50 Crucial IT Statistics You Must Know: 2024 Data Analysis & Market Share

The global budget for IT is slated to hit $3.92 trillion this year as companies continue to integrate IT solutions to bolster their business processes, especially for ecommerce. This development has experts positing that IT employment will also rise, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, since companies will be looking for IT specialists down the line. These are but some of the critical IT statistics you should keep tabs on this year. 

With that in mind, we have listed down some notable developments and figures in specific areas within the industry. From employment statistics to the top IT security software on the market, this guide aims to help you get up to speed with what’s been happening in the world of IT and how it is shaping businesses large and small, here and abroad. 

IT Industry Statistics

Current IT data helps paint the landscape of the IT industry so far, as well as sets the stage for what companies are up to given the circumstances. Various IT reports suggest that the majority of businesses are investing in IT solutions to improve their internal and external processes as well as to cater to their respective markets that are generally steering towards adapting IT solutions such as mobile and voice assistant apps when searching and shopping online. Here are key data on the IT market size of various subsets in this field.

What are the Latest Developments in the IT Industry?

• The global information technology industry was valued at $4.8 trillion in 2020 and is expected to reach $5.2 trillion in 2021 (CompTIA, 2020).
• Meanwhile, global IT spending is set to reach $3.92 trillion in 2021, 20% larger than in 2020 (CRN, 2021).
• The IT area predicted to have the biggest growth in 2021 is enterprise software sales, with an annual growth rate of 8.8% and a current value of $505 billion (CRN, 2021).
• On the other hand, the IT area with the largest spending in 2021 is communications services, amounting to $1.41 trillion, which represents a 4.5% increase from that of 2020 (CRN, 2021).
• IT services market research shows that, in 2021, spending in this area is expected to amount to 1.03 billion U.S. dollars worldwide, up by 4.1% from that of 2020 (ZDNet, 2020).
• Telecom services hold the largest share of the global IT market in 2021 at 26%, followed by devices and infrastructure (23%), IT and business services (21%), emerging technology (19%), and software (12%) (CompTIA, 2020).
• Global spending on data center systems declined by over 10% in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic halting about 60% of the construction of new facilities (ZDNet, 2020).
• The global IoT market was valued at $761.4 billion in 2020, projected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2026 (Mordor Intelligence, 2020).

IT Employment Statistics

Studies show an increase in IT-related jobs for 2021 moving forward as companies look into incorporating more IT solutions into their business processes. Demand for these workers will stem from greater emphasis on cloud management software, collection and storage of big data, and information security. 

• Employment of computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow 11% from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations. These occupations are projected to add about 531,200 new jobs, with companies looking to fill their ranks with specialists in cloud computing, collating and management of business information, and cybersecurity (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020).
• The median annual salary of computer and information technology jobs in the US is $88,240, well above the national average of $39,810 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020).
• The IT occupation with the highest annual median salary is that of computer and information research scientists at $122,840, followed by computer network architects ($112,690), software developers ($107,510), information security analysts ($99,730), and database administrators ($93,750) (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020).
• According to LinkedIn, as of January 2021, the most in-demand job is frontline eCommerce worker with an annual hiring growth of 73% and more than 400,000 openings (LinkedIn, 2021).
• Although 13% of organizations had a hiring freeze due to COVID-19, 28% were fully staffed and around 4 in 10 firms have openings (CompTIA, 2020).

Which technology is in demand in IT jobs in 2021?

• As of January 2021, the top programming languages by job posting are SQL (77,117), Java (63,030), Python (55,827), Javascript (41,613), Microsoft C# (25,742), C++ (22,470), HTML5 (9,174), PERL (8,635), Bash (8,260), and PHP (6,695) (Dice, 2021).
• As far as popularity among IT professionals is concerned, the leading programming languages are JavaScript (67.7%), HTML/CSS (63.1%), SQL (54.7%), Python (44.1%), Java (40.2%), Bash/Shell/PowerShell (33.1%), C# (31.4%), PHP (26.2%), TypeScript (25.4%), and C++ (23.9%) (Stack Overflow, 2020).
• The biggest tech trend for 2021 is the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI), with the technology valued at $190 billion by 2025 and AI systems having a market size of $57 billion (Simplilearn, 2021).
• Edge computing technology has picked up steam and is geared to reach a market value of $6.72 billion by 2022 (Simplilearn, 2021).

