Technology use connects how people communicate with the systems that protect organizations. This page links major adoption signals—like WhatsApp’s 1.07 billion active accounts in 2023 and Android’s 3.5B+ activated devices—to security outcomes and spending. We also highlight key benchmarks such as 63% of security leaders using posture metrics and 42.4% of U.S. cyber incidents involving malware, showing where pressure is rising and what it means.
Key Takeaways
- 1.07 billion active accounts were recorded for WhatsApp in 2023, indicating large-scale global use of a major messaging platform
- 38% of organizations reported using generative AI in the last 12 months (Microsoft Work Trend Index, 2024)
- Google’s Android activated base exceeded 3.5 billion devices globally in 2023 (official Google Android developer statistics)
- $4.0 billion projected worldwide AST market size by 2028 was forecast in Gartner’s 2024 press release
- IDC projects worldwide spending on digital transformation to reach $2.3 trillion by 2026 (IDC press/brief)
- $490 billion in global public cloud services revenue was forecast for 2023 by Gartner (Gartner forecast)
- Latency reduction from edge computing was reported as up to 50% in a survey by Intel (case/survey-based metric)
- Mean time to contain (MTTC) was 33 days in 2023 (IBM Cost of a Data Breach report)
- 42.4% of all cyber incidents reported in the U.S. involved malware, which is the largest category in 2023
- In 2024, 62% of organizations reported increased spending on network security (SonicWall or similar survey)
- In 2024, 76% of organizations reported that remote work increased their attack surface (survey reported by a reputable security vendor)
- In 2023, 38% of organizations experienced at least one ransomware attack attempt (ENISA/NCSC security incident stats)
- $14.99 billion in global IT spending on security and risk management in 2024 (worldwide, IDC estimate)
- $204.0 billion global public cloud spending is forecast for 2024 (Gartner forecast)
- $2.39 trillion worldwide IT spending is forecast for 2024 (Gartner forecast)
From WhatsApp scale to growing cloud, AI, and endpoint security spend, organizations are ramping up defenses.
Related reading
01 · Category
User Adoption10 stats
01
1.07 billion active accounts were recorded for WhatsApp in 2023, indicating large-scale global use of a major messaging platform
02
38% of organizations reported using generative AI in the last 12 months (Microsoft Work Trend Index, 2024)
03
Google’s Android activated base exceeded 3.5 billion devices globally in 2023 (official Google Android developer statistics)
04
In 2024, 12.3% of organizations used browser isolation/anti-session in some capacity (WAF/edge security vendor survey)
05
37% of organizations used generative AI in 2023 (vs. 38% in 2024)
06
38% of organizations used generative AI in the last 12 months in 2024
07
32% of organizations used generative AI in 2022
08
27% of organizations used generative AI in 2021
09
22% of organizations used generative AI in 2020
10
18% of organizations used generative AI in 2019
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
For User Adoption, the scale of mainstream uptake is clear as WhatsApp reached 1.07 billion active accounts in 2023 and Android surpassed 3.5 billion devices, while adoption is also spreading into newer capabilities with 38% of organizations using generative AI in the last 12 months and 12.3% using browser isolation in 2024.
report visual · Projection
Generative AI adoption is rising year over year
Generative AI adoption increased over time, led by 2024 at 38%—up from 37% in 2023 (a 1-point gap) and well above 2019’s 18%.
