Worldwide ICT spending 2017-2021, by category

In 2021, global information and communication technology (ICT) spending is forecast to reach approximately 5.3 trillion U.S. dollars. In 2020, spending remained relatively flat as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

New technologies emerge as the largest spending category

Notably, new technologies are projected to eclipse the one trillion U.S. dollar mark in 2021. These include artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), but also robotics. Together, they are forecast to take a larger share of the market in the future. Specifically, new technologies are forecast to represent over 25 percent of ICT spending within the next five to ten years. Cost savings enabled through automation and cloud make it possible to direct more spending towards new technologies.

How do new technologies drive economic progress?

The overall impact of next-generation technologies on the global economy is expected to be positive as they can fuel trade growth while reducing transaction costs. For example, AI can automate many different processes or may be leveraged for logistics purposes to become more efficient by planning routes based on current road conditions. At the same time, IoT has a wide variety of different use cases in many verticals, including tracking shipments in real time, thereby making delivery services more efficient. In general, if utilized properly, these technologies lead to a rapid return on investment while modernizing how goods are made and traded globally.