The A&D industry serves two main markets: aerospace, which encompasses the manufacturing, sale, and service of commercial and private aviation, and the defense sector, which depends on the nations’ need for advanced weapons, systems, and military aircrafts. The aerospace sector takes advantage of the rising demand for air travel and new aircraft production as a result of rising per capita income.

Commercial aircraft demand continues to grow with an additional 200M people entering the middle class, which encourages significant buying power due to an increase in business and leisure travel. The international revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) of commercial airlines maintains a steady rise by +3.4 percent year-over-year until October 2019 despite the global economic crisis with all regions recording higher passenger volumes except for Africa.

Manufactures are looking for new business opportunities to stay ahead of the competition by pursuing strong partnerships that meet the non-stop demand for outstanding aircraft technology. The acquisition of the two aerospace and defense giants, Harris Corporation and L3 Technologies, has forced businesses to stay abreast of M&A activity and innovative trends to access new technologies and enter new markets in the near future, regardless of their corporate cycle or financial status.

The global car and automobile industries are diverse, which range from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and component manufacturers to dealerships and commercial vehicle manufacturers.

This sector is expected to accelerate its growth while improving economic conditions and increasing customer demands for technological improvements in safety, navigation, automation, and entertainment. Global sales of passenger cars hit 77M vehicles in 2019, with China and the US as major key players in the market in terms of production and deals. 17.9M cars and lightweight trucks were sold to US customers in 2019, with passenger car deals recording a significant reduction (over 4.7M units the same year, compared to 5.3M sold in 2018). However, from an international viewpoint, it seems that most revenue has been generated in the US with value reaching $627.53M in 2020.

Over the next decade, the vast majority of consumers will consider internet-connected car technologies and autonomous vehicles. In 2018, around 11 percent of US respondents stated that they had a very positive attitude towards driverless cars, presumably because they consider autonomous vehicles to be safer than conventional cars. The global market for autonomous driving hardware components is expected to grow from $13B in 2019 to $26B in 2025.

After a decade of the global economic crisis, the banking sector is not only bigger but stronger against aggressive competitors that are dominating the market. The explosion of new technologies and the ever-changing client demands have provoked unprecedented industry challenges, forcing banks to develop winning strategies against traditional financial models.

Financial technologies (fintechs) have become an integral part of contemporary banking with banks competing beyond financial services and increased competition from non-financial institution offerings. Fintech’s exponential growth has changed the banking business landscape by demanding more creative solutions. The latest trends require banks to boost investments in fintech, to reconsider service distribution channels, particularly for business-to-consumers (B2C) transactions, increase further standardization of back-office operations, etc. Global investments in fintech companies hit $111.8B in 2018 with 2,196 deals led by three mega M&As and $10B buyout deals, according to the KPMG Pulse of Fintech report. European fintech investments for 2018 increased sharply to $34.2B from $12.2B in 2017, thanks to massive M&As and buyout deals, including WorldPay ($12.8B), Nets ($5.5B), iZettle ($2.2B), the Fidessa Group ($2.1B), and IRIS Software Group ($1.75B).

According to Statista experts, the global big data and analytics market share is dominated by banks who are responsible for producing 13.9% of big data revenues across leading sectors such as manufacturing and professional services. The global big data and business analytics market was valued at $168.8 B in 2018 and is expected to reach $274.3 B by 2022 with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.2%. The size of the business intelligence and analytics software application market is expected to reach around $14.5 B in 2022.

The sector is comprised of companies that produce chemicals and advanced materials.

The global advanced materials market is anticipated to reach around $102B by 2024 with Asia Pacific to be leading the way in the advanced materials market due to an expanding number of industries and rising manufacturing activities in this region. Europe will dominate the speciality chemicals market with the value of pharmaceutical production exceeding €450B in 2030 and maintain a steady baseline of €300B in advanced materials and base chemicals in the next decade.

To achieve success, companies should explore smart ways to invest in their R&D infrastructure by combing both in-house and outsourcing functions to get access to cutting-edge technologies or enhance their skills. Capital investments will continue to be a key factor in safeguarding the chemical industry growth rate in the near future. Such investments will not only contribute to improving productivity or launching new advanced products but also to maintain resilience amid disruptive setbacks.

