Gartner forecasts that 8.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2017, up 31 percent from 2016, and will reach 20.4 billion by 2020.

Worldwide revenues for information technology (IT) products and services are forecast to reach nearly $2.4 trillion in 2017, an increase of 3.5% over 2016. In a newly published update to the Worldwide Semiannual IT Spending Guide: Industry and Company Size, IDC estimates that global IT spending will grow to nearly $2.65 trillion in 2020.

GfK reports that the global smartphone demand totaled 391 million units in 4Q16, up six percent year-on-year. North America returned to growth in the final quarter of the year, spurred on by flagship device launches and aggressive operator promotions.

Upcoming EU data protection regulation aims to finally put in order massive misuse of personal data. What it brings is putting people in control over their personal data. This is exercising one of the fundamental human rights – a right to privacy. Great and noble goal.

A recent end-user survey carried out by IDC among companies using additive manufacturing technology in the aerospace and healthcare industry has revealed key insights into how 3D printers are being used in these vertical markets. Based on conversations with companies in France, Germany, Italy, and the U.K., the survey reveals a strong penetration of 3D printing in finished products manufacturing.

Overall, consumer confidence in Europe experienced very positive growth in the fourth quarter of 2016. The GfK consumer climate for the 28 EU countries rose by 5.6 points to 17.9 points in December, its highest value since January 2008.

Worldwide semiconductor capital spending is projected to increase 2.9 percent in 2017, to $69.9 billion, according to Gartner. This is down from 5.1 percent growth in 2016.

ICT spending in Turkey is forecast to total $22.3 billion in 2017, according to the latest insights presented recently by IDC. Hosting its annual 'IDC Predictions' event at Microsoft Türkiye's headquarters in Istanbul, the global technology research and consulting services firm gathered the country's leading CIOs and ICT vendors together to talk about their investment plans for the year ahead.

Worldwide combined shipments of PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones are projected to remain flat in 2017, according to Gartner. Worldwide shipments for these devices are projected to total 2.3 billion in 2017, the same as 2016 estimates.

According to the latest IDC Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, the smartphone market in China saw a 19% YoY growth and 17% QoQ growth in 2016Q4. For the full year of 2016, the market grew by 9% with top Chinese smartphone vendors taking up a larger share of the market.

A recent survey conducted by IDC finds that a whopping 84% of U.S. consumers expressed concern regarding the security of their personally identifiable information (PII) and 70% told IDC that their concern is greater today than just a few years ago. The newly published special study, which measures consumer privacy sentiment across four vertical industries: Financial Services, Healthcare, Retail, and Government.

Consumer spending during the holiday quarter of 2016 was clearly not aimed at consuming tablets as the market continued its spiraling decline. The fourth quarter of 2016 (4Q16) marked the ninth consecutive quarter that tablet shipments have declined.

The public cloud services market in the mature Asia/Pacific (AP) region is forecast to grow 17.7 percent in 2017 to total $10 billion, up from $8.5 billion in 2016, according to Gartner. By 2019, Gartner predicts that total public cloud services spending in the mature AP region will rise to $13.6 billion.

The holiday quarter of 2016 capped off another positive year of smartphone growth despite concerns about the overall market slowing. According to preliminary data from the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone vendors shipped a total of 428.5 million units during the fourth quarter of 2016 (4Q16), resulting in 6.9% growth when compared to the 400.7 million units shipped in the final quarter of 2015.

Business results of Vipnet, the second-largest domestic telecom operator, published as part of the results of its owner Telekom Austria, are very good if one considers that the economic situation has not drastically improved, that the roaming prices are still decreasing, which has a large seasonal effect in the second and especially in the third quarter.

While 2016 marked this decade’s low point for global tech IPOs, a stream of high-profile companies in the pipeline will likely create a resurgence in 2017, according to PwC’s Global Technology IPO Review. Only 53 tech companies completed IPOs in 2016, with total proceeds of US$8.7 billion.