Statistics on Fastest-Growing IT Sectors

Artificial Intelligence such as chatbots and voice searches and e-Commerce continues to be one of the fastest-growing IT sectors in 2021 alongside machine learning and CRM system improvements. Such projections are backed up with comprehensive SaaS data and studies where customers are steering towards more convenient digital access when it comes to their online shopping experience.

What is the latest technology in the IT industry?

• AI software has a market size of $34.9 billion and an annual growth rate of 41%, slated to reach $126 billion by 2025 (Statista, 2020).
• The deep learning market was worth $4.4 billion in 2020, projected to reach over $44 billion by 2027 (Report Linker, 2020).
• The market for AI-powered collaborative robots is worth $1.5 billion, expected to reach 11.7 billion by 2027 (Statista, 2020).
• The global chatbot market is valued at $83 million and will rise to $455 million at the end of 2027 (Statista, 2020).
• The global quantum computing market is set to exceed $2.5 billion by 2029 (Simplilearn, 2021).
• At 29%, the IT and business segment has the largest share in the US IT market in 2021, followed by telecom services (21%), software (20%), devices and infrastructure (18%), and emerging technology (13%) (CompTIA, 2020).
• Six of the top 10 fastest-growing e-commerce countries in 2019 hail from the Asia-Pacific region, led by India and the Philippines at more than 30% growth and rounded out by China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and South Korea. (eMarketer, 2019)
• Spending on technologies and services that enable digital transformation worldwide amounted to $1.3 trillion in 2020 (IDC, 2020).
• The countries with the largest share of annual eCommerce retail sales are China ($672 billion), United States ($340 billion), United Kingdom ($99 billion), Japan ($79 billion), Germany ($73 billion), France ($43 billion), South Korea ($37 billion), Canada ($30 billion), Russia ($20 billion), and Brazil ($19 billion) (Business.com, 2020).
• Central and Eastern Europe registered the largest growth in eCommerce sales at 21.5%, followed by the Middle East and Africa (19.8%), Latin America (19.4%), North America (18.1%), Western Europe (16.9%), and the Asia-Pacific (15.5%) (Business Insider, 2020).

Leading IT Security Software

1. Spiceworks Security is a popular and free IT management software with robust security tools. It also includes other features such as IP Lookup, Internet Outage Heatmap, a connectivity dashboard, a subnet calculator, and IP reputation checks, among others.
2. ManageEngine Firewall Analyzer is another popular log analytics and configuration management platform with robust security features. It includes features such as firewall log management, trend analysis for capacity planning, traffic analyzer, and is compliant with industry standards.
3. Webroot SecureAnywhere is a business endpoint protection software with features like infrared defense, outbound firewall, anti-phishing technology, and offline protection. It also allows users to protect their Android and iOS devices as well.
4. Bitdefender is a go-to cybersecurity and anti-virus provider for all businesses and individual customers. Its features include a secure browsing module, anti-phishing technology, global protective network, webcam protection, password manager, and parental advisor.
5. AVG AntiVirus is probably the most well-known anti-virus tool today. It is celebrated for many of its features including anti-theft capabilities, its Email Shield module, ransomware protection, identity protection, and AVG PC TuneUP.

IT for Small Business Statistics

SMBs are looking at integrating IT systems into their business model as a way to adapt to the current market. Recent IT market research shows that today’s customers rely on their smartphones and voice searches when shopping online. This development has smaller companies take the initiative and invest in intuitive CRM solutions for small business that are more accessible and adaptable to the current e-Commerce environment.

• The biggest driver for IT budget increases of small businesses in 2021 is the need to upgrade IT infrastructure (57%), followed by increased security concerns (38%), employee growth (32%), business revenue increases (26%), increased priority on IT projects (26%), and change in operations due to COVID-19 (26%) (SWZD, 2020).
• AI and other tech applications that make operations more efficient are set to grow in 2021 given that 55% of small businesses recognize insufficient process times as a substantial challenge (Business News Daily, 2020).
• 40% of businesses will incorporate the anywhere operations model to accommodate the physical and digital experiences of both customers and employees (Techvera, 2020).
• Software solutions have the lion’s share of the IT budgets of small businesses at 38%, followed by hardware (31%), cloud-based services (25%), and managed services (11%) (SWZD, 2020).
• As for the hardware budget, small businesses typically splurge on laptops (24%), desktops (17%), servers (12%), networking (7%), mobile devices (6%), security appliances (5%), printers (5%), peripherals (5%), and external storage (5%) (SWZD, 2020).
• Regarding their software budget, small businesses allocate much of their funds to productivity software (16%), industry-specific apps (16%), security software (11%), operating systems (10%), backup/disaster-recovery solutions (9%), business support apps (8%), IT management solutions (6%), database management systems (4%), and communications software (4%) (SWZD, 2020).
• The Virtual Reality computing (VR) market is becoming a viable option since the VR industry is showing some parabolic growth; its market size reached $12 billion in 2020 and is projected to increase in excess of $72 billion by 2024 (IDC, 2020).

