Innovation
Report sees rising use of home-health tech
January 6, 2021
NEW YORK – Deloitte Global released its Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions report, which highlights how worldwide trends may affect businesses and consumers, including healthcare providers and patients worldwide.
“While some technologies followed expected growth patterns, the reality of a global pandemic has resulted in unprecedented technology acceleration that has fundamentally changed how we live and work,” said Ariane Bucaille (pictured), Deloitte global technology, media & telecommunications industry leader. “A range of enterprise and consumer technologies, from 5G to the cloud to virtual reality, will continue to offer opportunities to the worldwide business ecosystem.”
Doctor visits move to video
One effect of COVID-19 has been jump-starting a worldwide trend of telemedicine, including video-based doctor visits. The global pandemic not only necessitated the elimination of regulatory barriers to such visits but also helped consumers better understand and leverage video calling apps, especially consumers over the age of 65.
Despite some initial trepidation, the TMT Predictions report illustrates how many consumers (and doctors) have been willing to shift to virtual appointments, including video visits. Deloitte Global predicts that the percentage of virtual video visits to doctors will rise to 5% globally in 2021, up from an estimated 1% in 2019.
Even single-digit growth is significant; 8.5 billion doctor’s visits, worth a total of approximately US$500 billion, took place in the 36 OECD countries in 2019 alone.
“Five percent of that would translate into more than 400 million video visits and about US$25 billion in value, depending on how much doctors are paid (either directly by a patient, by insurance, or by national health insurance) for video visits compared to in-person ones.”
Of interest, Deloitte predicts that rising activity in virtual medical visits will drive sales of medical-grade home healthcare technology. “Partially driven by the growth in virtual visits, we also expect that more than US$33 billion of medical-grade home healthcare technology (mainly therapeutic and monitoring solutions, which can include medically approved consumer products such as smart watches) will be sold in 2021, up almost 20% over 2019.”
Education and the enterprise opt for virtual reality
The market for digital reality headgear is growing as immersive technologies gain popularity in the enterprise and for education. Deloitte Global predicts that, led by purchases by corporations and educational institutions, sales for enterprise and educational use of wearable headsets for virtual, augmented and mixed reality – collectively known as XR or digital reality – will grow by 100% in 2021 over 2019 levels.
Market growth for these types of headsets has already accelerated in some markets due to the risk of COVID-19 infection driving their use in teaching employees and students virtually rather than in person. With the pandemic accelerating the opportunity to demonstrate their value, digital reality headsets may continue to gain ground after the pandemic ends due to a variety of other benefits, such as lower cost, greater safety, and better learning retention.
The pandemic drives cloud growth
By some metrics, the cloud market grew even faster in 2020 than in 2019. According to the TMT Predictions report, this was driven by increased demand due to COVID-19, lockdowns, and the work-from-anywhere business environment. Deloitte Global predicts that revenue growth will remain greater than 30% for 2021 through 2025 as companies migrate to the cloud to save money, become more agile, and drive innovation.
With the pandemic driving more enterprises toward cloud, the market will likely emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever. Cloud providers and others in the ecosystem will also have the opportunity to capitalize on increased usage, while cloud users can seek to explore new ways for the cloud to create value. In the near future, cloud technologies may become the dominant solution across all types of businesses.
Unleashing Industry 4.0 with the intelligent edge
The intelligent edge – the combination of advanced wireless connectivity, compact processing power, and AI located near devices that use and generate data – is already animating some of the largest technology and communications companies on the planet. Deloitte Global predicts that in 2021, the global market for the intelligent edge will reach $12 billion, continuing a CAGR of around 35%.
That increase is being driven primarily by telecommunications companies and their expanding 5G networks, along with hyperscale cloud providers. These highly capitalized leaders’ trailblazing may make it easier for companies across multiple industries to attain the intelligent edge.
More insight from Deloitte Global’s 2021 TMT Predictions:
- The 5G health myth gets busted: Concerns about 5G’s health risks have no basis in fact. Deloitte Global predicts that in 2021, it is very unlikely that the radiation from 5G mobile networks and 5G phones will affect the health of any single individual. But if education about 5G is to be effective in curbing popular fears, it needs to be compelling, consistent, and pervasive, and it needs to begin now.
- Next-generation RANs accelerate. Open and virtualized radio access networks (RANs) give mobile network operators (MNOs) the potential to reduce costs and increase vendor choice as they adopt 5G.
Deloitte Global’s annual TMT Predictions report provides an outlook on technology, media and telecommunications trends that may disrupt and transform the business and consumer ecosystems worldwide. Visit www.deloitte.com/predictions to learn more.
About Deloitte
Deloitte is a leading global provider of audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax and related services. Our global network of member firms and related entities in more than 150 countries and territories (collectively, the “Deloitte organization”) serves four out of five Fortune Global 500 companies. Learn how Deloitte’s more than 330,000 people make an impact that matters at www.deloitte.com.