Type of Article: MacTech Blog

A report by Newzoo (www.newzoo.com) on the global games market shows that 2.2 billion gamers across the globe are expected to generate $108.9 billion in game revenues in 2017. This represents an increase of $7.8 billion, or 7.8% from the year before.

New data from International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts that total IT spending by small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) will approach $568 billion in 2017 and increase by more than $100 billion to exceed $676 billion in 2021.

With a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5%, spending by businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees on IT hardware, software, and services, including business services, is expected to be slightly stronger than the research group’s previous forecast.

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that operator revenues from international mobile roaming are expected to experience an 11% decline in 2017, as operators introduce “Roam Like at Home” packages in key markets including Europe, North America and Asia.

Worldwide spending on public cloud services and infrastructure is forecast to reach $266 billion in 2021, according to new data from IDC (www.idc.com). Although spending growth will slow somewhat over the 2016-2021 forecast period, the market is expected to achieve a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21%, notes the research group.

Businesses prefer storing data in the cloud but plan to invest in extra security precautions, according to the second report in Clutch’s “Annual Cloud Computing Survey.” Clutch (https://clutch.co) is a B2B ratings and reviews firm.

Nearly 70% of businesses on the cloud prefer storing data in the cloud instead of on a legacy system, and these businesses are willing to invest heavily in keeping their cloud’s data secure. In fact, over half of companies surveyed spend more than $100,000 annually on additional cloud security features.