Talent development was a reoccurring topic at the WEF 2020 event in Davos this week. In related news, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) full-time employment (FTE) will reach 55.3 million worldwide in 2020 -- that's an increase of 3.9 percent over 2019, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC).
Moreover, the global ICT FTE workforce will maintain this pace of growth over the 2019-2023 forecast period, reaching more than 62 million people in 2023, with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8 percent.
ICT Talent and Emerging Staffing Trends
IDC believes a person can, as part of an occupation, perform several roles and split their time across those roles. The combination of roles for an occupation may vary over time between industries and organizations, even though the activities performed by a role remain relatively stable.
Within ICT job roles, activities are performed within projects, programs, and lines of business related to development of software, hardware, or related services. ICT job roles can be found in any industry, enterprise, or organization and are not related only to the ICT specific industries.
The largest role groups are the applications group, containing eight roles related to software development and management, the other IT technical group, which includes five graphic, multimedia, and Web design roles, and the technical support group with five roles.
Together, these three groups will account for roughly three quarters of all ICT FTEs throughout the forecast. The cybersecurity role group will see the fastest growth with a five-year CAGR of 9.6 percent while the other IT technical role group will remain essentially flat with a 0.1 percent CAGR.
Of the 40 technology job roles covered by IDC, three will account for nearly one-third of all ICT roles throughout the forecast period: software developer or engineer, user support specialist, and systems analyst. The fastest-growing roles will be a data scientist (13.7 percent CAGR), machine learning developer (13.6 percent CAGR), and data engineer (12.9 percent CAGR).
IDC explored the impact that Digital Transformation (DX) will have on job skills and emerging roles within an enterprise organization. DX-related job roles focus on extracting and developing the value and utility of information, making business operations more effective and accelerating workforce transformation.
Non-DX job roles typically focus on less strategic ICT activities and primarily help to support day-to-day operations. Today, DX roles make up 40 percent of technology FTEs, but IDC expects this share to reach 52 percent by 2023.
"Digital Transformation (DX) technology investment is the driving force behind IT investment. The IT skillset needed to deliver DX projects is changing, with some of the fastest-growing demand for IT roles centered around data and intelligence," said Craig Simpson, research manager at IDC.
According to the IDC assessment, we're moving away from IT employees being focused around basic IT installation and maintenance roles and shifting toward roles that can build database architecture and functionality to derive intelligence and insights from an organization's DX efforts.
Outlook for Digital Transformation Talent Demand
As industries fully embrace digital transformation, new skills and roles are needed to shape technology roadmaps, and support and implement these changes. Discrete manufacturing, process manufacturing and banking are expected to employ the most FTEs for digital transformation.
The impact of digital transformation on the structure and composition of an IT organization is significant – as DX and innovation become a larger part of everyday IT operations, the IT organization is going to adjust who it hires, how IT employees are developed, and the career progression of IT professionals.
"IT organizational change will be an organizational transformation as critical to the success of the enterprise as DX itself," said Cushing Anderson, program vice president, IT Education and Certification at IDC.
Technology | Media | Telecommunications
Friday, January 24, 2020
Monday, January 20, 2020
How 5G Technology will Evolve Mobile Voice Services
The global mobile communication services market has always been prone to technological disruption and innovation. Over the past 10 years, however, the mobile voice services landscape has been profoundly affected by advances in new technology.
These include the penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in communication services, the rise of highly customized Over-the-Top (OTT) mobile voice and messaging applications, and the rollout of superior connectivity modes such as 4G LTE and 5G.
Mobile Voice Service Market Development
To adapt, mobile network operators are migrating their networks to an all-IP ecosystem. Focus has moved beyond Evolved Packet Core (EPC) frameworks to converge data and voice services on the same network.
In turn, this has created offerings such as Voice over LTE (VoLTE), Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi) and HD Voice services. This has enabled mobile network operators to provide services that can compete directly with the OTT software app providers within the voice services marketplace.
According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, mobile network operator voice revenue will drop to $208 billion by 2024 from $381 billion in 2019, as users continue to prefer more flexible and free OTT voice services.
The new research forecasts that third-party OTT voice services will continue to grow -- nearing 4.5 billion users by 2024. The study found that while this trend will contribute to declining voice revenue for mobile network operators, 5G proliferation will propel a number of nascent mobile voice and video services.
Juniper now forecasts that incumbent mobile voice revenue could decline by 45 percent in 2024, due to an increase of 88 percent in third-party OTT mobile VoIP users over the next five years. That said, Juniper analysts urge telecom service providers to invest in AI-enabled communication platforms that facilitate competitive IP voice service delivery.
However, the research anticipates that improved 4G coverage and a growing number of capable devices will boost the number of mobile video call users; partially offsetting voice revenue losses. The study forecasts that Video over LTE (ViLTE) network operator revenue will exceed $33 billion by 2024.
Outlook for 5G Mobile Applications Growth
Moreover, Juniper anticipates that 5G deployment will generate new revenue streams for network operators by enabling innovative use cases for VoLTE and ViLTE. They believe that high data throughput and low latency will propel emerging services that have applications across a range of industries.
Additionally, network operators need to accelerate VoLTE launches, in order to benefit from emerging 5G services. The study notes that establishing a 5G-enabled IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) infrastructure for VoLTE will provide a foundation for future voice services rollouts, which network operators could monetize in the future.
