Worldwide digital economy worth £3.2 trillion by 2025

Man pointing to digital wall

The digital economy will be worth 3.2 trillion by 2025, with the enterprise accounting for just under a third, according to a report by Ovum.

The research firm said the second digital revolution will occur in the next ten years, with the main focuses on leveraging digital advancements via automation.

Ovum predicts digital enablers including IT vendors like IBM and SAP, communication service providers like AT&T, Orange & Deutsche Telekom, as well as the likes of Google, Apple and Microsoft will be responsible for this digital revolution.

"Driven by cost-effective connectivity, greater computing capacity and improvements in technology such as analytics and artificial intelligence, the second wave of the digital revolution is on its way and its impact will be felt across all industries," Steven Hartley, practice leader, Service Provider and Markets at Ovum said. "Those players providing technology, connectivity and services to the Digital Economy will have a huge opportunity to facilitate this transformation."

The leading tech companies will become 'SMART' players - standing for Services, device and service Management, Applications, customer Relationship, and the underlying Technology platforms to aid customers and third parties access and distribute content and services.

Although the likes of Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft will continue to lead the charge, it's likely other innovative companies will appear to offer new services and this could lead to some interesting competition in future.

"Increased competition, attracted by revenue growth and facilitated by more open ecosystems, will mean that organisations must place the needs of customers at the heart of their decisions and processes," Hartley added. "Innovation, partnerships, scale, agility and service bundling will all be vital to support this new outlook on the market."

Clare Hopping
Freelance writer

Clare is the founder of Blue Cactus Digital, a digital marketing company that helps ethical and sustainability-focused businesses grow their customer base.

Prior to becoming a marketer, Clare was a journalist, working at a range of mobile device-focused outlets including Know Your Mobile before moving into freelance life.

As a freelance writer, she drew on her expertise in mobility to write features and guides for ITPro, as well as regularly writing news stories on a wide range of topics.