Global STM Online Services, 2024-2028

The overall STM online services market measured $9.2 billion at the publisher level in 2023, up from $8.8 billion in 2022. This is one of the findings from Global STM Online Services, 2024-2028 report. Forces behind the increase include product development that employs artificial intelligence technology, major investor activity, growth in online content, the development of test preparation for nurses, virtual and extended reality product growth in medical education, and targeted development in the area of science. The report forecasts that the STM online services market is expected to reach $11.1 billion at a compound annual growth rate of 4.1% over 2024 to 2028.

Report Overview

Picture of Doctor works on ComputerSTM online services market forecast to reach $11.1 billion in 2028.

The Global STM Online Services, 2024-2028 report utilizes market estimates that have been developed using a range of specialized industry sources. This includes historical trends, economic forecasts, executive commentary, relative scale of competitors, and product portfolio analysis. Other inputs include analysis of customer base, title counts, headcount and industry surveys and press coverage. The development of long-term projections for forecasts employs a similar approach. The principal inputs utilized for long-term projections, include: global and national economic data; industry forecasts; growth trends for relevant professional sectors; company guidance on revenue and earnings; and overall publishing trends.

Global STM Online Services, 2024-2028 report covers major themes and elements impacting the STM online market, including.:

• Artificial intelligence
• Market growth
• Innovation strategies
• Medical online services
• Global expansion
• Education and training
• Healthcare expenditures
• Research and development (R&D)
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Digital transformation

The STM Online Services, 2024-2028 report also identified and profiles major STM Online publishers. Key businesses profiled include:

• American Chemical Society
• Athenahealth
• CGG
• Clarivate
• EBSCO Information Services
• Elsevier
• Hearst Health
• Merative
• S& P Global
• Wolters Kluwer

Publishers and investment professionals can trust Global STM Online Services, 2024-2028 report to provide the inside intelligence needed to evaluate the growth potential and understand the trends impacting the market. This report is an essential tool for publishing executives, M&A advisors, market analysts, and industry consultants who need to understand the larger trends and necessary business strategies when considering the STM Online Services market.

Definition of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishing

Scientific and technical publishing includes content and services covering hard science, or science that deals with things that can be observed and measured, as well as some of the more analytical social sciences. Sciences include bioscience, chemistry, mathematics, and physics, as well as the wide array of sub-topics within those areas.

Note that the term “life sciences” is often used interchangeably with biosciences in the industry, although that area is a subset of bioscience that focuses on the areas related to human health and disease. The category of life sciences can seem to straddle both scientific and medical publishing; in this report the categorization is distinguished by the end use of the information.

The technical subject area encompasses upper-level computer science as well as architecture and all fields of engineering. The engineering subject area includes civil, electrical, electronics, and mechanical engineering, and the sub-topics within those areas. There is an increase in crossover areas that touch both scientific and technical disciplines, such as biochemical engineering.

Scientific and technical publishing is directed to researchers and students in upper-level courses, as well as academic libraries, learned societies, corporations and other research institutions and entities.

The medical publishing segment encompasses both student and professional-level content. Medical publishing addresses a range of healthcare professions, including content used by clinicians, doctors, nurses, dentists, dental assistants, osteopaths, physical therapists, clinical psychologists, researchers and similar professions. Not included in this category is consumer health information or patient-engagement services delivered through hospital information systems.

Definitions of Product Formats

This report follows the definitions of product formats and segments the product landscape accordingly. As the industry continues its transition toward higher-value online services and tools, the lines between various product formats continue to blur.

Online Content

This category includes electronic reference, information databases, and analytics, as well as online tools and services. The online content category is differentiated as services that add value to content, versus simply delivering electronic versions of books or journals.

Tools and solutions can be standalone products or be integrated within databases and platforms. Many tools and solutions begin as start-ups or collaborations with major publishers, and are acquired by major publishers, who employ the technology to add new functionality and use cases to established platforms.

In the scientific and technical publishing category, online content includes industry standards, such as those produced by the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and BSI Group, and others.

In the medical publishing segment, this category includes clinical content for researchers and clinicians, such as ClinicalKey from Elsevier, UpToDate (Wolter Kluwers), Micromedex from Merative (formerly IBM Watson Health), and epocrates (athenahealth).

Abstracting & Indexing

Abstracting and Indexing services (A&I) provide subject-focused collections of information that are distilled from thousands of primary sources. A&I services include products such as Chemical Abstracts and INSPEC. This category also includes the scientific, technical and medical components of large A&I services such as Scopus (Elsevier) and Web of Science (Clarivate), both major revenue generators in this segment. In medical publishing, examples include EMBASE and the health sciences component of PsycInfo.

Sources of Information

This report builds on the industry expertise and employs a broad array of research sources and methods to gather insights on the market landscape and the competitive strategies in play. The research taps into interviews with industry executives to discern the strategic patterns behind each company’s market initiatives.

This report incorporates secondary research across a spectrum on information sources:

• Business, publishing, library and information industry trade publications.
• Trade association data and industry reports, such as those of the American Association of Publishers.
• Scholarly literature about the publishing market.
• Investor presentations and earnings calls.
• Analyst conferences and reports, financial analysis of the industry.
• Company press releases, marketing communications and public relations.
• Industry surveys and polls.
• Industry conference proceedings and events.
• Specialized industry databases, as well as the databases and platforms of STM online publishers.
• Government data sources in the US and worldwide.
• Blogs, webinars, and podcasts by industry experts.