In 2019, the global construction industry had experienced significant growth despite the aftermath of digital transformation that imposed pressure on costs and revealed skills shortages that accounted for 65.6 percent of all markets around the world. The global construction output was approximately $17.14T in 2017 and is expected to reach $24.33T in 2021 at a remarkable compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Construction is about to change completely due to digital innovation. Disruption will lead to industry growth if firms are able to adapt by fully transforming their work models and procedures through the integration of new digital solutions. Urbanization, globalization, infrastructure renewals, and the increasing need to develop new “mega cities” are only some of the main contributors towards the increased competitiveness in the construction industry. The rise of smart city mega-projects has transformed the sector due to the demand of a more sophisticated urban ecosystem capable of integrating IoT technologies in public life. Smart construction of buildings is identified by the increasing number of innovative, faster, cost-effective, and more efficient construction concepts, technologies, and processes. Today, the global smart cities market size is expected to reach $252.56B by the end of 2025 with a CAGR of 16.53% between 2019 and 2025. Asia Pacific will account for the largest market size by 2023 followed by Europe, North America, and the Middle East. China is expected to surpass the market, already initiating to transform 500 cities into smart cities and develop smart buildings and utilities even further. In China, India, and the Middle East, new cities will be built using eco-friendly practices to reduce their environmental impact. Governments and the investment community may need to work together to fund and build these cities along with their infrastructures.

The global consumer goods industry is highly competitive due to increasing consumer trends and the emergence of digital innovations that transformed retail trade. Despite its steady growth in the previous decade, the sector currently faces enormous pressure as consumer trends are changing. Millennials avoid buying products from large established companies since they are tech-savvy and obsessed with researching before buying online. They also tend to believe that new brands are better and more innovative than traditional giants. The explosion of small brands in the cosmetics industry is supported by significant venture-capital investments: $1.6B from 2008 to 2017 with 80 percent of these investments since 2014.

Three of the companies on Path to Purchase IQ’s list of the “Top 100 Consumer Goods Companies” for 2019 experienced growth in their most recent fiscal year. However, only 15 of them enjoyed double-digit profits and nearly all needed to undertake significant acquisitions.

In 2018, retail e-commerce sales worldwide made $2.8T and e-retail revenues are projected to make $4.88T in 2021.

The largest global e-markets are: China: $672B, the US: $340B, the UK: $99B, Japan: $79B, Germany: $73B, France: $43B, South Korea: $37B, Canada: $30B, Russia: $20B, and finally Brazil: $19B.

New data shows that consumers are now more demanding when it comes to convenience, quality, prompt delivery, and high expectations. According to new standards, not only do retailers have to find more innovative ways to make shopping easy and seamless, but they need to develop their customer journeys to engage their audience effectively. Competition in retail is shifting priorities from price and product to enhanced customer experience and privileged insights.

Artificial intelligence has also disrupted B2C and B2B sales by offering various benefits such as advanced user analytics for optimum customer experiences, automated retail operations, security, intuitive interfaces, personalization, and seamless integrations. The McKinsey Global Institute’s research has shown that the retail industry could gain global benefits from AI worth $400B to $800B, more than any other industry. Big data is now considered quite valuable in retail. Walmart is the largest retailer worldwide with over 11,300 stores in 27 countries. This is a great example for taking full advantage of big data, being able to cope with 2/5 petabytes of data every hour and respond to huge volumes fast, enabling effective decision-making and implementing change when data reveals certain information.

The oil & gas industry includes a wide variety of essential products for multiple markets and purposes. Despite the fact that the production of various products such as petrol, diesel and jet engines increased the demand, the need for renewable energy and alternative fuel sources have transformed the sector. As a result, oil & gas do not solely refer to petroleum, chemicals, and other oil-derived products, but also to a broader energy market.

