Eclectic Online Video Finds a Niche

As mainstream broadcasters and cable programmers begin providing well-produced streaming video online, they are going to find they can't just waltz into the broadband space and begin plucking customers immediately. They�ll face real competition from Internet incumbents -- existing online services such as Break.com, AtomFilms.com and Heavy.com -- that owned online video before it was trendy and which have attracted massive, loyal audiences.

Last week, Break.com featured as one of its top videos a minute-long clip of a group of college kids pushing a friend in a shopping cart down the stairwell in their dormitory. Admittedly, it was sophomoric -- a typical college stunt. But it was also pretty funny.

That�s why it�s one of the leading videos on online video channel Break, a Web TV venue that is generating massive traffic to its assortment of user-created videos. Break is on pace to attract nearly 10 million unique monthly visitors watching more than 100 million video clips this month. According to Nielsen/NetRatings, the site generated more than 5 million unique visitors in the first half of November.

That�s about three times Comedy Central's 3.3 million monthly unique visitors. Comedy Central�s newly launched broadband platform, MotherLoad, had close to 50,000 unique visitors the week of Nov. 7. Because Break is focused on comedic short videos, it�s right in the Comedy Central competitive arena. AtomFilms lures between 5 million and 6 million unique visitors monthly.

Global Digital Business and IT Consulting Outlook

Across the globe, CEOs and their leadership teams continue to seek information and guidance about planned Digital Transformation initiatives and the most effective enterprise organization change management practices. Worldwide IT and Business Services revenue will grow from $1.13 trillion in 2022 to $1.2 trillion in 2023 -- that's a 5.7 percent year-over-year growth, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The mid-term to long-term outlook for the market has also increased -- the five-year CAGR is forecast at 5.2 percent, compared to the previous 4.9 percent. Digital Sevices & Consulting Market Development IDC has raised the growth projection despite a weak economic outlook, because of vendor performances across 2022, growth indicators from adjacent markets, increased government funding, and inflation impacts. The actual 2022 market growth was 6.7 percent (in constant currency), which was 87 basis points higher than forecast last year, alth

Open Banking Usage to Grow by 470 Percent

The Open Banking business model has been advantageous for Third-Party Providers (TPPs), helping them to extend their offerings into other areas of financial services with new capabilities. Open Banking is also advantageous for traditional banking institutions, despite the perceived loss of custodianship over their data, by providing greater accessibility to more bank services. Furthermore, Open Banking can help serve Mobile Internet providers that are able to leverage it to create tailored services according to customers’ preferences and/or economic limitations. Open Banking Market Development Since traditional banking services are made more convenient by TPPs via greater data access, customers can proactively manage their finances and shape the development of new financial offerings. This is particularly noticeable in the realm of Digital Payments, where retail merchants and customers transact through eCommerce, which has the greatest number of use cases for Open Banking. These includ

Why Instant Issuance Payment Cards Evolved

The global financial services sector continues to grow as more progressive organizations seek to gain a meaningful competitive advantage from their digital transformation initiatives. Across the globe, many regions are seeing a significant rise in 'instant issuance' activity from a physical and digital perspective, from both traditional and emerging innovative banking institutions. Digital Payments Market Development Customers increasingly demand instant access to banking services, with physical instant issuance enabling them to leave their branch equipped with a ready-to-go payment card. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, the market for instantly issued physical payment cards will increase from 243.2 million shipments in 2022 to a forecast of 471.1 million in 2027. "Critically, instant issuance of payment cards is no longer limited to the physical," said Sam Gazeley, industry analyst at ABI Research . Indeed, the growing digitization of p

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