IDC predicts the region will become the world's second-largest investor in the technology
Rebecca Gibson |
Europe is set to spend US$3.5 billion per year on blockchain solutions by 2022, which will make it the world’s second-largest investor in this type of technology, according to a new report from IDC.
Forecasts from IDC’s Worldwide Semiannual Blockchain Spending Guide suggest that European companies will increase their blockchain investments from around US$400 million in 2018 to US$3.5 billion in 2022 – a compound annual growth rate of 80.2 %. This will help the region to close the gap with the world’s biggest blockchain investor, the US.
The financial services sector is expected to be the largest and fastest-growing industry, quickly followed by insurance and banking, then supply-chain-related segments such as manufacturing and retail. By 2022, IDC expects that the top use cases for blockchain technology will be trade finance and post-trade/transaction settlements, identity management, regulatory compliance, cross-border payments and settlements, and asset/goods management.
IDC predicts that sectors such as utilities, professional services and government will also increase their blockchain investments, using the technology to manage transactions and supply chain quality, or to track goods and assets.
Despite predicted growth, another recent IDC survey revealed European companies still have some way to go in terms of understanding blockchain applicability and usefulness, especially smaller organisations.
“The European market is less flexible than other regions and is also more fragmented in terms of business size,” said Carla La Croce, senior research analyst for Customer Insights and Analysis at IDC. “Nevertheless, as IDC has already highlighted, 2018 is still the year of blockchain, and European companies are showing increasing interest, supported by growing investments. Companies recognise the importance of the technology and are starting to explore how it can be deployed in their business, going beyond pilots and identifying the best use cases.”