IT Industry Outlook 2019

The Next Big Thing is dead. Long live the Next Big Thing. Few phrases better capture the anticipation, intrigue, and magic of tech innovation. The phrase has been an apt descriptor for such standouts as the market-ready product that quickly revolutionizes the tech landscape (think first smartphone release). Increasingly, though, that phenomena is less relevant in a world defined not by ‘one big thing,’ but rather, the iterative fusion of technology building blocks coupled with a generous helping of people and process. This may entail the stacking of foundational infrastructure and enabling components with emerging general-purpose technologies, such as AI, and then rounded out with data, an ‘as-a-service’ user experience, and business process optimization. The implications are both exciting – the ingredients of innovation have never been more accessible, and trying, as users and technology providers work to understand an ever-growing set of building blocks and how the pieces fit to drive digital transformation. Against this backdrop, CompTIA explores the forces shaping the information technology industry, its workforce, and its business models in the year ahead.