IT for Large Enterprise Statistics

Among the biggest developments for large enterprises for 2021 are digital transformation, AI, and immersive technologies. CEOs of big corporations have begun seeing that digital transformation is here to stay, and have pooled their budgets into more digital transformation initiatives in their business processes. This includes investing in more interconnected and secure cloud adoption and better service automation data analysis, machine learning, and AI improvements.

• The global market for enterprise AI applications is forecasted to reach $7.7 billion by the end of 2021 and will increase to $31.2 billion by 2025 (Statista, 2020).
• Meanwhile, the major IT budget drivers for the largest enterprises in 2021 are the increased priority on IT projects (67%), need to upgrade IT infrastructure (53%), changes in operations due to COVID-19 (49%), increased security concerns (47%), and supporting the remote workforce during the pandemic (42%) (SWZD, 2020).
• The largest areas of IT budget allocation of companies with 1,000-4999 employees are hardware (27%), software (27%), cloud-based services (26%), managed services (20%) (SWZD, 2020).
• Spending on enterprise software is set to increase by 7.2% in 2021 (ZDNet, 2020).
• 44% of businesses already have or plan to accelerate their digital transformation due to COVID-19 (SWZD, 2020).
• 36% of organizations intend to improve IT operations and the performance of their systems due to COVID-19 (SWZD, 2020).

What IT Businesses Are Booming?

• The five brands with the highest global value in 2021 are tech companies, led by Apple at $263.48 billion, followed by Amazon ($254.19 billion), Google ($191.22 billion), Microsoft ($140.44 billion), and Samsung ($102.62 billion) (Brand Finance, 2021).
• The highest growing AI enterprise in the world is Shape Security with a growth rate of 23,000%, followed by BrainChip (16,000%), Razorpay Software (11,000%), BioCatch (10,000%), and Signifyd (6,000%) (Statista, 2020).
• The AI startup that received the most funding from global enterprises is the China-based ByteDance, having received $7.4 billion (Statista, 2020).
• In 2020, the most downloaded mobile apps were TikTok (850 million), Whatsapp (600 million), Facebook (540 million), Instagram (503 million), Zoom (477 million), Messenger (404 million), Snapchat (281 million), Telegram (256 million), Google Meet (254 million), and Netflix (223 million) (Forbes, 2021).

Cybersecurity Statistics

Finally, cybersecurity statistics illustrated that companies have been having trouble with data breaches. Specifically, studies show that SMBs and healthcare are two of the industries that have been victims of data breaches and other similar cybercrimes. 

Thus, this has led to SMBs and large enterprises alike to bolster up their cybersecurity measures by installing an IT security system to keep vital business information secured. See the relevant data and statistics below. 

• The global market revenue for cybersecurity for the first quarter of 2021 is expected to reach $10.5-$10.7 billion (Statista, 2020).
• The three sectors with the biggest spending on cybersecurity are banking, manufacturing, and the central/federal government, accounting for 30% of overall spending (IDC, 2020).
• The US president’s cybersecurity budget for 2021 is $18.8 billion (Govinfo, 2021).
• The average cost of a data breach in the United States is $8.64 million, which is the highest in the world, while the most expensive sector for data breach costs is the healthcare industry, with an average of $7.13 million (IBM, 2020).
• Almost 60% of small businesses believe that they won’t be targeted by a cyberattack. Unfortunately, 34% of organizations reported having malware in 2020 and 28% had ransomware (Business News Daily, 2020; Sophos, 2021).
• According to Burning Glass, the fastest-growing cybersecurity skills are application development security (164%), cloud security (115%), risk management (60%), threat intelligence (41%), incident response (37%) (Burning Glass, 2020).
• Spending for cybercrime damage is expected to reach $6 trillion by 2021 (Cybercrime Magazine, 2020).

