Tech trends 2022 - statistics & facts

5G advancements — a connected world

2022 will be a big year for 5G. As telecommunication companies begin to generate revenue from 5G services, and more 5G devices on the market make participation more affordable for consumers, the number of 5G connections should show significant growth. The number of 5G mobile subscriptions is expected to at least double in many parts of the world during 2022, including North America, Western Europe, and the Middle East & Africa. Latin America can expect higher growth, with subscriptions rising from 7.86 million in 2021 to an expected 34.59 million in 2022.

5G’s growth won’t be limited to private mobile customers. The higher data transfer speeds and lower latencies offer huge potential for industrial use. In the United States alone, the use of 5G is expected to contribute a total of over 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars to gross domestic product (GDP) in the U.S. from 2021 to 2025. The steps taken during 2022 will be crucial in achieving the forecast outcomes.

Real-time analytics — a data-driven world

Last year saw greater demand for real-time data insights and remote access across every commercial, industrial, and government sector, notably as businesses and authorities have learned to operate as “normal” through the pandemic. In 2022, we expect this demand to pave the way for faster adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) based technologies. IoT connected devices including drones, freight trucks, construction equipment, cameras, and medical devices, combined with high-speed networks such as 5G and Wi-Fi 6, can deliver critical data quicker than ever. This real-time data is streamed via communication technologies such as 5G, warehoused in data centers at the edge leveraging edge computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud-based solutions to produce meaningful data via real-time analytics which can then be visualized via dashboards such as Tableau or Power BI.

Medical wearables — a healthier world

Throughout the last couple of years, our health and the healthcare industry have been placed at the forefront of public thought, with more people using wearable devices to monitor their health and seek medical treatment. The medical wearables industry includes a variety of devices including fitness trackers, smartwatches, smart patches, and smart clothing. In 2022, 320 million consumer health and wellness wearable devices are expected to be shipped globally. However, widespread acceptance by consumers and health care providers may come slowly, particularly with the concerns around data privacy and security – as is the case with many connected devices.

AI in security — a secure world

As we have highlighted, the world has and will continue to experience unprecedented digital transformation, fueled by the implementation and adoption of 5G technology and the increased demand for cloud-based solutions. However, in tandem with this comes the heightened threat from cyber criminals whose methods become ever more sophisticated. To combat this, companies will need to increase their security budgets and invest in AI-enabled security systems to defend themselves against modern cyber attacks. AI not only simplifies the security process but also makes it more reliable by reducing the dependency on human behavior. As a result, we expect the AI in cyber security market to grow considerably in 2022 and beyond.

Sustainable IT — a greener world

As is the case in other sectors of the economy, greater environmental awareness will also be apparent across the entire tech ecosystem in 2022. IT sustainability refers to the management and use of IT resources in a way that minimizes negative impact on the environment. This includes goals to reduce energy consumption as well as extend the lifecycle of hardware products such as computers and peripherals. Next to that, data center operators will commit further to becoming less carbon-intensive to attract new customers and contribute to a sustainable future.

Metaverse — another world

Talking of the future, regarded as the next iteration of the internet, we expect the metaverse to become even more prevalent in 2022. Where the physical and digital worlds come together, the metaverse allows digital representations of people, avatars, to interact with each other in a variety of settings. Whether it be at work, in an office, going to concerts or sports events, or even trying on clothes, the metaverse is set to provide a space for endless, interconnected virtual communities using virtual reality (VR) headsets, augmented reality (AR) glasses, smartphone apps, or other devices. If realized, the metaverse market opportunity could be as high as 12.5 trillion U.S. dollars.

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