Technology
Why Big Tech is Plotting an Invasion of the Healthcare Market
The idea of using modern tech to transform the multi-trillion dollar healthcare industry has been around for a long time.
In 1996, legendary Silicon Valley entrepreneur Jim Clark launched his third startup, Healtheon, which was focused on what he called the “Magic Diamond”. The diamond represented the $1.5 healthcare market in the U.S. and its shape came from the doctors, providers, payers, and consumers slotted into the four outer points.
In the middle of the diamond, Clark had placed his new company Healtheon, which he expected to profit immensely from connecting the healthcare world together with the internet.
Before Its Time?
Healtheon had a successful IPO in the middle of the Dotcom bubble, but it never was able to truly achieve its bold and original vision. As signals mounted that Dotcom stocks would implode, the fledgling company merged with WebMD in 1999.
Despite the fate of Healtheon, the dream of tech invading the healthcare market lives on – and today, big tech companies like Amazon, IBM, Alphabet, and Apple all have plans to enter the sector in a big way.
Today’s infographic from Koeppel Direct shows how this is all playing out, as well as the specific initiatives that big technology companies are using to gain a foothold in a market that’s ripe for change.
The story is no longer about the startups coming in to “disrupt” healthcare – unfortunately, the industry seems to have too much red tape, regulation, and bureaucracy for this to be possible in the conventional way. Instead, it’s the big companies like Amazon, Apple, IBM, and Alphabet that are eyeing to invade the space.
And for technology companies focused on big data, the healthcare market is a compelling opportunity.
Healthcare Market Potential
By the numbers, here is a snapshot of the healthcare market, and why big tech wants in:
- Global healthcare spending is expected to reach $8.7 trillion by 2020
- In the U.S., there will be 98.2 million people aged 65+ years by 2060
- Diabetes will affect 642 million people globally by 2040
- 70% of healthcare firms are investing in consumer-facing tech, like apps, remote monitoring, and virtual care
- Wearable tech could drop hospital costs by 16% over the course of five years
- Remote patient monitoring tech could save the healthcare system $200 billion over the next 25 years
- Over 80% of consumers say that wearable tech has the potential to make healthcare more convenient
- 88% of physicians want patients to monitor health parameters at home
Scientific advancements and technology have already been responsible for saving billions of lives through history, and now it’s time to see if big tech can step up to the plate using AI, augmented reality, big data, and other technologies to do more of the same – especially if it helps move these companies closer to the center of the “diamond”.
Technology
Ranked: The World’s Top 10 Electronics Exporters (2000-2021)
Here are the largest electronics exporters by country, highlighting how electronics trade has increasingly shifted to Asia over 20 years.
Top 10 Electronics Exporters in the World (2000-2021)
From personal computers to memory chips, the electronics trade plays a vital role in the world economy. In 2021, global electronics exports reached $4.1 trillion according to McKinsey Global Institute.
This graphic shows the 10 largest electronics exporters in the world, based on data from McKinsey, and how they’ve changed since 2000.
Ranked: The Top 10 Exporters of Electronics
Which countries are the leading exporters of electronics, and how has this shifted over the last two decades?
| Rank | Country | Share of Total 2021 | Share of Total 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇨🇳 China | 34% | 9% |
| 2 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | 11% | 6% |
| 3 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 7% | 5% |
| 4 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 5% | N/A |
| 5 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 5% | 5% |
| 6 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 4% | 13% |
| 7 | 🇺🇸 United States | 4% | 16% |
| 8 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 4% | 5% |
| 9 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 3% | 3% |
| 10 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 3% | N/A |
| Other | 20% | 30% |
We can see in the above table how global electronics trade has become more concentrated in Asia, specifically China and Taiwan. As an electronics powerhouse, 34% of the world’s electronic goods in 2021 came from China, representing $1.4 trillion in value.
Home to leading firms like TSMC, Taiwan also plays a major role due to its prowess in semiconductor manufacturing—highlighting the island’s global importance.
But not all of Asia has been thriving. In 2000, Japan was a global electronics powerhouse responsible for 13% of the industry’s exports, but has seen its share shrink to 4% in 2021. The U.S. has also sheen its electronics lead shrink, with exports down from 16% of the global total in 2000 to just 4% in 2021.
Several factors have driven this shift. Instead of manufacturing electronics domestically, the U.S. has outsourced technology to countries where manufacturing, production, and labor costs are lower. However, recently, the U.S. is focusing on reshoring semiconductor production specifically given its role in national security, as seen through the $52.7 billion CHIPS Act.
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