Deloitte TMT Predictions: Machine Learning Deployments, Digital Subscriptions, Smartphone Usage, On-Demand Content and Live Events Will Continue to Drive Growth

Among the findings pertaining to the enterprise, this year's report indicates that business organizations will likely double their use of machine learning technology by the end of 2018. TMT Predictions highlights five key areas that Deloitte believes will unlock more intensive use of machine learning in the enterprise by making it easier, cheaper and faster.

The most important key area is the growth in new semiconductor chips that will increase the use of machine learning, enabling applications to use less power, and at the same time become more responsive, flexible and capable.

"We have reached the tipping point where adoption of machine learning in the enterprise is poised to accelerate, and will drive improved business operations, better decision making and provide enhanced or entirely new products and services," said Paul Sallomi, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP, global TMT industry leader and U.S. technology sector leader.

Live content in an online world and digital media worth paying for

TMT Predictions includes a number of consumer forecasts as well. Deloitte predicts that live broadcast and events will generate over $545 billion in direct revenues in 2018. Despite consumers' capability to consume content on demand or attend events remotely, live consumption is thriving. Also, in many cases, live content's performance has been made more productive and profitable by digital. This indicates an increasing willingness from consumers to pay for digital content. Deloitte also predicts that by the end of 2018, 50 percent of adults in developed countries will have at least two online-only media subscriptions, and by the end of 2020, the average will have doubled to four.

"The massive consumer interest in streaming, mobile, on-demand services and personalization are significant opportunities in 2018 for both content creators and brands. We see signs that consumers' willingness to pay for this content will continue to accelerate in 2018 and beyond," said Kevin Westcott, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP, and U.S. media and entertainment leader.

The future of the smartphone

Smartphone adoption continues to grow. By the end of 2023, more than 90 percent of adults in developed countries are expected to have a smartphone, with ownership among 55-75 year-olds reaching 85 percent. And Deloitte predicts that owners will interact with their phones on average 65 times per day in 2023, a 20 percent increase on 2018.

At the same time, Deloitte predicts 45 percent of global adult smartphone users and 65 percent of 18-24 year olds will worry that they are using their phones too much for certain activities and may try to limit their usage in 2018.

"While traditional mobile services have matured in 2017, the opportunities presented by "made for mobile" content, IoT services, wearables and virtual reality represent a significant value proposition to both industry and consumers in 2018 ," said Craig Wigginton, vice chairman and telecommunications sector leader, Deloitte & Touche LLP. "The incredible connection between the mobile ecosystem and consumers shows every sign of accelerating in the year ahead."

Additional topics from Deloitte's 2018 TMT Predictions include:

• Augmented reality on the cusp of reality – Over a billion smartphone users will likely create augmented reality (AR) content at least once in 2018, with at least 300 million doing so monthly, and tens of millions weekly, according to Deloitte.  

• Mobile only wireless home internet – For 2018, Deloitte forecasts that one-fifth of North American homes will get all of their internet data access via cellular mobile networks. There will be significant variations by country, however. In Brazil, for example, nearly a third of all homes will be mobile only, but only 10 percent in some European countries. The differences between geographies are due to a range of technological, economic and demographic factors.

• An increase in #adlergic – While three-quarters of North Americans engage in at least one form of regular adblocking, only about 10 percent of this population engages in blocking ads in four or more ways – the "adlergic" population. Consumers who are young, highly educated, employed, and have higher incomes are more likely to be heavy adblockers.

• TV viewing by 18-24 year olds: stable declines, but no tipping point – Deloitte predicts that traditional TV viewing by 18-24 year-olds will decline by 5-15 percent per year in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in 2018 and 2019. This rate of decline is a similar rate to the prior seven years and is not getting worse. Many forces that distracted young people away from traditional TV, such as smartphones, social media and video piracy, are reaching saturation.

• In flight connectivity takes off – 1 billion passenger journeys, or one-quarter of all passengers, are expected to be on planes fitted with in-flight connectivity (IFC) in 2018, according to Deloitte. This is an estimated 20 percent increase from projected 2017 totals, generating IFC revenue close to $1 billion for 2018.

"This year's predictions underscore the stunning momentum we see across the technology, media and telecommunications sectors," concluded Sandra Shirai, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP, and U.S. technology, media and telecommunications leader. "While we'll see exponential growth in some areas, we see consumer behavior maturing in others. This will drive a next wave of innovation which will have a profound impact on both enterprises and consumers in 2018."

Now in its 17^th year, Deloitte's annual TMT Predictions provides an outlook on key trends over the course of the next 1-5 years in the technology, media and telecommunications industry sectors worldwide. Connect with us on Twitter: @DeloitteTMT and #TMTPredictions.

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