These include the penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in communication services, the rise of highly customized Over-the-Top (OTT) mobile voice and messaging applications, and the rollout of superior connectivity modes such as 4G LTE and 5G.
Mobile Voice Service Market Development
To adapt, mobile network operators are migrating their networks to an all-IP ecosystem. Focus has moved beyond Evolved Packet Core (EPC) frameworks to converge data and voice services on the same network.
In turn, this has created offerings such as Voice over LTE (VoLTE), Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi) and HD Voice services. This has enabled mobile network operators to provide services that can compete directly with the OTT software app providers within the voice services marketplace.
According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, mobile network operator voice revenue will drop to $208 billion by 2024 from $381 billion in 2019, as users continue to prefer more flexible and free OTT voice services.
The new research forecasts that third-party OTT voice services will continue to grow -- nearing 4.5 billion users by 2024. The study found that while this trend will contribute to declining voice revenue for mobile network operators, 5G proliferation will propel a number of nascent mobile voice and video services.
Juniper now forecasts that incumbent mobile voice revenue could decline by 45 percent in 2024, due to an increase of 88 percent in third-party OTT mobile VoIP users over the next five years. That said, Juniper analysts urge telecom service providers to invest in AI-enabled communication platforms that facilitate competitive IP voice service delivery.
However, the research anticipates that improved 4G coverage and a growing number of capable devices will boost the number of mobile video call users; partially offsetting voice revenue losses. The study forecasts that Video over LTE (ViLTE) network operator revenue will exceed $33 billion by 2024.
Outlook for 5G Mobile Applications Growth
Moreover, Juniper anticipates that 5G deployment will generate new revenue streams for network operators by enabling innovative use cases for VoLTE and ViLTE. They believe that high data throughput and low latency will propel emerging services that have applications across a range of industries.
Additionally, network operators need to accelerate VoLTE launches, in order to benefit from emerging 5G services. The study notes that establishing a 5G-enabled IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) infrastructure for VoLTE will provide a foundation for future voice services rollouts, which network operators could monetize in the future.
Friday, January 17, 2020
Digital Business Transformation Requires Collaboration
The evolution of information technology (IT) leadership -- sometimes driven by the line of business (LoB), sometimes by the legacy IT organization -- is reaching a state of balance where business-IT collaboration sets the stage for meaningful digital transformation.
Software application leaders must examine these predictions to learn how this equilibrium will take shape in their organization. Over the next two years, ~50 percent of organizations will experience increased collaboration between their business and IT teams, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner.
Gartner believes that the dispute between LoB leaders and traditional CIOs or CTOs over the control of enterprise technology deployment will lessen, as both sides learn that joint participation in the process is critical to the success of innovation within a digital workplace.
Application Leadership Market Development
"Business units and IT teams can no longer function in silos, as distant teams can cause chaos," said Keith Mann, senior research director at Gartner. "Traditionally, each business unit has had its own technology personnel, which has made businesses reluctant to follow the directive of central IT teams."
Increasingly, however, savvy organizations now understand that a unified objective is essential to ensure the integrity and stability of core business. As a result, individuals stay aligned with a common goal, work more collaboratively and implement new business technologies effectively.
The role of 'application leader' has changed significantly with the replacement of manual tasks by cloud-based applications in digital workplaces. According to the Gartner assessment, the application leader must ensure that this transition is supported by appropriate skills and talent.
As more and more organizations opt for cloud-based applications, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques such as machine learning, natural language processing, chatbots and virtual assistants are emerging as digital integrator technologies.
"While the choice of integration technologies continues to expand, the ability to use designed applications and data structures in an integrated manner remains a complex and growing challenge for businesses. In such scenarios, application leaders need to deliver the role of integration specialists in order to ensure that projects are completed faster and at a lower cost," said Mr. Mann.
Outlook for Application Development Collaboration
Enterprise application leaders will have to replace the command-and-control model with versatility, diversity and team engagement with key stakeholders. Application leaders must become more people-centric and provide critical support to digital transformation initiatives.
Additionally, in a digital workplace, it is the application leader’s responsibility to serve as the organizational 'nerve center' by quickly sensing, responding to, and provisioning applications or IT infrastructure.
"Application leaders will bring together business units and central IT teams to form the overall digital business team," said Mr. Mann. That said, in this environment, the successful IT vendors will learn to adapt to this procurement transition -- where a variety of buyers and influencers drive the discovery, consideration and ultimate solution selection process.
Software application leaders must examine these predictions to learn how this equilibrium will take shape in their organization. Over the next two years, ~50 percent of organizations will experience increased collaboration between their business and IT teams, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner.
Gartner believes that the dispute between LoB leaders and traditional CIOs or CTOs over the control of enterprise technology deployment will lessen, as both sides learn that joint participation in the process is critical to the success of innovation within a digital workplace.
Application Leadership Market Development
"Business units and IT teams can no longer function in silos, as distant teams can cause chaos," said Keith Mann, senior research director at Gartner. "Traditionally, each business unit has had its own technology personnel, which has made businesses reluctant to follow the directive of central IT teams."
Increasingly, however, savvy organizations now understand that a unified objective is essential to ensure the integrity and stability of core business. As a result, individuals stay aligned with a common goal, work more collaboratively and implement new business technologies effectively.
The role of 'application leader' has changed significantly with the replacement of manual tasks by cloud-based applications in digital workplaces. According to the Gartner assessment, the application leader must ensure that this transition is supported by appropriate skills and talent.
