Digital Lifescapes

Did you know that cloud computing can be viewed as an evolution of various concepts and technologies that date back to the late 1950s? Even greater parallels to cloud computing were developed in the 1970s, as mainframe computer time-sharing emerged. Current offerings are the latest manifestation of this trend. While cloud services adoption will reach a crescendo in 2014, it's just the beginning of the next wave of enterprise computing evolution. Juniper Research expects the total enterprise cloud computing market to reach a value of $90.7 billion by 2018, with both IaaS and PaaS expected to grow rapidly. Moreover, revenues generated from enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) will reach $53.5 billion in 2018, representing 59 percent of the enterprise public cloud computing market -- that's rising from $23.2 billion in 2013. Addressing Security and Compliance Concerns According to the Juniper assessment, SaaS will likely remain the dominant cloud model in the foreseeab

In many markets across Western Europe, pay-TV services have already reached saturation. That's why Eastern Europe is so attractive to video entertainment service providers. It's a huge upside opportunity. The number of digital pay-TV subscribers will increase from 26.1 million (21.5 percent of TV households) in 2010 to 45.0 million (36.6 percent) in 2013 and eventually reach 73.6 million (58.2 percent) by 2020, according to the latest market study Digital TV Research. As Eastern Europe recovers from the region's economic recession, the number of digital TV homes will triple between 2010 and 2020 -- that's up from 41.0 million to 124.7 million. From the 52.3 million digital TV homes to be added between 2013 and 2020, DTT will supply 24.9 million, digital cable 15.3 million, IPTV 6.6 million and pay satellite TV 5.8 million. Digital TV penetration crossed the halfway mark of TV households in 2012, up from a third at end-2010. Fast adoption will push digital TV pen

A recent survey revealed that tier-one mobile network operators expect 22 percent of all additional data capacity added during 2014 to come from Wi-Fi offload, according to the Wireless Broadband Alliance. By 2018, Wi-Fi offload is predicted to contribute 20 percent of additional mobile data capacity -- plus a further 21 percent will come from small cells with integrated Wi-Fi. These findings demonstrate how important data offload is to mobile network operators, accounting for an average of 20 percent of data traffic, up to 80 percent in densely populated areas such as transport hubs and cafes. Within homes and businesses offload levels are 50 to 60 percent. Meanwhile, as worldwide mobile broadband traffic reaches 200 Exabytes per year, network operators deploy 4G LTE or LTE-A, plead for spectrum, and try to manage usage through policy controls and subscription pricing. The physics of mobile broadband radio do not follow Moore’s Law of digital scaling, so network operators are

Three-dimensional (3D) printers, with the ability to print a variety of objects, have evolved significantly over the past few years and are currently re-shaping the future for industrial and consumer applications. With the ability to print solid objects ranging from high-end mechanical devices to a variety of children's toys, consumer 3D printing has gained early adoption among the do-it-yourself and hobbyist communities. Findings from the latest market study by Juniper Research reveal that sales of consumer-grade 3D printers will exceed 1 million units by 2018, rising from just over an estimated 44,000 this year. While shipments of 3D printers are at relatively low levels, representing a limited opportunity in the medium term, Juniper expects them to increase significantly beyond the five-year period. This will be a result of an ever widening scope of application scenarios, driven by the entry and growth of the more established printing vendors. This, in turn ,will likely

The convergence of powerful forces -- such as mobile devices, cloud services, big data and the internet of things -- will drive new innovation within the government sector, according to the latest global market study by Gartner. Their analysts have highlighted the strategic technology trends for Smart Government projects. "Smart government integrates information, communication and operational technologies to planning, management and operations across multiple domains, process areas and jurisdictions to generate sustainable public value," said Andrea Di Maio, managing vice president at Gartner . The key trends for smart government include: Mobile Citizen Engagement Several inquiries with Gartner government clients reveal an interest in providing citizen-facing services using mobile devices, as well as leveraging social networking software functionality. This interest is driven by a combination of pressure coming from the political leadership and from opportunities that n

