IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Future of Digital Innovation 2021 Predictions

This IDC study presents IDC's future of digital innovation top 10 predictions for 2021."Unprecedented would seem to be an inadequate description of the impact on the industry, and the rational for accelerating digital innovation caused by the events of 2020. The changes driven by this unique set of circumstances will likely carry well into the current decade, dynamically evolving the role of IT as we know it today," said Al Gillen, group vice president, Software Development and Open Source, IDC. "If ever the necessity to innovate in new and different ways was a top priority, that time is now."

IDC FutureScape Figure

Executive Summary

IDC FutureScape Predictions

• Summary of External Drivers
• Predictions: Impact on Technology Buyers
  • Prediction 1: By 2025, Up to a Quarter of Fortune 500 Companies Will Become Software Producers to Digitally Transform and Maintain Their F-500 Status
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction2: Through 2022, Three Out of Four Organizations Will Need to Remediate Technical Debt Around Design, Quality, and Security of the Applications That Were Stood Up Rapidly During the Pandemic
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 3: By 2024, Net-New Production-Grade Cloud-Native Apps Will Increase to 70% from 10% of All Apps in 2020, Due to Adoption of Technologies Such as Microservices, Containers, Dynamic Orchestration, and DevOps
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 4: Reuse of Third-Party Code in New Apps and Digital Solutions Will Increase from 40% in 2020 to 80% of Code in 2024, Leading to a Corresponding Increase in the Number of Apps Produced Each Year by 1.5x
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 5: By 2023, the Need for G2000 Companies to Access and Monetize Multipartner Solutions Will Lead to 5x Growth in Marketplaces Facilitated by SaaS-Based Ecosystem Orchestration Platform Deployment
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 6: By 2024, 50% of G2000 Enterprises Will Sell Internally Developed Industry-Specific Software and Data Services as a Subscription, Leveraging Deep Domain Knowledge to Open Profitable New Revenue Streams
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 7: By 2022, 40% of the Fortune 500 Will Reengineer Culture and Collaborative Practices - Shifting from Authorized to Empowered Teams, Which Are Then Measured by Metrics Aligned to Team Success
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 8: The Percentage of Apps That Feature Curated Content Will Grow from 10% in 2020 to 60% in 2024 as Concerns on the Veracity of Application Content Lead to Maturation of Technologies for Content Curation
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 9: By 2023, 60% of Global 1000 Companies Will Shift Security to Earlier in the Development Process So That Security Engages with DevOps Teams to Review Application Architecture and Release Plans Early On
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 10: By 2024, in Part to Fill the Developer Shortfall, 45% of Staff in Organizations with 1,000+ People Will Have Some Development or Automation Duty, Making Them the Fastest-Growing Employee Type
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance

Advice for Technology Buyers

External Drivers: Detail

• Accelerated Disruption - Crisis, Resilience, and Opportunity
  • Description
  • Context
• Customer Engagement Redefined - Safe, Secure, and Sustainable Digital Experience
  • Description
  • Context
• Digital Platform - Ecosystems at Scale
  • Description
  • Context
• Intelligence Everywhere - Data Drives Action
  • Description
  • Context
• Strategic Innovation - Shaping the Future Enterprise Today
  • Description
  • Context
• The Next Normal - Resilient Business and Operating Models
  • Description
  • Context
• Work Transformation - Redefining Teams, Skills, and Leadership
  • Description
  • Context

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• Related Research