As more and more organizations opt for cloud-based applications, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques such as machine learning, natural language processing, chatbots and virtual assistants are emerging as digital integrator technologies.
"While the choice of integration technologies continues to expand, the ability to use designed applications and data structures in an integrated manner remains a complex and growing challenge for businesses. In such scenarios, application leaders need to deliver the role of integration specialists in order to ensure that projects are completed faster and at a lower cost," said Mr. Mann.
Outlook for Application Development Collaboration
Enterprise application leaders will have to replace the command-and-control model with versatility, diversity and team engagement with key stakeholders. Application leaders must become more people-centric and provide critical support to digital transformation initiatives.
Additionally, in a digital workplace, it is the application leader’s responsibility to serve as the organizational 'nerve center' by quickly sensing, responding to, and provisioning applications or IT infrastructure.
"Application leaders will bring together business units and central IT teams to form the overall digital business team," said Mr. Mann. That said, in this environment, the successful IT vendors will learn to adapt to this procurement transition -- where a variety of buyers and influencers drive the discovery, consideration and ultimate solution selection process.
Monday, January 13, 2020
Point-of-Sale Terminals Upgrade to Contactless Payments
Following the transition from magnetic stripe to EMV (smart cards that store data on integrated circuit chips), the U.S. retail market is upgrading to contactless point-of-sale (POS) terminals. Meanwhile, 100 percent of POS terminals may already be contactless-enabled in Canada, the UK and Japan.
Moreover, Visa reports that about 50 percent of its in-person transactions (outside the U.S.) are already contactless, through payment cards and mobile devices. In the U.S. market, where the EMV rollout is recent, it's estimated that 52.7 percent of POS terminals were now contactless-enabled in 2019.
Contactless POS Market Development
According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the installed base of contactless-enabled POS devices will exceed 161 million by 2024 -- growing from 78 million devices in 2019. Contactless POS devices will then be about 94 percent of all POS devices in use.
Juniper believes that this growth will be driven by the deployment of contactless POS terminals in the U.S. market and the increasing use of contactless payments to replace traditional cash payments within emerging markets.
Juniper analysts recommend that hardware vendors focus on enabling higher value contactless payments on their existing POS devices by embracing mobile wallets and biometric payments cards at POS terminals.
Contactless transactions at POS are increasingly displacing cash in multiple markets. The study found that the average value per contactless transaction will grow from under $19 in 2019 to over $23 in 2024, with mobile payments and increasing contactless card issuance in the U.S. driving transaction growth.
Juniper recommends that POS vendors focus on minimizing the cost of POS hardware solutions to enable further displacement of cash for more diverse use cases such as pop-up restaurants or home services.
The study also found that biometric payment terminals -- where payments are authorized on the device -- are gaining traction in emerging markets. Juniper forecasts that global transaction values for biometric-equipped terminals will increase from $84 million in 2019 to $254 million in 2024.
Outlook for Biometric POS Hardware Trends
"In India, where biometric identity schemes are bringing the unbanked into the financial system, this type of device has high potential. It also has disruptive possibilities in developed regions, where biometric data is already being used in smartphones and identity documents, such as passports," said Susannah Hampton, research analyst at Juniper Research.
Across the globe, the fintech services market is evolving rapidly, and that's having an impact on all segments of the online and offline payments market. Juniper analysts recommend that established POS hardware vendors develop biometric capabilities early to enable future revenue growth.
Moreover, Visa reports that about 50 percent of its in-person transactions (outside the U.S.) are already contactless, through payment cards and mobile devices. In the U.S. market, where the EMV rollout is recent, it's estimated that 52.7 percent of POS terminals were now contactless-enabled in 2019.
Contactless POS Market Development
According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the installed base of contactless-enabled POS devices will exceed 161 million by 2024 -- growing from 78 million devices in 2019. Contactless POS devices will then be about 94 percent of all POS devices in use.
Juniper believes that this growth will be driven by the deployment of contactless POS terminals in the U.S. market and the increasing use of contactless payments to replace traditional cash payments within emerging markets.
Juniper analysts recommend that hardware vendors focus on enabling higher value contactless payments on their existing POS devices by embracing mobile wallets and biometric payments cards at POS terminals.
Contactless transactions at POS are increasingly displacing cash in multiple markets. The study found that the average value per contactless transaction will grow from under $19 in 2019 to over $23 in 2024, with mobile payments and increasing contactless card issuance in the U.S. driving transaction growth.
Juniper recommends that POS vendors focus on minimizing the cost of POS hardware solutions to enable further displacement of cash for more diverse use cases such as pop-up restaurants or home services.
The study also found that biometric payment terminals -- where payments are authorized on the device -- are gaining traction in emerging markets. Juniper forecasts that global transaction values for biometric-equipped terminals will increase from $84 million in 2019 to $254 million in 2024.
Outlook for Biometric POS Hardware Trends
"In India, where biometric identity schemes are bringing the unbanked into the financial system, this type of device has high potential. It also has disruptive possibilities in developed regions, where biometric data is already being used in smartphones and identity documents, such as passports," said Susannah Hampton, research analyst at Juniper Research.
Across the globe, the fintech services market is evolving rapidly, and that's having an impact on all segments of the online and offline payments market. Juniper analysts recommend that established POS hardware vendors develop biometric capabilities early to enable future revenue growth.