Samsung sells more Android smartphones than most other manufacturers, but offering new models with powerful processors, more memory or larger screens may be loosing its appeal in this highly competitive marketplace. While the Galaxy S5 is an evolutionary product, there is not enough meaningful changes in the latest model to make people want to upgrade from version 4 of this popular smartphone. It doesn't push the innovation envelope, according to the latest market assessment by Frost & Sullivan . That is not to say that smartphone innovation has stalled. Instead, much of the upcoming advancements will come from the introduction of sensors into the phone, the improvements in software and how the device will interact with wearable technology accessories. The innovation will move away from hardware towards the kinds of services and platforms that are enabled on the smartphones, via application (app) software enhancements. Services such as ordering taxis, arranging mobile pay

The upcoming 2014 World Cup football tournament in Brazil will raise the region's profile this summer, as soccer fans across the globe tune-in to watch their national teams. Besides, Latin America will also be on the minds of global economists this year, as the region's infrastructure gets a much-needed investment boost. ABI Research expects growth of 10 percent in mobile telecom service provider capital expenditure (CapEx) within Latin America, rising to $6.1 billion. Upgrades and expansion of 3G WCDMA and 4G LTE coverage will result in radio access network-related spending capturing 40 percent of CapEx. Investment in small cell base stations is gaining momentum -- with a forecast of 40 percent year-on-year growth in 2014 to $484 million. "Mobile telecom capital expenditure in Latin America is expected to grow rapidly in 2014 as investment in 4G LTE starts to accelerate. Significant amounts of capital expenditure are still required to build out 4G LTE coverage,"

While the concept of an automated home was conceived many years ago, various technical limitations have, until recently, meant that a truly connected home was but a dream for the average consumer. With the advent of mass-deployed broadband Internet access and the development of wireless technology, smart connected devices in the home are now a very real possibility. Juniper Research forecasts that the installed base of connected appliances in Smart Homes will exceed the 10 million mark by 2017 -- that's rising from 4 million units in 2013. Their latest global market study found that consumer awareness of connected appliances -- such as smart refrigerators and washing machines -- was gradually increasing, but that such devices are not widely considered to offer attractive value-added benefits. The Internet of Things for an Intelligent Home According to the Juniper assessment, smart appliances remain a niche item, given their high retail prices, poor use cases and ongoing se

The worldwide wearable computing market is finally expanding beyond the early-adopter segment, with more functional and stylish personal accessories that are making their way onto the pages of lifestyle magazines like GQ and Shape. According to the latest global market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), wearables took a huge step forward over the past year and shipment volumes will exceed 19 million units in 2014 -- that's more than tripling last year's sales performance. The global market is forecast to reach 111.9 million units by 2018, resulting in a CAGR of 78.4 percent. Complex accessories -- such as Nike+ FuelBand, Jawbone UP, and Fitbit devices -- will lead the wearables market through 2018, as users continue to embrace their simplicity and low price points. These devices are designed to operate partially independent of any other device, but fully operate when connected with IP-capable devices such as a smartphone, tablet, or a PC. "Complex acc

Low-cost mobile devices, cloud computing and open-source software continue to reshape the Technology, Media and Telecommunication ( TMT ) sectors of the global economy. The impact from the transformation is far reaching, as growth stalls in some of the more traditional product and service categories. A case in point; worldwide personal computer (PC) shipments totaled 73.4 million units in the first quarter of 2014 (1Q14) -- that's a decline of -4.4 percent year-on-year, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Although still in a downward spiral -- and with continuing weakness in consumer and emerging market segments -- the preliminary results are actually slightly better than a projected decline of -5.3 percent. Similar to the latter part of 2013, the upside in the first quarter arose primarily from demand in mature commercial markets. Commercial refresh projects, which had already been protracted, received a last push from the impending

The forward-looking effects of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) on the traditional wireline and wireless broadband service provider sector will truly be unprecedented. Vendors of deeply-rooted proprietary technologies are most at risk. Moreover, plans for open-source hardware and software adoption will potentially reshape the whole value-chain, as major service providers start to procure new equipment and services that are based upon open innovation-related business models. By leveraging virtualization and cloud technologies, SDN and NFV is looming as a disruptive force that is leading some telecom service providers to evaluate new network architectures and driving traditional equipment vendors to dramatically shift product development, according to the latest market study by Dell’Oro Group. Some traditional networking vendors have already made dramatic shifts in their go-to-market strategy. Indeed, the Open Hybrid Cloud era has ushere

