Deloitte TMT Predictions 2016

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The mobile online checkout gets an express lane

We are increasingly browsing shopping sites and apps using our phones, but we rarely purchase via mobile, with the slowness of the checkout process likely being a major constraint. We foresee progress towards accelerated checkout on mobile using “touch commerce”, whereby a single fingerprint scan, or tap of the screen could enable payment. We predict a 150% jump in user numbers globally this year, with 50 million regular smartphone and tablet owners by year-end. Consumers may soon expect retailers to offer touch commerce payment options as standard.

Mobile games: Leading but less lucrative

Mobile (smartphone and tablet) should overtake PC and consoles as the top games platform this year in terms of software revenues, with £24 billion forecast global revenue. But the volume of mobile games titles (about 800,000) and the freemium model, whereby games are initially offered for free, means that mobile will likely lag PCs and consoles when it comes to revenue per game and spend per player. The rise of mobile game revenues does not mean console and PC sales have to fall: the three platforms can co-exist as they cater for different user needs.

Women in IT jobs: It’s not just about education

The percentage of women in IT jobs is likely to change little this year. In the UK, the proportion of women in these roles edged up by just 1% between 2010 and 2015 to 18%, according to official data. The percentage of women studying technology-related subjects at school and university is one issue; but there are also gender-based differences with recruitment, hiring, retention, pay and promotion in tech roles. There are encouraging signs of progress towards parity, but attaining a 50:50 balance in IT roles will likely be a long-term project.

Virtual Reality: A billion-dollar niche

The virtual reality (VR) market should generate a billion dollars (£700 million) in revenues in 2016. We expect the vast majority of commercial activity will focus on video games this year. For enterprises, 2016 will be a year of experimentation, building on existing trials undertaken in sectors like healthcare and architecture.

European football scores £20 billion

The European football market is forecast to deliver revenues of £20 billion over 2016/17, with the English Premier League leading the way. New broadcast deals should help European football revenue rise by £5.5 billion relative to 2011/12. As clubs begin to generate profits, they are becoming more attractive to investors; over half of Premier League outfits now boasting non-UK owners.

Mobile ad-blockers: Saved by the app?

Mobile ad-blockers offer users the opportunity of ad-free browsing on their mobile devices; yet we predict ad-blockers will be used by just 0.3% of smartphone and tablet owners in 2016. This will be because only a minority of mobile devices will support native ad-blocking, most ad-blockers are in the form of paid-for apps, and ad blockers only work when browsing, whereas most mobile device usage is app-based. We predict that only 0.1% of the mobile advertising market will be at risk from this software, but the use of ad-blockers could still have implications for the likes of small-scale online publishers.

VoLTE/VoWiFi: Capacity, reach and capability

Around 100 carriers look set to offer packet-based voice services by the close of this year, with additional capacity and reach the key motivations. As operators invest to extend their network capacity, we predict that roughly 300 million customers may use Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) facilities.

Trailing millennials are the pro-PC generation

Despite premonitions by some of an imminent post-PC era, particularly among younger generations, Deloitte predicts PCs should remain firmly in vogue among trailing millennials (18-24 year-olds) in 2016. This age group will be fervent users of smartphones and PCs. Trailing millennials are likely to over-index on ownership, willingness to buy and use of PCs relative to other age groups. Businesses should be mobile-focused but not mobile-only.

The £12 billion market you may never have heard of

The used smartphone sector is on course to grow four to five times more quickly than the wider market, achieving an estimated value of £12 billion in 2016. We forecast about 120 million used smartphones will be sold or traded in this year with a typical value of over £90. What are the implications for consumers, manufacturers and the environment?

The dawn of the Gigabit internet age: Every bit counts

The number of Gigabit-per-second internet connections could rise 10-fold over 2016, hitting 10 million by the end of the year. These ultra-fast connections will address the aggregate household demand for connectivity driven by the growing number of bandwidth hungry devices in homes. We predict lower prices and growing availability will catalyse demand, with more than 150 Gigabit tariffs already available in 2015. But the race to achieve faster speeds will continue well beyond this year, with 10 Gbit/s connections already being developed.

Technology, Media & Telecommunications

UK Predictions 2016

The mobile online checkout gets an express lane

Mobile games: Leading but less lucrative

Women in IT jobs: It’s not just about education

Virtual Reality: A billion-dollar niche

European football scores £20 billion

Mobile ad-blockers: Saved by the app?

VoLTE/VoWiFi: Capacity, reach and capability

Trailing millennials are the pro-PC generation

The £12 billion market you may never have heard of

The dawn of the Gigabit internet age: Every bit counts

The mobile online checkout gets an express lane

Mobile games: Leading but less lucrative

Women in IT jobs: It’s not just about education

Virtual Reality: A billion-dollar niche

European football scores £20 billion

Mobile ad-blockers: Saved by the app?

VoLTE/VoWiFi: Capacity, reach and capability

Trailing millennials are the pro-PC generation

The £12 billion market you may never have heard of

The dawn of the Gigabit internet age: Every bit counts