- The largest area of investment will be hardware ($228b), followed by services, including business, IT, and connectivity services at more than $123b.
- Discrete and process manufacturing to account for just over one-third of all spending this year, followed by professional services, retail and banking.
Future of work spending will increase by 17.4 per cent year on year to touch close to $656 billion this year, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Future of work (FoW) is a fundamental shift in the work model to one that fosters human-machine collaboration, enables new skills and worker experiences, and supports a work environment unbounded by time or physical space.
Holly Muscolino, Research Vice-President for Content Strategies and Future of Work at research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), said that traditional work models do not provide the agility, scalability, and resilience required by the future enterprise and this was, of course, highlighted by the ongoing health crisis.
“To drive growth and competitive differentiation, organisations will invest in technologies and services that power automation, human-machine collaboration, new organisational structures and leadership styles, dynamic learning opportunities, a reimagined workplace, and a digital work environment that is not bounded by time or physical place,” she said.
To facilitate the transition to the new workplace and an evolving workforce, she said that organisations are investing in a wide range of technologies and services.
Software to see fastest growth
The largest area of investment will be hardware, where companies are expected to purchase $228 billion in endpoint devices, enterprise hardware, infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and robotics and drones this year.
Services, including business, IT, and connectivity services, will be the second-largest area of spending at more than $123 billion.
Software will see the fastest spending growth with a compound annual growth rate of 21.3 per cent over the 2020-2024 forecast period. This includes investments in enterprise applications, content and collaboration, analytics and artificial intelligence, human resources applications, security, and software development and deployment.
Eileen Smith, Program Vice-president for Customer Insights and Analysis, said that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and augmented/virtual reality are changing how work is getting done across all industries and across the world.
“Seeking automated decision support and virtual collaborative approaches, discrete and process manufacturing, the two largest spenders on FoW technology over the forecast period, are investing in key use cases like collaborative robotics, operational performance management, and 3D and digital product design and review for improved cost control and higher process efficiency,” she said.
Discrete and process manufacturing, together, to account for just over one-third of all future of work spending this year.
“Professional services, retail, and banking will be the next three industries in terms of FoW spend in 2021. The construction industry will see the fastest growth in FoW spending over the forecast period with a five-year annual growth rate of 23.7 per cent. Media and retail will follow closely with annual growth rates of 19.5 per cent and 19.3 per cent respectively,” Smith said.