Q&
EDITOR’S
WHAT ARE THE
BENEFITS OF
INVESTING IN
BLOCKCHAIN
TECHNOLOGY?
IDC expects Blockchain
spending to grow at a
robust pace over the
2018–2022 forecast
period with a five-year
compound annual
growth rate (CAGR)
of 76.0% and total
spending of US$12.4
billion in 2022.
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
Issue 23
W
orldwide spending on Blockchain
solutions is forecast to be
nearly US$2.9 billion in 2019,
an increase of 88.7% from the US$1.5
billion spent last year, according to a newly
updated Worldwide Semiannual Blockchain
Spending Guide from International Data
Corporation (IDC).
IDC expects Blockchain spending to
grow at a robust pace over the 2018–2022
forecast period with a five-year compound
annual growth rate (CAGR) of 76.0% and
total spending of US$12.4 billion in 2022.
“Blockchain is maturing rapidly, and
we have reached an inflection point where
implementations are moving quickly beyond
the pilot and proof of concept phase,” said
James Wester, Research Director, Worldwide
Blockchain Strategies.
“That is why data on the actual spend
on the technology is so vital: it provides
the context in which Blockchain is evolving.
Understanding how and where enterprises
are investing their money gives vendors a
better sense of where they need to deliver
products and services as well as offering
technology buyers insight into how their
peers are adopting Blockchain.
“It also provides a snapshot of where we
can expect to see this new technology disrupt
the way enterprise software is delivered.”
The manufacturing and resources
sector, driven by the discrete and process
manufacturing industries, and the
distribution and services sector, led by the
retail and professional services industries,
are forecast to see Blockchain spending
of US$653 million and US$642 million
respectively this year. The manufacturing
and resources sector will see the fastest
growth in Blockchain spending over the
2018–2022 forecast with a five-year CAGR
of 77.6%, followed closely by the distribution
and services sector with a CAGR of 77.1%.
Cross border payments and settlements,
and trade finance and post-trade or
transaction settlements are the two
Blockchain use cases that will receive the
most investment (US$453 million and
US$285 million, respectively) in 2019.
The banking industry will be the largest
investor in both use cases. Manufacturing will
focus much of its Blockchain investment in lot
lineage or provenance use cases and asset or
good management use cases, while identity
management use cases will receive significant
investments from the banking, government,
and healthcare provider industries.
“The use cases that comprise the
Blockchain opportunity are developing as
swiftly as the technologies enabling it,” said
Jessica Goepfert, Program Vice President,
Customer Insights and Analysis.
“While spending for more developed use
cases in the financial sector like trade finance
and cross-border payments is still healthy
and growing strong, relative to six months
ago, we’ve seen an acceleration in spending
across a variety of other areas, such as
energy settlements and warranty claims. We
are continuing to monitor and measure these
developments on a regular basis and are
inspired by the various forms of innovation
Blockchain delivers.”
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