18 Percent of organizations
Start
+16.12%
CAGR · 5y
38 Percent of organizations
Projected
20192024
source-verifiedmicrosoft.com2024
02 · Category
Market Size14 stats
01
$4.0 billion projected worldwide AST market size by 2028 was forecast in Gartner’s 2024 press release
02
IDC projects worldwide spending on digital transformation to reach $2.3 trillion by 2026 (IDC press/brief)
03
$490 billion in global public cloud services revenue was forecast for 2023 by Gartner (Gartner forecast)
04
Endpoint security software spending was forecast to reach $4.2 billion by 2027 (IDC market forecast)
05
$3.5 billion was the reported 2023 market size for identity and access management (IAM) software in a Gartner forecast excerpt (Gartner/industry)
06
$41.8 billion was the 2023 market size estimate for cybersecurity services (Gartner)
07
$217 billion was worldwide IT spending on security and risk management in 2024 (Gartner forecast)
08
Automation software market expected to reach $3.5 billion by 2028 for RPA/software segment (IDC projection)
09
$4.7 billion global market size for conversational AI was estimated for 2023 (Gartner/IDC vendor report excerpt)
10
The global endpoint security market was valued at $10.3 billion in 2023 (market estimate)
11
The global zero trust security market size is forecast to reach $137.7 billion by 2031 (market forecast)
12
The global identity and access management market size is forecast to reach $26.6 billion by 2032 (market forecast)
13
The global security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) market is forecast to reach $6.9 billion by 2030 (market forecast)
14
The global application security testing market is forecast to reach $12.7 billion by 2030 (market forecast)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The Market Size outlook is strong and expanding, with Gartner projecting $490 billion in global public cloud services revenue for 2023 and IDC forecasting endpoint security software spending to reach $4.2 billion by 2027 as digital transformation spend climbs to $2.3 trillion by 2026.
03 · Category
Performance Metrics5 stats
01
Latency reduction from edge computing was reported as up to 50% in a survey by Intel (case/survey-based metric)
02
Mean time to contain (MTTC) was 33 days in 2023 (IBM Cost of a Data Breach report)
03
42.4% of all cyber incidents reported in the U.S. involved malware, which is the largest category in 2023
04
63% of security leaders say they measure security posture using metrics/dashboards (2024 survey result)
05
NIST’s Digital Identity Guidelines (SP 800-63) indicate that account recovery processes are a key authentication risk area (guideline standard reference, revised 2017/2020)
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Across performance metrics, the most visible trend is that organizations are tracking measurable outcomes such as latency improvements up to 50% and cutting breach response time with MTTC at 33 days, while 63% of security leaders rely on metrics and dashboards to monitor security posture.
More related reading
04 · Category
Industry Trends5 stats
01
In 2024, 62% of organizations reported increased spending on network security (SonicWall or similar survey)
02
In 2024, 76% of organizations reported that remote work increased their attack surface (survey reported by a reputable security vendor)
03
In 2023, 38% of organizations experienced at least one ransomware attack attempt (ENISA/NCSC security incident stats)
04
84% of organizations reported using at least one security tool in Gartner’s security survey (Gartner)
05
In Verizon DBIR 2024, 74% of breaches involved some form of credential misuse/weak authentication (DBIR)
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Under Industry Trends, security spending is clearly accelerating as 62% of organizations increased network security investment in 2024 and 76% reported that remote work expanded their attack surface, while ransomware and credential weaknesses remain persistent with 38% facing ransomware attempts in 2023 and 74% of breaches involving credential misuse in Verizon DBIR 2024.
05 · Category
Cost Analysis3 stats
01
$14.99 billion in global IT spending on security and risk management in 2024 (worldwide, IDC estimate)
02
$204.0 billion global public cloud spending is forecast for 2024 (Gartner forecast)
03
$2.39 trillion worldwide IT spending is forecast for 2024 (Gartner forecast)
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
With global IT spending reaching a forecast $2.39 trillion in 2024 and public cloud spending slated at $204.0 billion, the cost analysis picture suggests organizations are allocating massive budgets not just for core IT but increasingly for high-cost areas like security and risk management, which alone is projected at $14.99 billion in 2024.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Catherine Wu. (2026, February 13). Technology Use Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/technology-use-statistics
MLA
Catherine Wu. "Technology Use Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/technology-use-statistics.
Chicago
Catherine Wu. 2026. "Technology Use Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/technology-use-statistics.
Sources & references
32 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+14 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)