Key Skills for IT Professionals

The IT field is rapidly evolving, and the required skills are changing as fast. Here are some of the top skills currently in demand:

• Cloud Computing Expertise: Companies are increasingly moving to cloud-based environments. Skills in platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud are essential, as they help organizations optimize operations, reduce costs, and scale effectively.
• Cybersecurity Knowledge: With rising cyber threats, cybersecurity skills are crucial. IT professionals who understand threat detection, risk assessment, and data protection are highly sought after to secure sensitive information and networks.
• Data Science and Analytics: Data drives decision-making, making data science and analytics valuable skills. Understanding data processing, analysis, and visualization helps companies uncover insights and enhance their strategies.
• AI and Machine Learning Competence: AI and machine learning are transforming industries. Skills in developing and managing AI models can automate tasks, enhance processes, and predict trends, making IT professionals with these skills highly desirable.
• DevOps and Agile Methodologies: Faster delivery cycles are essential for IT projects. Knowledge of DevOps practices and Agile methodologies enables smoother workflows and more efficient project management, leading to quicker software releases.

Utilizing IT Statistics for Better Business Direction

Such is the state of the IT industry for 2021—from small businesses and startups to larger enterprises, every company is looking for ways to incorporate more IT solutions to better assist customers and help them manage their business operations as part of their digital transformation amid a global pandemic.

With the continuing development of AI and machine learning, harnessing big data by utilizing today’s leading data analytic software for business is the prudent choice since data is considered to be one of the biggest resources companies can utilize nowadays. Further, whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, knowing where the broad I.T. industry is heading pays off in different ways, tapping into the latest growth-enabling technologies, having keen awareness on the latest cyber-security threats or knowing where talents thrive and ready for sourcing, to name a critical few.

Key Insights

• Global IT Spending Growth: IT spending is set to reach $3.92 trillion in 2021, a 20% increase from 2020.
• Enterprise Software Sales: Expected to have the highest growth at 8.8% annually, valued at $505 billion in 2021.
• IT Employment Trends: IT jobs are projected to grow by 11% from 2019 to 2029, adding approximately 531,200 new jobs.
• Top Programming Languages: In-demand languages include SQL, Java, Python, and JavaScript.
• Artificial Intelligence Expansion: The AI market, valued at $190 billion by 2025, is a major growth area.
• Fastest-Growing IT Sectors: AI, machine learning, CRM systems, and e-commerce technologies lead the charge.
• IT Security Software: Popular solutions include Spiceworks Security, ManageEngine Firewall Analyzer, Webroot SecureAnywhere, Bitdefender, and AVG AntiVirus.
• Small Business IT Budgets: Key drivers include IT infrastructure upgrades (57%) and increased security concerns (38%).
• Large Enterprise IT Focus: Significant investment in digital transformation, AI, and immersive technologies.
• Cybersecurity Concerns: High costs of data breaches in the US, particularly in healthcare, with increasing investment in cybersecurity skills like cloud security and risk management.

FAQ

1. What is the projected growth rate for IT jobs in the next decade? IT jobs are projected to grow by 11% from 2019 to 2029, significantly faster than the average for all occupations.
2. Which programming languages are most in demand in 2021? The most in-demand programming languages include SQL, Java, Python, and JavaScript.
3. What is the expected market value of the AI industry by 2025? The AI market is expected to be valued at $190 billion by 2025.
4. What are the main drivers for increased IT budgets in small businesses? The need to upgrade IT infrastructure, increased security concerns, and employee growth are the main drivers.
5. Which sectors are leading in cybersecurity spending? Banking, manufacturing, and the central/federal government are the top sectors in cybersecurity spending.
6. What is the average cost of a data breach in the United States? The average cost of a data breach in the United States is $8.64 million, the highest in the world.
7. What are the most popular IT security software solutions? Popular IT security software includes Spiceworks Security, ManageEngine Firewall Analyzer, Webroot SecureAnywhere, Bitdefender, and AVG AntiVirus.
8. What are the key areas of investment for large enterprises in IT? Large enterprises are heavily investing in digital transformation, AI, cloud adoption, and service automation.
9. How significant is the growth of e-commerce technologies? E-commerce technologies, including AI-driven solutions and machine learning, continue to grow rapidly, driven by increasing digital access demands.
10. What is the biggest driver for IT spending in 2021? The biggest driver is the increased priority on IT projects, particularly for digital transformation initiatives.

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By Nestor Gilbert

Nestor Gilbert is a senior B2B and SaaS analyst and a core contributor at FinancesOnline for over 5 years. With his experience in software development and extensive knowledge of SaaS management, he writes mostly about emerging B2B technologies and their impact on the current business landscape. However, he also provides in-depth reviews on a wide range of software solutions to help businesses find suitable options for them. Through his work, he aims to help companies develop a more tech-forward approach to their operations and overcome their SaaS-related challenges.