks to aggressive pricing and promotions around Chinese Singles’ Day of devices from Alibaba, Xiaomi and JD.com as well as the much anticipated launch of Baidu’s first Duer OS speaker, the research group adds.

Worldwide spending on digital transformation (DX) technologies (hardware, software, and services) is expected to be nearly $1.3 trillion in 2018, an increase of 16.8% over the $1.1 trillion spent in 2017, according to IDC (www.idc.com).

The research group forecasts DX spending to maintain a strong pace of growth over the 2016-2021 forecast period with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.9%. In 2021, DX spending will nearly double to more than $2.1 trillion.

The majority of DX spending in 2018 ($662 billion) will go toward technologies

The worldwide IT security market maintained momentum in quarter three (Q3) of 2017, growing 9% to reach $8 billion, according to the latest Canalys (www.canalys.com) estimates.

“High-profile ransomware attacks and increasingly sophisticated phishing techniques have proved the need for businesses to reinforce their IT security to safeguard data assets and ensure continuity of operation,” said Claudio Stahnke, an analyst at the research group.

2020 will be a pivotal year in AI-related employment dynamics, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com), as artificial intelligence (AI) will become a positive job motivator.

The research group says the number of jobs affected by AI will vary by industry; through 2019, healthcare, the public sector and education will see continuously growing job demand while manufacturing will be hit the hardest. Starting in 2020, AI-related job creation will cross into positive territory, reaching two million net-new jobs in 2025.