Worldwide spending on industry cloud services in the finance sector – such as banking, insurance, securities and investment services – is expected to reach $3.2 billion in 2017, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC).
Furthermore, IDC expects the amount to more than double in 2021, amassing total worldwide spending of $7.2 billion.
Industry cloud market development
The manufacturing industry (both discrete and process combined) was a larger spender on industry cloud though, relative to its finance counterpart. This industry is expected to spend $4.2 billion in 2017 and achieve year-over-year growth of 23 percent in 2018. Similar to the finance industry, the manufacturing industry is also set to double its 2017 spending in 2021, reaching a total of $9.2 billion.
However, IDC forecasts healthcare providers across the world will spend a total of $8.9 billion in adopting industry cloud solutions during 2017. This industry is expected to increase spending by 20 percent year-over-year in 2018 on industry cloud solutions – by 2021, that's a staggering $17.6 billion.
On a geographic basis, the United States leads by a very large margin in terms of industry cloud adoption across the three aforementioned industries combined. It's expected to reach 73 percent of worldwide spend in 2017, followed by Western Europe at 12 percent.
The U.S. is also forecast to grow 20 percent year-over-year in 2018 while the other regions are expected to achieve 27 percent annual growth during the same period. The three industries are expected to spend a total of $330 million on industry cloud solutions in China in 2018, representing very strong growth of 39 percent year-over-year.
"The industry cloud market is young, yet growing fast, with double-digit growth expected to continue for at least the next five to ten years. Dozens of new industry collaborative clouds are emerging each year, helping to foster digital transformation, streamline industry value chains, and ultimately drive innovation, while most software vendors are also shifting their portfolios to focus more heavily on designing industry cloud solutions," said Eric Newmark, program vice president at IDC.
Outlook for vertical industry cloud growth
Healthcare continues to lead the charge from a vertical standpoint, but many industries have picked up momentum, including manufacturing, financial services, and even government.
Though the market's tipping point is still a few years away, IDC believes the industry cloud market represents one of the largest vertical growth opportunities for technology and professional services firms through 2025.
According to the IDC assessment, IT vendors who become strategic suppliers to a successful industry cloud win the business of not just that one organization, but of that customer's entire digital ecosystem.