Friday, January 10, 2020
Digital Factory Revenue will Surpass $1 Trillion by 2030
Across the globe, CIOs and CTOs are evaluating the adoption of intelligent automation and other technologies that will be applied within a factory environment. New applications, such as Digital Twin, will transform the manufacturing process by creating a replica of the physical production plant.
Technology investments in the industrial and manufacturing sector are set to grow significantly, going from $59 billion in 2019 to $375 billion in 2030. Including hardware revenues, that figure will climb to over $1 trillion, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research.
Manufacturing is in the midst of a major digital revolution and is investing in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), robotics (AGVS, AMRs) and cloud-based simulation and modeling.
Digital Factory Market Development
"The transformative shift toward Industry 4.0 technologies and the broader field of software-defined manufacturing (SDM) presents a massive opportunity for a wide range of technology providers and implementers," said Ryan Martin, principal analyst at ABI Research.
Intelligently connected hardware represents the largest share of revenue, growing from $200 billion in 2019 to $800 billion in 2030, but will diminish in proportion as associated software and services take hold.
After hardware, data and analytic services are the fastest-growing segment in terms of revenue generation, reaching more than $185 billion in 2030 -- that's up from just $11 billion in 2019.
"As the amount of custom code required to deploy new solutions on the factory floor drops, data and analytics service revenue growth in smart manufacturing will accelerate," Martin explains.
Machine tools, asset tracking, and connected PLCs will experience the most growth in terms of connected service revenue over the next 10 years.
By 2030, machine tools such as 3D printers, computer numerical control (CNC) machines, lathes, mills, and industrial drills, will grow in revenues to $134 billion; asset tracking will reach $78 billion, and Connected Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) will reach $40 billion.
According to the ABI assessment, Industry 4.0 is creating millions of new endpoints that need to be interconnected. However, the existing infrastructure can’t support it, which is creating an opportunity for connectivity experts and providers to step in.
Currently, there are 260 million digital factory connections, with 230 million of those connections made via a fixed-line. But, by 2023, a vast number of the 5.5 billion digital factory connections will be wireless.
This is driven by the rise in newly connected endpoints, including sensors, mobile robots (AGVs, AMRs), advanced asset tracking (RTLS), condition-based monitoring, and predictive maintenance applications, etc.
Outlook for Digital Factory Applications Growth
The leading industries driving these revenues overall include automotive, heavy machinery, food, beverage, tobacco products, and electronics. And, though Industry 4.0 is a global phenomenon, roughly half of the global revenue opportunities will be concentrated in China and the United States, followed by Germany and Japan.
Furthermore, the United States leads the way in most industries such as automotive, while China leads in machinery, non-metallic mineral products, primary metals, and textiles.
"There is a long and compelling list of digital transformation technologies and pilot projects that are now graduating to the factory floor. The companies and production environments embracing these opportunities have quickly seen the benefits and want to scale, rather than risk falling behind," concluded Martin.
Technology investments in the industrial and manufacturing sector are set to grow significantly, going from $59 billion in 2019 to $375 billion in 2030. Including hardware revenues, that figure will climb to over $1 trillion, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research.
Manufacturing is in the midst of a major digital revolution and is investing in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), robotics (AGVS, AMRs) and cloud-based simulation and modeling.
Digital Factory Market Development
"The transformative shift toward Industry 4.0 technologies and the broader field of software-defined manufacturing (SDM) presents a massive opportunity for a wide range of technology providers and implementers," said Ryan Martin, principal analyst at ABI Research.
Intelligently connected hardware represents the largest share of revenue, growing from $200 billion in 2019 to $800 billion in 2030, but will diminish in proportion as associated software and services take hold.
After hardware, data and analytic services are the fastest-growing segment in terms of revenue generation, reaching more than $185 billion in 2030 -- that's up from just $11 billion in 2019.
"As the amount of custom code required to deploy new solutions on the factory floor drops, data and analytics service revenue growth in smart manufacturing will accelerate," Martin explains.
Machine tools, asset tracking, and connected PLCs will experience the most growth in terms of connected service revenue over the next 10 years.
By 2030, machine tools such as 3D printers, computer numerical control (CNC) machines, lathes, mills, and industrial drills, will grow in revenues to $134 billion; asset tracking will reach $78 billion, and Connected Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) will reach $40 billion.
According to the ABI assessment, Industry 4.0 is creating millions of new endpoints that need to be interconnected. However, the existing infrastructure can’t support it, which is creating an opportunity for connectivity experts and providers to step in.
Currently, there are 260 million digital factory connections, with 230 million of those connections made via a fixed-line. But, by 2023, a vast number of the 5.5 billion digital factory connections will be wireless.
This is driven by the rise in newly connected endpoints, including sensors, mobile robots (AGVs, AMRs), advanced asset tracking (RTLS), condition-based monitoring, and predictive maintenance applications, etc.
Outlook for Digital Factory Applications Growth
The leading industries driving these revenues overall include automotive, heavy machinery, food, beverage, tobacco products, and electronics. And, though Industry 4.0 is a global phenomenon, roughly half of the global revenue opportunities will be concentrated in China and the United States, followed by Germany and Japan.
Furthermore, the United States leads the way in most industries such as automotive, while China leads in machinery, non-metallic mineral products, primary metals, and textiles.
"There is a long and compelling list of digital transformation technologies and pilot projects that are now graduating to the factory floor. The companies and production environments embracing these opportunities have quickly seen the benefits and want to scale, rather than risk falling behind," concluded Martin.