Between 2012 and 2025, global oil consumption will rise annually on an average of 1.2%. The principal growth driver of oil consumption in evolving countries will continue to be the transportation industry. China is now the leading market for new cars and by 2025, the total number of vehicles is expected to reach 266M. Subsequently, the growth rate of car sales will increase the demand for gasoline and, inevitably, the demand for oil extraction. The rise in oil consumption, especially in fuel oil products, will be recorded in the Middle East as well. Countries in the Persian Gulf already consume fuel oil for a wide range of purposes, such as industrial production, generating electricity, refinery functions, and water distillation. The developed countries have already reached the highest level in oil consumption. Therefore, improvements in the fuel economy are necessary in order to constrain this increase. The demand for gasoline is, and will remain, at low levels. Whereas the demand for alternative, banker, and diesel fuels will increase due to the commercial transport industry expansion and the application of stricter environmental guidelines. Specifically, by 2025, diesel fuel consumption will rise from 32% to 37%. Subsequently, changes in the structure of the existing refineries will be essential. The increase of oil production in North America won’t lead to a global oil price collapse. Modern methods to evaluate shale oil reserves arouse considerable uncertainty. Therefore, we are cautious in our estimates regarding the potential in  US production levels. A number of factors, which include the growing cost of reserve replacements, the complementary role of OPEC, and the depreciation of the US dollar will help support the current levels of oil prices over the years. The European oil refining industry is experiencing a general crisis. The decline in US gasoline imports and commissioning of new, more effective oil refineries in the Middle East and Asia will continue to have a long-term negative impact on the European market. Gas consumption will grow faster than oil consumption with China being the leader.

Despite the decline in global healthcare spending, long-term spending is expected to rise at a CAGR of 5% between 2019 and 2023. The US Healthcare Information Technology (HCIT) market hit $75,080.5M in 2018 and is expected to reach $149,178M by 2025, at a CAGR of 11.7% during the forecasted period. The healthcare IT sector is comprised of healthcare providers, healthcare payer solutions, and HCIT outsourcing services. Healthcare providers have the greatest market share because of the implementation of health records into electronic databases and other information systems that support hospitals. Key players are located mostly in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. Emerging markets in the healthcare sector include China, India, Indonesia, and Brazil, which will be promising if governments invest more in infrastructures and reduce healthcare expenditures. Medicare and Medicaid services, which are funded by government programs in the US, are becoming the most promising growth areas in the upcoming years.

Companies need to be prepared to face fierce competition from transitional markets that offer more cost-effective services in MedTech products against giants. Investments should entail the development of people and infrastructures in order to make the best use of medical technology while being aligned with future trends, which upscale doctors’ roles and workflows. Smarter spending and better performance in healthcare businesses are significant in order to add value and learn from the best in the market. According to a Deloitte research report, key disruptors are those who have managed to leverage big data assets and apply advanced analytics to improve their decision-making process. Others either hire talent from correlated industries to develop new digital capabilities or they collaborate with key partners, even former competitors, to achieve innovative results.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that by 2034 there will be a global deficit of about 12.9M skilled health professionals, emphasizing the serious need to bridge the gap between systems and people. In order to bridge this gap, healthcare businesses and governmental bodies should focus on where and when to invest in a digital ecosystem. The critical issue here is to establish a patient-centered healthcare system. Employers are also looking for better employee well-being tools, aiming to re-energize and motivate their employees. These software applications will focus on adopting a healthier lifestyle through advanced technology and social networking for optimum user experience.

The engineering services market consists of sales or engineering services while manufacturing deals with the production and transformation of materials or components into new finished products that can be sold in the market.

Industrial machinery is another big part of the entire manufacturing sector that encompasses the sales of machinery across various sectors, such as food and beverage, manufacturing machinery, woodworking machinery, paper products, printing and building, textile making, or sole traders and partnerships that produce industrial machinery. Despite the fact that this market is expected to hit $2,748.88B by 2022 at a CAGR of 43.9% during that forecasted period, several factors such as safety and labor issues will set a significant constraint on its growth rate.

Industry 4.0, which entails IoT technology, advanced autonomous robots, and 3D printing has transformed the sector by digitizing and optimizing the production process and maintenance through advanced predictive analytics. These new advancements are expected to help many organizations in considering new strategies and more innovative business models, embracing smart manufacturing that is now gaining significant market share worldwide. The North American, European, and Asian Pacific regions are the most dominant players with 67.1%, 57.4%, and 54.9% market share respectively. However, the industry will face challenges in the near future since 4.0 equipment and practices require huge capital investments.

