Digital Industrial Era To Dawn By 2020: Gartner

In the digital industrial era we're hurtling toward, every organization will be an IT company. Every budget will be an IT budget, and every individual will be a technology business. And unless CIOs begin taking steps today, their roles and businesses will disappear, according to the keynote presentation at Monday's Gartner ITxpo in Orlando, Fla.

Gartner predicted that worldwide IT spending will grow 3.6% from this year to reach $3.8 trillion in 2014. Nevertheless, Peter Sondergaard, senior VP and global head of research at the firm, told the roughly 8,500 conference attendees that the real opportunities lie in harnessing the opportunities created by the Internet of Things (IoT), 3-D printing and digitalization. Many organizations will already be thriving in this digital industrial era by 2020, so it is imperative that all businesses and government agencies plan -- and act -- now.

In 2020 the real and the virtual worlds are one. Consumer IT and organizational IT are one. Digital capabilities are all throughout your enterprise. Digital is the business. The business is digital. You are leading and thriving in the digital industrial economy.

By 2020, for example, there will be 30 billion sensors and 7.3 billion personal devices, and IoT-associated revenue will exceed $309 billion that year, Sondergaard said. Organizations across all verticals will include sensors in a wide spectrum of products (furniture, cattle, electronics and more) to personalize customer service, cut costs, improve productivity and discover new business opportunities.

Nick Jones, VP and distinguished analyst, asked during the presentation, "If a processor chip just costs 50 cents, why wouldn't you make anything costing more than a few dollars smart?"

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