International Internet Day: Five Digital Trends That Shaped 2021

Starting off in a period marked by supply chain disruptions and a worldwide chip shortage, 2021 wasn’t initially touted as a turnaround year for the tech industry. However, the year did spring a few surprises by the time we entered Q3. PC shipments zoomed over 13% in Q2, 5G investments drew handsome returns, and digital workplace became a norm. On International Internet Day, let’s look at some of the top digital trends in 2021 that offer a peek into how the tech industry will shape up in the years ahead.  

Tremendous investments in 5G technology over the past decade finally bore fruit this year, with 5G revenues scaling the $19 billion figure in 2021, up from $13.7 billion last year, GartnerOpens a new window revealed in an industry forecast released in August.

In mature markets, communications service providers (CSPs) accelerated 5G development in 2020 and 2021, with 5G representing 39% of total wireless infrastructure revenue this year. “The COVID-19 pandemic propelled the demand for optimized and ultrafast broadband connectivity to support work-from-home and bandwidth-hungry applications, such as streaming video, online gaming and social media applications,” said Michael Porowski, senior principal research analyst at Gartner.

2021 arrived with promises of higher data speeds, lower latency, and a solid capability to enable advanced immersive experiences. This year, 5G has begun to truly enhance network performance for the benefit of individuals and organizations, more so than any of its predecessors in the field of wireless networking.

Table 1: Wireless Network Infrastructure Revenue Forecast, Worldwide (Millions of U.S. Dollars)

Segment	2020 Revenue	2021 Revenue	2022 Revenue
5G	13,768.0	19,128.9	23,254.6
LTE and 4G	17,127.8	14,569.1	12,114.0
3G and 2G	3,159.6	1,948.2	1,095.2
Small Cells Non-5G	6,588.5	7,117.9	7,113.9
Mobile Core	5,714.6	6,056.2	6,273.3
Total	46,358.5	48,820.2	49,851.0

Source: Gartner (August 2021)

As 2021 reflected the continuation of the Covid-19 phase, pre-pandemic predictions of major trends in the digital world were overhauled. What might have been obsolete saw a rising trend in 2021. What indicated a rising curve earlier became a slow trend and then boomeranged last year towards the growth trajectory. Along with 5G, multiple digital trends saw an upward shift:

1. The Return of PCs

According to IDCOpens a new window , irrespective of the global chip shortage issue, global sales of desktop PCs kept growing in the second quarter of this year. According to preliminary results from IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, the global supply of Traditional PCs, including desktops, notebooks, and workstations, reached 83.6 million units in Q2, up 13.2% from the second quarter of 2020.

During the quarter, desktop growth outpaced notebook growth due to increased demand for PCs mixed with supply bottlenecks that severely hampered laptop supply.

“The PC market’s hot streak continued to drive heavy investments from the supply side including the entry of new vendors as well as additional spend from underdogs,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC’s Mobile and Consumer Device Trackers. “And while the top 5 continue to drive volume, the smaller vendors have helped drive growth by offering unique features or niche designs.”

 

Top 5 Companies, Worldwide Traditional PC Shipments, Market Share, and Year-Over-Year Growth, Q2 2021 (Preliminary results, shipments are in thousands of units)
Company	2Q21 Shipments	2Q21 Market Share	2Q20 Shipments	2Q20 Market Share	2Q21/2Q20 Growth
1. Lenovo	20,005	23.9%	17,407	23.6%	14.9%
2. HP Inc.	18,594	22.2%	18,104	24.5%	2.7%
3. Dell Technologies	13,976	16.7%	12,010	16.3%	16.4%
4T. Apple	6,156	7.4%	5,630	7.6%	9.4%
4T. Acer Group	6,088	7.3%	5,177	7.0%	17.6%
Others	18,795	22.5%	15,551	21.0%	20.9%
Total	83,614	100.0%	73,879	100.0%	13.2%
Source: IDC Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, July 12, 2021

 

2. Online search behavior

Consumers had to swivel and acquire new routines throughout the global outbreak. During the onset of the pandemic, business executives pondered if these changes, which exacerbated existing patterns, would be temporary or lasting. According to PwC’Opens a new window s June 2021 Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey, the changes remain, indicating a historic and profound shift in consumer behavioral patterns.

Top significant consumer behavioral changes reported by the survey:

• Since the initial Pulse poll, more than half of the worldwide consumers questioned think they have evolved more digitally.
• In-app/online purchasing is rising, with in-store buying up two percentage points since March 2021 Pulse survey and more than twice since 2018.
• Compared to PWC’s last survey on consumer behavior, more respondents claim they shop online at least once a day.

See More: Global Chip Shortage: Can Cloud Migration Help Avert the Crisis?

1. Increased mobile use

According to GartnerOpens a new window , worldwide smartphone sales to end customers hit 328.8 million in the second quarter of 2021, up 10.8% year over year. Notwithstanding supply restrictions caused by COVID-19-related production disruptions and material shortages, worldwide mobile phone sales increased by 10.2%.

“The regions with higher penetration of 5G connectivity saw strong demand for 5G smartphones and were growth drivers for leading smartphone vendors,” said Anshul Gupta, senior research director at Gartner.

Table 1. Worldwide Top 5 Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 2Q21 (Thousands of Units)

Vendor	2Q21 Units	2Q21 Market Share (%)	2Q20 Units	2Q20 Market Share (%)
Samsung	57,748.4	17.6	54,759.4	18.4
Xiaomi	51,073.1	15.5	28,288.6	9.5
Apple	49,258.2	15.0	38,386.1	12.9
OPPO	33,634.1	10.2	23,612.1	8.0
Vivo	32,224.0	9.8	22,751.5	7.7
Others	104,930.6	31.9	129,141.9	43.5
Total	328,868.5	100	296,939.6	100

Due to rounding, some figures may not add up to the totals shown.

Source: Gartner (September 2021)

1. Blockchain Technology

Both large and small firms are considering using blockchain to optimize their businesses. As a result of the covid crisis, there has been a significant movement to digital platforms, rendering blockchain increasingly crucial for ensuring secure and reliable transactions. Albeit blockchain being at its nascent stage worldwide, it has incredible potential to become a widely accepted innovation.

The overall financial market and organizations consuming such services are disrupted by digital assets (FSI). The framework for every form of trade and financial instruments ranging from funds to equities is getting modified better. Deloitte’s 2021 Global Blockchain SurveyOpens a new window report highlighted the emergence of blockchain-based digital assets that have caused a major shift in financial services. 

See More: Three Tech Trends Organizations Should Adopt to Thrive in 2021 and Beyond

1. Digital Workplace

One of the major disruptors in the last two years has been the shifting of our workplaces to digital platforms. Almost 42% of the U.S. workforce worked from their homes during the end of June 2020 said a reportOpens a new window . The adoption of collaboration solutions exploded as organizations urgently looked for ways to enable their employees to communicate effectively within a hybrid setup. UpworkOpens a new window estimates that one in every four Americans would work remotely in 2021, accounting for 26% of the country’s workforce.

The worldwide video conferencing industry was worth USD7.87 billion in 2020, more than double compared to previous years. The trend is continuing in the year 2021 as businesses are continuing to use these solutions for employee communications and for conducting business meetings, conferences, webinars and important M&A deals. 

Enterprises are estimated to invest between $35 and $80 billion in digital workplace solutions within the next five years. Employers want to boost expenditure on staff communications, particularly by investing in IT, HR, and employee tools.

Do you think digital trends influenced by the shift to remote work will hold sway in the coming years? Comment below or let us know on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We’d love to hear from you!