The mobile marketing channel is gaining momentum in the UK. Why now? Over one in four British consumers owns a media tablet, as advertisers spent a record £6.3 billion in 2013 to reach people via the mobile internet, according to a market study for the Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IAB), conducted by PwC. Over one third (36%) of people accessing the internet are now doing so via their personal tablets, as tablet ownership grew 63% year-on-year from 11.0 million to 17.9 million Britons in February 2014. Almost six in 10 (57%) tablet owners online say it's their go-to device to browse the internet at home. Two-thirds of owners (66%) say it’s easier to go online using a tablet. Almost two-thirds (65%) like to use them while watching TV. Survey data shows that advertising on the internet and mobile phones overall increased, like-for-like, by 15.2% or £853 million to £6.30 billion in 2013 -- that's up from £5.45 billion in 2012. "Digital advertising continues to grow

If you're an American digital marketing practitioner and you're not already optimizing content for the mobile channel, then you are missing both a strategic and tactical market development opportunity. Mobile internet use is a mainstream activity. Mobile media consumption is commonplace. Review the latest market study findings and see for yourself -- mobile content marketing matters. comScore reported the key trends in the U.S. smartphone industry for February 2014. Apple ranked as the top smartphone manufacturer with 41.3 percent OEM market share, while Google Android led as the number one smartphone platform with 52.1 percent platform market share. Google Sites continue to rank as the top mobile media property, while Facebook was the top individual app. Meanwhile, Yahoo has expanded its mobile audience reach and now ranks as the second largest mobile media property in America. Exploring Smartphone OEM Market Share 163.2 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones

Global personal computer sales continue to be weak in a marketplace that favors other devices -- such as smartphones and media tablets. Worldwide PC shipments totaled 76.6 million units in the first quarter of 2014 -- that's a 1.7 percent decline from the first quarter of 2013, according to the latest market study by Gartner. "The end of XP support by Microsoft on April 8 has played a role in the easing decline of PC shipments," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner . Among key countries, Japan was greatly affected by the end of XP support, registering a 35 percent year-over-year increase in PC shipments. The growth was also boosted by sales tax change. The PC market continued to be tough for many vendors. Economies of scale matter tremendously in this high-volume, low-profit market, which is forcing some vendors -- such as Sony -- out of the market. Lenovo experienced the strongest growth among the top five vendors. Its shipments grew 10.9 percent, a

The adoption of more internet-connected devices within the home -- such as media tablets and smart TVs -- creates rapidly increasing broadband connectivity demand. As a result, worldwide home network penetration is expected to climb from 24.8 percent in 2013 to 33.2 percent by 2018, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. In particular, growth of home networking applications is driven by the continued spread of broadband services and demand for multi-screen video services. What is seen as commonplace in mature markets, including server provided broadband routers with integrated Wi-Fi access points and leveraging fixed broadband connections to offload expensive mobile data packages while consuming large amounts of content, is slower to move to emerging markets. In some cases, this is driven primarily by low service ARPU while in others it is simply limited fixed broadband infrastructure. "Wi-Fi remains the most important networking technology, but despite an e

There's an evolving co-dependent ecosystem of vendors offering many new interrelated products and services that are helping to fuel growth in the mobile sector of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) industries. According to the latest market study by Yankee Group, the mobile economy is now blooming at an even faster rate than expected -- by 2017 the collective market will be valued at $3.1 trillion, that's $200 billion more than the $2.9 trillion they forecast in October 2012. This spike in potential earnings can be credited to all four mobile categories -- devices, commerce, broadband, software apps and related cloud services -- all seeing increased market interest. In their latest study, Yankee Group took a closer look at some of the key metrics and data trends behind the largest, most significant pockets of mobile industry growth. The mobile devices and mobile commerce sectors are growing quicker than previously forecast, with expectations for mobile