Monday, January 06, 2020
How 5G Use Case Development will Drive Adoption
Across the globe, mobile network service providers are preparing for the ongoing deployment of fifth-generation (5G) wireless network infrastructure. The number of 5G connections is forecast to grow from roughly 10 million in 2019 to 1.01 billion in 2023, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC).
This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 217.2 percent over the 2019-2023 forecast period. By 2023, IDC expects 5G will represent 8.9 percent of all mobile communications device connections.
5G Use Case Market Development
There are several factors that will drive 5G adoption:
"While there is a lot to be excited about with 5G, and there are impressive early success stories to fuel that enthusiasm, the road to realizing the full potential of 5G beyond enhanced mobile broadband is a longer-term endeavor, with a great deal of work yet to be done on standards, regulations, and spectrum allocations," said Jason Leigh, research manager at IDC.
In addition to building out the 5G network infrastructure, mobile network operators will have a lot to do to ensure a return on their investment:
Outlook for 5G Technology Applications Growth
According to the IDC assessment, despite the fact that many of the more futuristic use cases involving 5G remain three to five years from commercial scale, mobile subscribers will be drawn to 5G for video streaming, mobile gaming, and augmented or virtual reality applications in the near term.
Looking further into the future, the most successful mobile network service providers will have created a deep and broad ecosystem of market development stakeholders that are committed to the emergence of 5G innovations. This is particularly important in the commercial sector, where systems integration expertise and the availability of professional services will be required in the enterprise.
This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 217.2 percent over the 2019-2023 forecast period. By 2023, IDC expects 5G will represent 8.9 percent of all mobile communications device connections.
5G Use Case Market Development
There are several factors that will drive 5G adoption:
- Data Creation and Consumption. The amount of data created and consumed by consumers and businesses will continue to grow over the coming years. Shifting data-intensive users and use cases to 5G will allow network operators to more efficiently manage network resources, improving performance and reliability as a result.
- More Things Connected. As the IoT continues to proliferate, the need to support millions of connected endpoints at the same time will become increasingly critical. With the ability to enable an exponentially denser number of simultaneous connections, 5G's densification advantage be key for mobile network operators in providing reliable network performance.
- Speed and Real-Time Access. The speed and latency that 5G enables will open up the door for new use cases and add mobility as an option to many existing ones. Many of these use cases will come from businesses looking to leverage 5G's technological advantages in their edge computing, artificial intelligence, and cloud services initiatives.
"While there is a lot to be excited about with 5G, and there are impressive early success stories to fuel that enthusiasm, the road to realizing the full potential of 5G beyond enhanced mobile broadband is a longer-term endeavor, with a great deal of work yet to be done on standards, regulations, and spectrum allocations," said Jason Leigh, research manager at IDC.
In addition to building out the 5G network infrastructure, mobile network operators will have a lot to do to ensure a return on their investment:
- Unique, must-have applications. Mobile network operators need to invest in the development of 5G mobile apps and work with developers to create robust apps and use cases that take full advantage of the speed, latency, and connection density offered by 5G.
- Guidance on 5G best practices. Mobile operators need to position themselves as trusted advisors around connectivity, dispelling misconceptions and providing guidance on where 5G might best be utilized by a customer and, equally as important, when the need can be met by other access technologies.
- Partnerships are critical. Deep partnerships with software, hardware, and services vendors, as well as close relationships with industry partners, are required to integrate the diverse technologies necessary to realize the most complex 5G use cases and ensure that 5G solutions closely align with the operational reality of customers' day-to-day needs.
Outlook for 5G Technology Applications Growth
According to the IDC assessment, despite the fact that many of the more futuristic use cases involving 5G remain three to five years from commercial scale, mobile subscribers will be drawn to 5G for video streaming, mobile gaming, and augmented or virtual reality applications in the near term.
Looking further into the future, the most successful mobile network service providers will have created a deep and broad ecosystem of market development stakeholders that are committed to the emergence of 5G innovations. This is particularly important in the commercial sector, where systems integration expertise and the availability of professional services will be required in the enterprise.
Friday, January 03, 2020
Together, IoT and Blockchain Enhance Digital Trust
Digital trust is the measure of confidence in an organization's ability to protect and secure the data and privacy of individuals. An increase in related government regulations has motivated CIOs and CTOs to explore technology combinations to secure data assets and thereby improve stakeholder trust.
As an example, the majority of Internet of Things (IoT) technology adopters in the U.S. are also adopting blockchain technology and combining it with their IoT networks, according to the latest market study by Gartner.
"The integration of IoT and blockchain networks is a sweet spot for digital transformation and innovation," said Avivah Litan, vice president at Gartner. "It is actually moving ahead at a much faster pace than expected, according to the survey."
IoT and Blockchain Market Development
Seventy-five percent of IoT technology adopters in the U.S. have already adopted blockchain or are planning to adopt it by the end of 2020. Among the blockchain adopters, 86 percent are implementing the two technologies together in various projects.
These results emphasize that although both blockchain and IoT technologies are still in the early stages of adoption, coupled with the fact that blockchain technology is still immature itself, enterprises have started combining them to drive favorable business outcomes.
Of the survey respondents who are implementing blockchain technology in conjunction with IoT, nearly two-thirds chose 'increased security and trust' as either the primary or secondary driver for implementation. More than half of respondents said the top benefit is an increase in business efficiency and lowering costs.
