Global big data and business analytics spending to hit $215bn this year - IDC
IT services will account for more than $85bn of the total, IDC predicts
Worldwide spending on big data and business analytics (BDA) solutions is set to reach $215.7bn this year, according to the latest research from the International Data Corporation (IDC).
The forecast also shows that BDA spending will continue to gain strength over the next four years following a 10.1 per cent rise over 2020, with the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for global BDA spending over the 2021-2025 period expected to be 12.8%.
Over half of all BDA spending in 2021 will go toward services, with IT services accounting for more than $85bn of the total and business services making up the remainder.
"Unlike many other areas of the IT services market, big data and analytics services continued to grow in 2020 as organisations relied on data insights and intelligent automation solutions to survive the COVID-19 pandemic," said Jennifer Hamel, research manager, analytics and intelligent automation services.
"The next phase of digital resiliency will spur increased investment in services to address both lingering and new challenges related to enterprise intelligence initiatives."
The second largest segment of BDA spending this year will be software, which will see investments totalling $82 billion, the IDC claims.
And the industries currently making the largest investments in big data and analytics solutions are banking, discrete manufacturing, and professional services which combined will account for one third of all BDA spending in 2021.
The United Kingdom is one of only four countries alongside the USA, China and Japan that is expected to surpass $10 billion in BDA spending this year.
"As executives seek solutions to enable better, faster decisions, we're seeing relatively healthy BDA spending across all industries," said Jessica Goepfert, program vice president, customer insights and analysis.
"Leveraging data for insights into everything from internal business operations to the customer journey is top of mind and of strategic importance."