As the mobile phone evolved from basic voice communication device to a multifaceted lifestyle accessory, making payments has become a key element within that evolution. The mobile device, be it a smartphone or featurephone, can now be used to make payments -- either remotely or at the Point of Sale (PoS). The value of global payments via mobile devices will reach around $507 billion this year -- that's an increase of nearly 40 percent year-on-year, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research. The Juniper study found that growth would continue to be driven by purchases of physical goods via mobile devices. Moreover, average transaction sizes over media tablets are already exceeding those via desktop PCs in many markets. It also observed that while spend via smartphones was increasing sharply, their primary function in retail was as search and discovery devices -- with the final purchase more typically being made via a tablet. Meanwhile, Juniper argued that the s

Prepackaged mobile applications reached a plateau during 2013, but with more exciting advancements expected in 2014, North American companies are once again deploying a wide array of mobile worker software. According to the latest market study by Frost & Sullivan, 48 percent of business decision makers report that their companies already deploy one to ten apps for employees on mobile devices. They also found that the mobile app viewed as "most necessary" by businesses is wireless email, followed by mobile sales force automation. The Frost analysis measures the current use of and future decision-making behaviors toward mobile enterprise apps -- specifically mobile asset tracking, mobile sales force automation, mobile workforce management, and wireless email solutions. Convincing companies of the fundamental business necessity of mobile worker app solutions is critical to a provider's success. Specifically, among the four mobile apps featured in this research,

The Latin American video entertainment market is a focal point of many industry analysts, as growth in most of the established markets within developed nations reached saturation. Broadcast TV and pay-TV offerings in Latin American countries have a significant upside potential. Digital TV adoption is already growing in Latin America -- from only 18.1 percent penetration of TV households at end-2010 to just over the halfway mark by end-2014 and onto 94.5 percent by 2020, according to the latest market study by Digital TV Research. Put another way, 132 million digital TV households (in 19 countries) will be added between 2010 and 2020 to take the total to 157 million. Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) will provide half of the additional digital TV homes to be added between 2010 and 2020. "Much of this growth is being driven by satellite TV, especially lower-cost and prepaid packages – although these subscribers are forcing down average ARPU figures," said Simon Murray,

While Smart TV set adoption continues to gain momentum around the globe, there is a growing demand for streaming media player devices. Many users of the stand-alone device originally purchased it to connect an older TV to the internet. yet, some still prefer to use the device with their new Smart TVs. According to the latest market study by The Diffusion Group (TDG), 14 percent of broadband households currently use an Internet Set-Top Box (iSTB) -- such as Roku or Apple TV -- to access online over-the-top (OTT) video content on their television set. The demographic mix of early adopters is very broad. Internet set-top box use is especially prominent among Early Millennials (age 25-34) and Late Boomers (age 45-54). As noted in TDG's study findings, 29 percent of adult broadband users are to various degrees likely to purchase a new iSTB in the next six months. Interestingly, 48 percent of current iSTB users are to various degrees likely to purchase another iSTB -- that's

The confluence of hybrid cloud services -- based upon open source technologies like OpenStack -- and low-cost high-value Chrome OS notebook PCs is going to become a powerful combination that will gain momentum in 2014 and beyond. Here's an example of that key trend in motion. An estimated 2.1 million Chromebooks shipped in 2013 with nearly 89 percent of total shipments reaching North America, according to the latest global market study by ABI Research. As Chromebook shipments expand globally, ABI Research now forecasts an increase of 28 percent CAGR to 11 million units in 2019. “ABI Research tracked Chromebooks across six regions and found the average selling price (ASP) to be $338,” said Stephanie Van Vactor, research analyst at ABI Research . ABI believes that this truly budget-driven device is a disruptive force to the portable PC market. The ASP and shipment growth of Chromebooks shows the market responding to products for the budget conscious -- a reaction from a slowl

As the wealth of information and content available online continues to grow at a rapid pace, the environment becomes increasingly difficult for people to navigate. Also, the challenge for online content providers is to ensure their best information assets are being found by their target buyers. Savvy marketers are already utilizing the mobile channel to reach their key target stakeholders online. Why now? Smartphones and media tablets are already mainstream devices that are increasingly being used for the search and discovery of online information -- often just-in-time to make purchase decisions. Juniper Research has revealed that by 2018, the total advertising spend on mobile search and discovery will reach $16.8 billion -- that's up from an estimated $6.4 billion in 2013. According to Juniper's latest global market assessment, while mobile web search will continue to account for the majority share of advertising spend, ads in local search applications will be the faste