Key trends for the local and global IT industry this year are likely to be mobility, social, cloud and big data, a report projected Wednesday.

Under such trends, multi-screen mobile platforms, business apps and the cloud computing business are among some sectors that are likely to gain traction in 2013, according to the report by the local unit of the Microsoft Corp.

The report highlighted the growing importance of multi-screen devices, in which people interchange smartphones and PCs, and multiple devices.

“With more than 1 billion smartphones and tablet PCs likely to be in use by 2016 and with over 90 percent of consumers using both smartphones and PCs, we have entered a multiscreen device era,” the report said.

In line with the growing use of multiple devices, the market for cloud service technology and apps that are compatible on various devices are also expected to expand.

Meanwhile, the company said it is pinning hopes on the corporate application market as developers turn to new profit drivers amid a saturation in consumer apps. (Yonhap News)