2015 was the last time consumers beat business in terms of spending growth on ITC offerings. I expect this to continue throughout my forecast to 2026. In 2020 businesses will spend 1.9% more, while consumers spend 0.8% less than in 2019.
One reason for this is the increasing centralization of computing in areas such as data streaming; another is the declining spending on smart phones, tablets and other devices. There are still places on the globe that are not fully engaged in using the Internet for information and shopping, such as many parts of Africa, some Asian Pacific countries and much of Eastern Europe; however I don’t predict a rapid change in coming years as the social, economic and political changes necessary will continue to move a slow pace… and won’t make up for the falling spending in advanced countries due to high levels of penetration. Vendors of consumer ITC offerings need to concentrate on genuine improvements in functionality, which will be helped somewhat by wider adoption of 5G network services.