TMT Predictions 2019

Predictions has been published since 2001. Back in 2009 and 2010, we wrote about the launch of exciting new fourth-generation wireless networks called 4G (aka LTE). A decade later, we’re now making predictions about 5G networks that will be launching this year. Not surprisingly, our forecast for the first year of 5G is that it will look a lot like the first year of 4G in terms of units, revenues, and rollout. But while the forecast may look familiar, the high data speeds and low latency 5G provides could spur the evolution of mobility, health care, manufacturing, and nearly every industry that relies on connectivity.

In previous reports, we also wrote about 3D printing (aka additive manufacturing). Our tone was positive but cautious, since 3D printing was growing but also a bit overhyped. But time has passed. Reality has caught up to—or in some ways even surpassed—the earlier enthusiasm, and we now have new and impressive forecasts for that industry. We also wrote about eSports, which has evolved from a cult phenomenon to simply “phenomenon,” with big implications for media companies and advertisers.

In each of the last two Predictions reports, we discussed the truly exponential growth in machine learning, largely focusing on the chips that provided the processing foundation for that growth. We believe that machine learning will be the biggest and fastest-growing trend in technology again in 2019. We look at how machine learning is evolving rapidly from the domain of experts to a powerful technology any company can harness through the cloud. We also examine how China is growing its domestic chip industry, in part by leading with the artificial intelligence chip business.

We’ve had a prediction around TV, which is always worth writing about, every year for the last decade. In 2019, we focus on TV sports, young viewers, and TV sports watching’s surprising (and hitherto largely undocumented) connection with sports betting. To prove that even old (media) dogs can learn new tricks, we also write about traditional radio and its resilience … even as it celebrates its 99th birthday this year! The first-ever commercial radio broadcast was November 2, 1920.

Of course, our report features new themes that will surely evolve. Smart speakers have rocketed onto the scene as one of the fastest-adopted new devices in history; where will they go from here? Finally, we look at the world of quantum computers, a technology so new that it is still damp behind its superposed and entangled ears. When will quantum computing be big, and how big will it be? Read to the last page to find out!

For this edition, Deloitte Southeast Asia’s TMT practice has once again included its “Southeast Asia perspectives” with four of the global TMT predictions. Through a series of focus group discussions conducted by Deloitte Southeast Asia with 77 millennials—defined as those born between 1981 and 2000—across the three regional markets of Indonesia, Philippines, and Singapore, we offer some insight into how the global developments may take a different course or growth trajectory within the region due to its unique idiosyncrasies.

While there is continuity, the changes—often rapid changes—we track in this year’s report are new, important, and usually counter-consensus. TMT companies should understand and account for them as they evolve. We think they will matter to our readers in other industries as well, and they are important in all markets globally.