"As enterprises implement IoT projects, many of them focus their efforts on building more security, trust and transparency around the management or movement of physical things, so that they can improve situational awareness and greater efficiencies," said Ms. Litan.
In fact, through 2024, more than 80 percent of implementers will have to upgrade their combined IoT and blockchain solutions at least once or twice to address technical challenges such as scalability, security and reliability.
Blockchain adoption is significantly impacting every industry that manages connected IoT devices. Organizations that are relatively more mature in adopting IoT are also seen to be way ahead in their implementation of blockchain technology.
The highest rate of blockchain adoption among IoT implementers is companies in pharmaceuticals, energy, natural resources, utilities and transportation. These industries all have business models that include the movement of physical goods, so they benefit from links that bridge the physical to the digital world -- especially those enabled by a combination of blockchain and IoT technologies.
Outlook for IoT and Blockchain Application Maturity
The lowest rate of adoption in any one industry was reported by respondents in financial services, given that financial services work primarily with virtual goods and services rather than physical things that are tracked by IoT networks.
"In the long term, we expect the combination of IoT and blockchain to enable innovative devices and business models, but the necessary evolution in both blockchain and IoT will take five to 10 years to achieve maturity," said Ms. Litan, in conclusion.
As an example, the majority of Internet of Things (IoT) technology adopters in the U.S. are also adopting blockchain technology and combining it with their IoT networks, according to the latest market study by Gartner.
"The integration of IoT and blockchain networks is a sweet spot for digital transformation and innovation," said Avivah Litan, vice president at Gartner. "It is actually moving ahead at a much faster pace than expected, according to the survey."
IoT and Blockchain Market Development
Seventy-five percent of IoT technology adopters in the U.S. have already adopted blockchain or are planning to adopt it by the end of 2020. Among the blockchain adopters, 86 percent are implementing the two technologies together in various projects.
These results emphasize that although both blockchain and IoT technologies are still in the early stages of adoption, coupled with the fact that blockchain technology is still immature itself, enterprises have started combining them to drive favorable business outcomes.
Of the survey respondents who are implementing blockchain technology in conjunction with IoT, nearly two-thirds chose 'increased security and trust' as either the primary or secondary driver for implementation. More than half of respondents said the top benefit is an increase in business efficiency and lowering costs.
"As enterprises implement IoT projects, many of them focus their efforts on building more security, trust and transparency around the management or movement of physical things, so that they can improve situational awareness and greater efficiencies," said Ms. Litan.
In fact, through 2024, more than 80 percent of implementers will have to upgrade their combined IoT and blockchain solutions at least once or twice to address technical challenges such as scalability, security and reliability.
Blockchain adoption is significantly impacting every industry that manages connected IoT devices. Organizations that are relatively more mature in adopting IoT are also seen to be way ahead in their implementation of blockchain technology.
The highest rate of blockchain adoption among IoT implementers is companies in pharmaceuticals, energy, natural resources, utilities and transportation. These industries all have business models that include the movement of physical goods, so they benefit from links that bridge the physical to the digital world -- especially those enabled by a combination of blockchain and IoT technologies.
Outlook for IoT and Blockchain Application Maturity
The lowest rate of adoption in any one industry was reported by respondents in financial services, given that financial services work primarily with virtual goods and services rather than physical things that are tracked by IoT networks.
"In the long term, we expect the combination of IoT and blockchain to enable innovative devices and business models, but the necessary evolution in both blockchain and IoT will take five to 10 years to achieve maturity," said Ms. Litan, in conclusion.
Monday, December 30, 2019
International Money Transfer Innovation Gains Momentum
The advancement of digital Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) continued during the past year, with more offerings, better marketing and an improved international scale. One important way that savvy MTOs are accelerating their transaction growth is by pursuing new business partnerships.
Moreover, the increased use of mobile phones for money transfers is driven by the launch of apps from established MTOs, as well as new offerings from digital MTOs. Mobile subscribers sending international payments are forecast to reach 66 million in 2024 -- that's up from 41.2 million in 2019.
Digital Money Transfer Market Development
According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, global international digital money transfer transaction volume will reach 2 billion by 2024 -- that's up from 1.1 billion in 2019.
The new research found that both online and mobile channels are achieving strong growth, with fintech disruptors and market incumbents rapidly gaining money transfer transaction traffic.
However, much of this growth will be at the expense of unofficial remittances, such as cash funds sent with traveling family members, rather than utilizing established formal remittance channels.
Juniper recommends that money transfer operators should invest in more digital transformation, while retaining strong agent networks, to ensure that they gain the full benefit of digital migration.
Mobile network service providers will help to enable new growth. The market study found that the mobile channel will account for 68 percent of transaction volume in 2024 -- that's up from 63 percent in 2019.
This increased channel dominance is primarily due to the superior app-based experiences available on mobile devices, rising interoperability of mobile financial services and the lower-cost options introduced by the software app-based fintech disruptors.
"Mobile has become the go-to channel for international money transfer; dominating the digital landscape. This means that incumbents in the area, such as Western Union and MoneyGram, must relentlessly focus on their app experiences; fully embracing digital transformation. A failure to do so will result in a steady erosion of market share by digitally-native disruptors." said Nick Maynard, lead analyst at Juniper Research.
Outlook for International Digital Money Transfer Growth
The Juniper analysts discovered that international digital money transfer, while highly compelling via a digital channel, requires effective agent partnerships in recipient countries to ensure success.
Over time, both ends of the money transfer transaction will be digital; boosted by mobile money interoperability but, for now, retaining a physical 'cash out' location will be crucial to success.
