Metaverse pushes extended reality market spend to $4.84 billion

The COVID-19 pandemic quickened the pace of digital transformation, placing technologies at the very centre of how people live and work--and that pace shows no signs of slowing down, according to ABI Research.

In its new whitepaper, 38 Technology Stats You Need to Know for 2022, global technology intelligence firm ABI Research has identified and highlighted the most impactful forecasts that illuminate the direction in which digital transformation is truly heading.

"From among the many millions of data points ABI Research creates each year, we have focused on the most enlightening stats that will matter most in the years ahead," says Stuart Carlaw, chief research officer at ABI Research explains.

"The rise of always-on 5G portable devices, an explosion of edge AI adoption, a proliferation of smart manufacturing platforms, the formation of the metaverse, and a growing concentration on cybersecurity are just some of the many changes on the horizon that are indicative of a more connected, more vulnerable, and ultimately, more technology-driven world," he says.

The Extended Reality (XR) market spend will hit US$4.84 billion in 2024.

In 2024, the Extended Reality (XR) market spend will hit US$4.84 billion, up from US$630 million in 2020; 54.7% will derive from hardware, and the rest will be from software and content.

Jake Saunders, vice president at ABI Research says, "A rich ecosystem is developing with notable innovators, such as Nreal, VIVE, and Pico, producing XR kits for consumers and businesses."

Content Delivery Network (CDN) revenue will increase from US$10 billion in 2021 to US$23.9 billion in 2030. 

"For all the hype the metaverse receives around virtual worlds and assets, it is the build-up to this interconnected future where the physical and digital are merged that deserves more attention," says Michael Inouye, principal analyst at ABI Research.

"Trends across digital media and advertising, immersive, hybrid workforces, and evolutions in technology (i.e., 5G advanced and upcoming 6G) are all coming together to change how we consume content, work, access services, and communicate," he says.

"These changing markets, especially as they come together, will create tremendous demands on networks (i.e., data and ultra-low latency connections) and computational resources. One market that stands to benefit from this build-up to the metaverse is the CDN market."

Carlaw says that while there are still fundamental challenges ahead - political tumult, an entrenched endemic, and a broken supply chain - these statistics should provide insights and actionable data needed to chart a successful course in 2022 and beyond.