According to the latest market study released by Technavio, the global mobile augmented reality (AR) market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 77% during the forecast period. The large-scale adoption of smartphones and increased penetration of the internet has given rise to a multitude of mobile applications to make life simpler and more streamlined. Additionally, the number of mobile AR users is expected to grow almost ten-fold by 2021, which will be driven by the introduction of new AR mobile apps, such as PokémonGO.

Staying up to date with rapidly evolving technologies in the e-commerce and marketing industries can be a daunting task. With a slew of new technologies out there, it’s also not easy to pinpoint which ones are worth the venture. RTB House analyzed the top 3 most successful technologies impacting the e-commerce industry today.

Intel predicted first-quarter sales that will meet analysts’ estimates on improvements in the personal computer market and continued growth in orders from data center owners, according to Bloomberg. Revenue will be $14.8 billion, plus or minus $500 million, the company said in a statement.

Alphabet reported better-than-expected revenue thanks to a fast-growing cloud-computing business and booming YouTube video advertising, but the taxman spoiled the party, according to Bloomberg. Fourth-quarter revenue, after payments for online traffic from distribution partners, was $21.2 billion, up 23 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

Microsoft’s second-quarter sales and profit exceeded analysts’ projections, bolstered by rising customer sign-ups for cloud-based services and a stabilizing personal-computer market, according to Bloomberg. Profit excluding certain items, such as a few weeks of results from newly acquired LinkedIn, was 84 cents a share on adjusted sales of $25.8 billion.

Consumer confidence is starting 2017 on an extremely positive note, GfK Consumer Climate Study for Germany shows. Both economic and income expectations as well as propensity to buy have improved. The overall consumer climate indicator is forecasting 10.2 points for February 2017, following 9.9 points in January.

Over half of smartphone users spend no money on smartphone apps (paid-for downloads and in-app transactions), according to a new survey by Gartner. However, end-user spending on in-app transactions continues to rise.

IDC recently launched its newest Tracker research program focusing on the emerging Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) headset market. The first data published by the Worldwide Quarterly Augmented and Virtual Reality Headset Tracker focuses on OEM market sizing in the third quarter of 2016 (3Q16) and covers a wide range of products, technologies, form factors, and geographies.

Worldwide semiconductor revenue is forecast to total $364.1 billion in 2017, an increase of 7.2 percent from 2016, according to Gartner. This represents a complete turnaround for the semiconductor industry as the market experienced 1.5 percent growth in 2016.

Traditional PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) stabilized in the fourth quarter of 2016, registering a close-to-zero decline (-0.2% YoY) and reaching 20.7 million units, according to IDC. Notebooks performed well across all EMEA regions (2.9% YoY), growing 2.7% in Western Europe and 3.3% in CEMA.

Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $339.7 billion in 2016, a 1.5 percent increase from 2015 revenue of $334.8 billion, according to preliminary results by Gartner. The top 25 semiconductor vendors' combined revenue increased by 7.9 percent compared with 2015, and accounted for 75.9 percent of the market.

Worldwide purchases of 3D printers, materials, software, and related services are expected to total $13.2 billion in 2016. According to a recent update to the Worldwide Semiannual 3D Printing Spending Guide from IDC, global spending on 3D printing will experience a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.3% with revenues reaching $28.9 billion in 2020.

China’s impact on the global semiconductor industry continued on an upward trend in 2015, with chip consumption and production revenues increasing at a greater rate than worldwide revenues. According to PwC’s 2016 update to its annual report, China’s impact on the semiconductor industry, China’s share of the consumption market increased by 5.9% in 2015 to 58.5% of the worldwide total, marking a new record.

Worldwide spending on the Internet of Things (IoT) is forecast to reach $737 billion in 2016 as organizations invest in the hardware, software, services, and connectivity that enable the IoT. According to a new update to the IDC Worldwide Semiannual Internet of Things Spending Guide, global IoT spending will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.6% over the 2015-2020 forecast period, reaching $1.29 trillion in 2020.