Big data and analytics a $187 billion opportunity

Revenues for big data and business analytics globally are set to explode over the next couple of years, with analyst firm IDC forecasting revenues to grow to more than $187 billion in 2019, up from $122 billion in 2015.

The increase is more than 50% in IDC’s five-year forecast period.

IDC says the services-related opportunity will account for more than half of all big data and business analytics revenue for most of the forecast period, with IT Services generating more than three times the annual revenues of Business Services.

According to the forecast, Software will be the second largest category, generating more than $55 billion in revenues in 2019. Nearly half of these revenues will come from purchases of End-User Query, Reporting, and Analysis Tools and Data Warehouse Management Tools. Hardware spending will grow to nearly $28 billion in 2019.

The report says the industries that present the largest revenue opportunities are Discrete Manufacturing ($22.8 billion in 2019), Banking ($22.1 billion), and Process Manufacturing ($16.4 billion). Four other industries – Federal/Central Government, Professional Services, Telecommunications, and Retail – will generate revenues of more than $10 billion in 2019.

"Organisations able to take advantage of the new generation of business analytics solutions can leverage digital transformation to adapt to disruptive changes and to create competitive differentiation in their markets," explains Dan Vesset, group vice president, Analytics and Information Management, IDC.

"These organisations don't just automate existing processes – they treat data and information as they would any valued asset by using a focused approach to extracting and developing the value and utility of information,” he says.

The industries experiencing the fastest revenue growth will be Utilities, Resource Industries, Healthcare, and Banking, although nearly all of the industries profiled in the new Spending Guide will see gains of more than 50% over the five year forecast period.

According to the forecast, large and very large companies (those with more than 500 employees) will be the primary driver of the big data and business analytics opportunity, generating revenues of more than $140 billion in 2019.

However, small and medium businesses (SMBs) will remain a significant contributor with nearly a quarter of the worldwide revenues coming from companies with fewer than 500 employees.

"There is little question that big data and analytics can have a considerable impact on just about every industry," explains Jessica Goepfert, programme director, Customer Insights and Analysis, IDC.

"Its promise speaks to the pressure to improve margins and performance while simultaneously enhancing responsiveness and delighting customers and prospects,” she says.

“Forward-thinking organisations turn to this technology for better and faster data-driven decisions."

From a geographic perspective, more than half of all big data and business analytics revenues will come from the United States. By 2019, IDC forecasts that the U.S. market for big data and business analytics solutions will reach more than $98 billion.

The second largest geographic region will be Western Europe, followed by Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) and Latin America. The two regions with the fastest growth over the five year forecast period will be Latin America and the Middle East & Africa.