Moreover, big data systems are becoming powerful tools to monitor machine failures, contributing to effective risk management and cost reduction in maintenance projects. The increasingly connected industrial control systems (ICS) make it possible for manufacturers to collect valuable data assets and protect them at all costs. Blockchain technology facilitates a safer, smarter, and more efficient manufacturing process.

Augmented reality (AR) may be the key to gain long-term returns on investments since it facilitates a shorter production lifecycle and progressive problem solving. Augmented and virtual reality (VR) are expected to support training projects, remote maintenance operations, and anything that requires extreme accuracy and efficiency.

3D printing has reached its peak in growth, compared to other technologies, producing advanced materials on minimum budgets. In 2019, the sector hit $10.2B with a promising value of $27.5B by 2024.

A digital twin is another innovative concept that is becoming a reality in the industry where digital modelling monitors the performance of physical assets or procedures. Projections suggest that half of the large industrials will use digital twin technology by 2021. This technological approach has various applications in the manufacturing sector for thousands of procedures or for rapid new product development. It also has great customer value since it enables consumer feedback through data streams and, therefore, integrates innovation according to customer needs.

The transportation and logistics industry along with related subsectors promote international trade and play a significant role in global economic growth and development. Transportation involves infrastructures (terminal facilities, storage warehouses, etc.) and seaport services as integrated logistics centers. Logistics encompasses a number of services for the planning and implementation of various products, which includes the organization, management, and dissemination of information in the supply chain; from the starting point, which involves purchasing, production, and warehousing, to the end point, which includes added value services and distribution in order to meet customer needs. Both internal and external distribution networks are involved in logistics with the latter being the link between suppliers and customers.

The importance of logistics has increased in the global economy as it represents the backbone of highly complex and universal supply chains, which requires the efficient, cost-effective, and reliable distribution of goods and information. Freight transport logistics is, therefore, highly dependent on the external environment that shapes the needs and patterns for the production and consumption of goods. As such, the logistics sector is a dynamic system that continuously needs to tackle new challenges and stay abreast of ongoing changes in the socio-cultural, economic, technological, and political environments.

Maritime transport is the most vital means of international freight transport, accounting for 80% of world trade by quantity and more than 70% by cost. Global economic growth and the need for international distribution of products are key drivers in this sector.

Training and knowledge are essential factors for crew members within a digitized environment. In a study undertaken in 2016 by BIMCO and Fairplay, 21% of participants from the maritime industry admitted that they were victims of cyber-attacks. Digital transformation includes many tools; thus, in many respects, it shifts the labor market. Digitization changes the world of employment drastically: what individuals do at work, how and where they operate, the skills they need to stay at work in a changing global environment, and how their careers may develop. It is important to see how digitization modifies employee skills and the duties they perform. The quality of data collected will continue to improve as digital transformation progresses. Another future workforce challenge is automation with projections to replace human responsibilities, creating skills gaps in duties that are directly connected with productivity and profitability.

The global travel and tourism industry continues to grow steadfast and is currently the second contributor to the global economy, right after manufacturing. Total exports from international tourism reached $1.7T in 2018, or almost $5B a day, on average. Respectively, it accounts for 10% of the global GDP and the industry’s direct contribution is likely to grow by 3.6% by 2029. The overall contribution to the global economy is $8.8T. The Middle East and Africa have been innovative centers regarding travel, with businesses focusing more on enhanced experiences and the “connected customer” concept.

Digitization, personalization, and authenticity for a seamless experience will remain a priority for the travel and hospitality business in the near future. The sector is rapidly moving towards an even higher level of technological development and intelligent hotels are quickly adapting this trend either by converting their lobbies into super-connected social hubs and working spaces or adopting digitization into their guest journey touchpoints. Through these strategies, they stay abreast of guests’ tech demands, which will inevitably increase. Overall, digital technologies are improving the hospitality industry by accumulating more channels of engagement, creating new methods of communication with their customers to get a deeper understanding of their needs. Similarly, partnerships between hotels and hi-tech companies continue to thrive and are helping the industry improve customer relations, facilitating the ultimate hospitality experience.