IT budgets, cyberattacks, wearables and in-app purchases: Tech research data round-up

Whether you love it or loathe it, IT budget planning is a must. Where IT professionals plan to spend their tech dollars, who makes budget decisions, and how IT vendors can assist in the budgetary process are the topics covered by a recent TechRepublic Premium survey. The research shows that almost half (49%) of respondents believe that less than 5% of their corporate technology spend comes from outside IT budgets, while 11% say that 11% or more comes from non-IT budgets.

For more see: Research: 2020 IT budgets increase as priorities grow

Tech analyst Gartner's latest worldwide IT spending forecast (July 2019) projects a total of $3.74 trillion in 2019 (0.6% growth over 2018) and $3.88tn in 2020 (3.7% YoY growth). Enterprise software will see the highest growth in 2019 and 2020 (9% and 10.9% respectively), while devices, communications services and data centre systems will all recover somewhat in 2020 from declines in 2019.

For more see: IT budgets 2020: How the money will be spent, and who will spend it

Cyberattacks are now considered by most execs to be the top business concern, far outranking economic uncertainty, brand damage, and regulation, according to a survey by insurance consultancy Marsh and tech giant Microsoft. In 2017, 62% of respondents saw cyberattacks as a top-five risk, whereas this year 79% do. The share of respondents who see cyberattacks as the number one risk has also risen from 6% to 22% over two years. 

For more see: Microsoft: Cyberattacks now the top risk, say businesses

Business email compromise (BEC) has overtaken ransomware and data breaches as the main reason companies filed a cyber-insurance claim in the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Asia) region last year, said insurance giant AIG. All in all, AIG said that cyber-insurance claims nearly doubled between 2017 and 2018 and that they received more cyber-insurance claims last year than in 2016 and 2017 combined.

For more see: BEC overtakes ransomware and data breaches in cyber-insurance claims

Global converged systems market revenue increased almost 11% year over year to just shy of $4 billion during the second quarter of 2019, the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Converged Systems Tracker has revealed. Revenues from hyperconverged systems sales grew 23.7% year over year during 2Q19, generating $1.8 billion-worth of sales. IDC said this amounted to 46.6% of the total converged systems market.

For more see: Hyperconverged systems revenues reached $1.8 billion in Q2

In-app purchase is a huge market in terms of revenue. According to Apptica analytics, paid apps, split by application category across the US, show that the entertainment and game categories lead the paid apps list on iOS, with games and applications dominating the Android platform.

For more see: How much Americans pay for top apps and their potential for big bucks

Mcguffin Creative Group recently studied the value that 2,000 users would place on 16 of the most widely-used apps. Most (three-in-four people) would pay monthly fees, on average, across the top 16 apps. And the cost is not too high. The most valued app - YouTube - would cost users less than $50 per year for its service. The survey showed that users would pay the most for WhatsApp.

For more see: How much Americans pay for top apps and their potential for big bucks

Apple Watch Series 5 highlights how Apple is plotting to push heavily into healthcare applications and leverage its enterprise momentum. But another development to watch is Apple's AirPod lineup, which can also have health applications that'll go with Apple Watch. IDC said second-quarter wearable shipments were up 85.2% in the second quarter to 67.7 million, with hearables representing most of the growth.

For more see: Apple Watch Series 5 new features, specs reveal Apple's healthcare ambition

Millennials are suffering from burnout at work, according to research from Lhasa OMS. Topping the list of burnout factors for millennials are financial and career stresses. In this digital-first age, over half of millennials (56%) feel that technology or media overload gives them a stressful life. A similar proportion (55%) are stressed due to social pressure online.

For more see: Millennials stressed from tech and social media overload

Adobe nearly a decade ago bought a company called Omniture that would foreshadow the integration of creatives, content and data, and created a building block that ultimately served as a blueprint for software companies trying to pivot to a cloud and subscription delivery model. Adobe revenue is projected to be $11.19 billion for the fiscal year ended Nov. 30. In fiscal 2009, Adobe had revenue of $2.94 billion, down from $3.58 billion in 2008.

For more see: Adobe's Omniture purchase a decade ago, set stage for cloud shift, Experience Cloud