Juniper Research also recommends that money transfer operators make the establishment of new partnerships in emerging markets a high priority, including supermarkets or other in-store retailers.
Moreover, the increased use of mobile phones for money transfers is driven by the launch of apps from established MTOs, as well as new offerings from digital MTOs. Mobile subscribers sending international payments are forecast to reach 66 million in 2024 -- that's up from 41.2 million in 2019.
Digital Money Transfer Market Development
According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, global international digital money transfer transaction volume will reach 2 billion by 2024 -- that's up from 1.1 billion in 2019.
The new research found that both online and mobile channels are achieving strong growth, with fintech disruptors and market incumbents rapidly gaining money transfer transaction traffic.
However, much of this growth will be at the expense of unofficial remittances, such as cash funds sent with traveling family members, rather than utilizing established formal remittance channels.
Juniper recommends that money transfer operators should invest in more digital transformation, while retaining strong agent networks, to ensure that they gain the full benefit of digital migration.
Mobile network service providers will help to enable new growth. The market study found that the mobile channel will account for 68 percent of transaction volume in 2024 -- that's up from 63 percent in 2019.
This increased channel dominance is primarily due to the superior app-based experiences available on mobile devices, rising interoperability of mobile financial services and the lower-cost options introduced by the software app-based fintech disruptors.
"Mobile has become the go-to channel for international money transfer; dominating the digital landscape. This means that incumbents in the area, such as Western Union and MoneyGram, must relentlessly focus on their app experiences; fully embracing digital transformation. A failure to do so will result in a steady erosion of market share by digitally-native disruptors." said Nick Maynard, lead analyst at Juniper Research.
Outlook for International Digital Money Transfer Growth
The Juniper analysts discovered that international digital money transfer, while highly compelling via a digital channel, requires effective agent partnerships in recipient countries to ensure success.
Over time, both ends of the money transfer transaction will be digital; boosted by mobile money interoperability but, for now, retaining a physical 'cash out' location will be crucial to success.
Juniper Research also recommends that money transfer operators make the establishment of new partnerships in emerging markets a high priority, including supermarkets or other in-store retailers.
Friday, December 27, 2019
Global IoT and M2M Solutions Market Growth Trends
The Internet of Things (IoT) and machine to machine (M2M) solutions market continues to evolve, showing growth in all world regions and vertical industries. A variety of hardware and software vendors are helping to propel the emerging technology and associated use cases to new heights.
As an example, the market for cellular IoT gateways, routers and modems is expanding, according to the latest worldwide market study by Berg Insight. More than 3.4 million cellular IoT gateways were shipped globally during 2018, at a total market value of approximately $921 million.
Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.5 percent, annual shipments are expected to reach 8 million in 2023.
IoT Gateway Market Development
Cellular IoT gateways are standalone devices intended for connecting machines to a wireless communication network. These include general-purpose cellular gateways, routers and modems that are enclosed in a chassis and have at least one input/output port.
Note that trackers, telematics devices and other specialized IoT devices were excluded from this particular market study.
North American vendors dominate the cellular IoT gateway and router market. According to the Berg assessment, Cradlepoint, Cisco, Sierra Wireless, CalAmp and Digi International are the largest vendors worldwide.
Combined, these five vendors generated close to $500 million in annual revenues from cellular IoT gateway and router sales during 2018, accounting for a market share of 53.3 percent.
Other key vendors include Multitech Systems, Systech and Encore Networks in the U.S. market, InHand Networks, Robustel and NetComm in the Asia-Pacific region, and HMS Networks, Advantech B+B SmartWorx, Matrix Electrónica, NetModule, Eurotech, Westermo and Option in Europe.
The European and Asia Pacific markets are fragmented with a large number of small and medium-sized players that generate annual revenues in the range of $3–10 million.
The North American market is dominated by a handful of major vendors, largely due to entry barriers in the form of mobile network carrier certifications required for cellular devices in the region.
"North America experienced the fastest growth globally during 2018, driven by deployments in the public safety, transportation and retail sectors," said Fredrik Stalbrand, senior analyst at Berg Insight.
The region has experienced a transition in vendor merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in recent times. The reported M&A activity has been low over the past decade but has increased significantly since the beginning of 2018.
Outlook for IoT Gateway Market Growth
Berg analysts point to examples of recent deals such as Lantronix’ purchase of Maestro Wireless Solutions in July 2019, and most recently Digi International’s announced the acquisition of Opengear in November 2019.
In Europe, Westermo acquired the remote access specialist Virtual Access in November 2019, expanding the company’s presence in the public utility sector.
"Several players continue to have inorganic growth as a strategy and further consolidation can be expected among IoT gateway vendors in 2019–2020," concluded Mr. Stalbrand.
As an example, the market for cellular IoT gateways, routers and modems is expanding, according to the latest worldwide market study by Berg Insight. More than 3.4 million cellular IoT gateways were shipped globally during 2018, at a total market value of approximately $921 million.
Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.5 percent, annual shipments are expected to reach 8 million in 2023.
IoT Gateway Market Development
Cellular IoT gateways are standalone devices intended for connecting machines to a wireless communication network. These include general-purpose cellular gateways, routers and modems that are enclosed in a chassis and have at least one input/output port.
Note that trackers, telematics devices and other specialized IoT devices were excluded from this particular market study.
