What is the future of the UK IT industry in the evolving global digital landscape? Here are 6 revolutions that are shaping the UK IT industry in 2014.
Wayne Gretzky, one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time, famously said: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” As 2014 starts to gather momentum, many businesses are starting to see the growing trends in the IT industry and ‘skating ahead’ to position themselves to benefit from them. This article will look at the 6 revolutions that are shaping the future of the UK IT industry in 2014.
#1 The Online Shopping Revolution
The UK is the biggest online shopping nation in the developed world, with almost two-thirds of adults using the internet to buy goods and services. Figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that six out of ten British adults use the internet to buy products such as food, clothing, music or holidays. And with the typical British shopper spending an average of £3,370 online each year since 2012, businesses would be wise to embrace the reality of online commerce.
#2 The Social Media Revolution
Here are some UK social media statistics from 2013:
- 33 million Facebook accounts.
- Over 200 million active Twitter accounts.
- 11 million professional LinkedIn users.
Now even though there will clearly be users who have a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Instagram and many other social media accounts, the message is clear: Britain has gone online, and so should your business.
#3 The Mobile Device Revolution
Gone are the days of being chained to your desktop whilst you surfed the Internet. Instead, more people are going online using mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. According to Strategy Analytics, the worldwide base of smartphone users has exceeded 1 billion. And we are fast approaching the time when there will be one smartphone for every five people around the world.
This is hugely important, particularly when you consider the following statistics from about smartphone and tablet usage in the UK.
- Mobiles account for 31% of site traffic (source: Mobify)
- 3.9million people in the UK own a tablet, and 69% of tablet owners make a purchase on their device every month (source: InMobi and Mobext)
- 44% of UK smartphone owners performed at least one shopping activity using their device while in a high street shop e.g taking a picture of the product, scanning a product barcode, researching product features, comparing product prices, sending picture of product to family and friends etc (source: comScore)
- 32% of smartphone owners use mobile to research products every week (source: Tradedoubler)
#4 The Cloud Computing Revolution
Cloud computing is one of the fastest growing sectors in the IT industry at the moment and it’s being embraced by the public and businesses alike.
Earlier this year a survey by cloud services provider Rackspace found that Brits are already storing around £24 billion worth of data on cloud-based technology. Meanwhile a report by KPMG showed that 42 per cent of UK companies are spending at least a fifth of their total IT budget on the cloud.
With this in mind, it’s quite possible that in a few years’ time there may be more information stored on the cloud than our laptops and PCs. A lot of businesses specialising in the cloud are likely to spring up in the coming years and they will need talented programmers and other IT professionals to work for them.
#5 The Big Data Revolution
Big data is something of a buzz word at the moment. Thanks to the growth of the internet and technology, businesses now have access to large amounts of data they could only have dreamed of in the past.
Every type of business and organisation places a high value on data and it’s becoming a very profitable industry with a lot of potential. However, it is still a relatively new sector and the exact direction it will take is still a little unclear.
Yet as it continues to grow, interesting new job roles and career opportunities are likely to become available throughout the UK. People who already have a good grounding in working with data could really take advantage of this.
#6 The IT Training Revolution
When your entire business and marketplace is online and only accessible through your IT infrastructure, constantly investing in IT training courses becomes the fuel of your business. As the technology evolves, so must your team’s knowledge and skills in handling it. And since the Internet has fully transitioned us the Industrial Revolution to the Information Revolution, this trend of businesses needing to invest in their IT training is only likely to increase.
So really, the future of the UK IT industry ultimately in IT courses. And those businesses brave enough to respond to this trend will make investing in IT training a top priority in 2014 and beyond.
For more information about cloud computing courses for your business, please visit the Global Knowledge website by clicking here now.
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