North American vendors dominate the cellular IoT gateway and router market. According to the Berg assessment, Cradlepoint, Cisco, Sierra Wireless, CalAmp and Digi International are the largest vendors worldwide.
Combined, these five vendors generated close to $500 million in annual revenues from cellular IoT gateway and router sales during 2018, accounting for a market share of 53.3 percent.
Other key vendors include Multitech Systems, Systech and Encore Networks in the U.S. market, InHand Networks, Robustel and NetComm in the Asia-Pacific region, and HMS Networks, Advantech B+B SmartWorx, Matrix Electrónica, NetModule, Eurotech, Westermo and Option in Europe.
The European and Asia Pacific markets are fragmented with a large number of small and medium-sized players that generate annual revenues in the range of $3–10 million.
The North American market is dominated by a handful of major vendors, largely due to entry barriers in the form of mobile network carrier certifications required for cellular devices in the region.
"North America experienced the fastest growth globally during 2018, driven by deployments in the public safety, transportation and retail sectors," said Fredrik Stalbrand, senior analyst at Berg Insight.
The region has experienced a transition in vendor merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in recent times. The reported M&A activity has been low over the past decade but has increased significantly since the beginning of 2018.
Outlook for IoT Gateway Market Growth
Berg analysts point to examples of recent deals such as Lantronix’ purchase of Maestro Wireless Solutions in July 2019, and most recently Digi International’s announced the acquisition of Opengear in November 2019.
In Europe, Westermo acquired the remote access specialist Virtual Access in November 2019, expanding the company’s presence in the public utility sector.
"Several players continue to have inorganic growth as a strategy and further consolidation can be expected among IoT gateway vendors in 2019–2020," concluded Mr. Stalbrand.
Monday, December 23, 2019
Edge Computing Revenue will Reach $28.84 Billion
Advances in semiconductor technology enable apps at the edge of networks, creating new uses cases. The global edge computing market was valued at $1.47 billion in 2018 and is forecast to reach $28.84 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 54 percent, according to the latest worldwide market study by Grand View Research.
The growing need to process large volumes of data generated from the Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications that are closer to the end-user will drive demand for these solutions. Increasing emphasis on cost reduction and process automation will also motivate more adoptors.
Edge Computing Market Development
Organizations are already applying edge computing technology to enhance operations and gain real-time insights from their IoT data. Thus, the continued transition toward edge computing is expected to influence the IT strategies of more CIOs and CTOs at forward-thinking companies.
Continued adoption of edge computing for data center applications is also expected to propel the market growth. Its adoption will culminate in 'micro' data centers located closer to the existing on-premises infrastructure, which would help address network latency issues.
Data Center Management-as-a-Service (DMaaS) is also emerging as a low-cost way to ensure effective use of the IT layer by monitoring the data center’s infrastructure from the edge. DMaaS can also be utilized as a cost-efficient and flexible solution for real-time data analysis.
Stringent requirements of 5G wireless communication network standards -- such as high reliability, ultra-low latency, and consistency in user experience -- will likely trigger the need for localized services based on Radio Access Network (RAN) technology.
Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) is emerging as a promising computing architecture for telecom network operators, IT platform providers, and system integrators. MEC adds virtualization and computing capabilities to a 5G RAN deployment.
Additional market study findings include:
The growing need to process large volumes of data generated from the Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications that are closer to the end-user will drive demand for these solutions. Increasing emphasis on cost reduction and process automation will also motivate more adoptors.
Edge Computing Market Development
Organizations are already applying edge computing technology to enhance operations and gain real-time insights from their IoT data. Thus, the continued transition toward edge computing is expected to influence the IT strategies of more CIOs and CTOs at forward-thinking companies.
Continued adoption of edge computing for data center applications is also expected to propel the market growth. Its adoption will culminate in 'micro' data centers located closer to the existing on-premises infrastructure, which would help address network latency issues.
Data Center Management-as-a-Service (DMaaS) is also emerging as a low-cost way to ensure effective use of the IT layer by monitoring the data center’s infrastructure from the edge. DMaaS can also be utilized as a cost-efficient and flexible solution for real-time data analysis.
Stringent requirements of 5G wireless communication network standards -- such as high reliability, ultra-low latency, and consistency in user experience -- will likely trigger the need for localized services based on Radio Access Network (RAN) technology.
Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) is emerging as a promising computing architecture for telecom network operators, IT platform providers, and system integrators. MEC adds virtualization and computing capabilities to a 5G RAN deployment.
Additional market study findings include:
- High-performance applications in the edge network are expected to propel the growth of the software component segment over the forecast period.
- Data centers' end-use segment is expected to witness the fastest CAGR, owing to the rising need for reducing data center downtime.
- The APAC region will experience the highest CAGR, 60+ percent from 2019 to 2025. The need for digital transformation to streamline operations is expected to drive the market.
- Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are using this edge computing in their automation and predictive maintenance solutions to transform their service model.
Outlook for Edge Computing Applications Growth
North America accounted for the largest market share of more than 45 percent in 2018 and is projected to maintain dominance throughout the forecast period, as the consumer and business sectors in the region rely on more IoT devices.
Higher cloud computing adoption in the region is contributing to the ongoing market transition. The development of innovative concepts, such as autonomous cars, within North America is also expected to propel the regional market growth in the years to come.
Higher cloud computing adoption in the region is contributing to the ongoing market transition. The development of innovative concepts, such as autonomous cars, within North America is also expected to propel the regional market growth in the years to come.
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