Digital Lifescapes

Around the world, many telecom service providers are in a state of transition, as their traditional voice and data communications service growth opportunities are either limited or in a decline. Meanwhile, the need to pursue new revenue opportunities has often been restricted by a historically slow moving organization and underlying infrastructure constraints that essentially made them inflexible to address the need to change. Therefore, during 2015, selective organizational restructuring and fundamental infrastructure transitions will be implemented to enable these telecom service providers to adapt more effectively to the apparent new opportunities in the marketplace. Much of the change will be driven by the deployment of new software, systems and related professional services from vendors with domain experience in managing these business model transitions. Adoption of next-generation technologies by telecom service providers has led to worldwide growth in the Operation Suppo...

Worldwide personal computer (PC) shipments are expected to fall by -2.7 percent overall in 2014 -- that's actually an improvement from the previous forecast of -3.7 percent, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Although third quarter results were a few points ahead of forecast with shipments down only -0.5 percent from the prior year, most regions and market participants saw this as a short-term gain rather than as a sign of stronger growth in the long-term. Mature regions continue to grow while a rebound in emerging regions has taken longer -- due to a later impact from media tablets as well as slower economics and commercial replacements. Western Europe and Japan performed better than expected in the third quarter, but the gains were driven by a rebound from last year and short-term factors such as building fourth quarter inventory earlier in the year and continuing Windows XP replacement activity. Despite the relative short-term s...

Local government CIOs across the globe have been planning to introduce new technology-based services into their communities. New digital services may be coming to a municipality near you, perhaps as soon as 2015. A smart city is one that has digital technology embedded across all city functions. The global smart city market will be valued at $1.565 trillion in 2020, according to the latest worldwide market study by Frost & Sullivan. Over 26 global cities are expected to be smart cities in 2025 -- with more than 50 percent of these smart cities from Europe and North America. By 2025, it is expected that around 58 percent of the world's population -- about 4.6 billion people -- will live in urban areas. In developed regions and cities, the urban population in cities could account for up to 81 percent of total population. This will pose serious challenges for city planners, who will have to re-think how they provide basic city services to residents in a sustainable manner. ...

According to the latest market study by Canalys, nearly 5 million smart and basic wearable bands shipped in Q3 2014, with total unit shipments increasing 37 percent quarter on quarter. Furthermore, the Moto 360 was the most successful of the initial Google Android Wear devices, accounting for over 15 percent of the smart band market. Despite being supply-constrained, its appealing design helped it to easily out-ship other products. LG has responded by quickly adopting a circular display with the G Watch R. Meanwhile, Samsung remained the overall smart band market leader. They have already begun to experiment with larger display sizes and cellular connectivity with the Gear S. Canalys believes that Android Wear will be key to the development of the market, as it is poised to be one of the two dominant wearable operating systems, alongside the Apple Watch OS. That said, Canalys says Google will need to redesign the Android Wear user interface. "The announcement of the App...

According to the latest global market study by 4G Americas, Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) could help mobile network service providers deal with significant challenges facing the industry -- such as capacity limitations, increasing traffic diversity and the need to improve new service delivery agility. The mobile industry association has explored the considerations for planning NFV deployment, the advantages of the virtualized architecture and the potential challenges of LTE mobile network architectural changes. Their proposed strategies and solutions aim to address these issues and others by leveraging IT virtualization technology to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume servers, networking and storage systems. NFV is about separating network functions from proprietary hardware and then consolidating and running those functions as virtualized applications on open-source commodity servers. When deployed, NFV will enable mobile carrier...

According to the latest worldwide market study by DisplaySearch, in the third quarter of this year, the global notebook personal computer (PC) market grew 10 percent year-over-year, to reach 49.4 million units. Once again, market demand increased for lower-cost devices. That said, global shipments of media tablets, by comparison, actually fell by 8 percent. Given the choice between a full-featured low-cost notebook PC and an equivalent tablet, more people will buy based upon their use case -- rather than being influenced more by price and value. Notebook PC growth was primarily driven by the developed regions of North America and Western Europe, which increased year-over-year shipments by more than 20 percent in the third quarter. "The slump in tablet PC demand contributed to the growth in notebook PCs," said Hisakazu Torii, vice president of smart application research at DisplaySearch, now part of IHS . Back-to-school sales were quite good, and this growth was suppor...

Technology can cut either way. It can be a differentiating factor that helps your business be more successful or it can be something that contributes to your company's downfall -- particularly, if competitors are first-to-market and apply it for a significant competitive edge. Technology adoption and usage can help to increase efficiency, reduce wastage, advance productivity, improve product development, enhance customer service and accelerate time-to-market. Technology is at the heart of many business success stories. Besides, the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) can become one of the key positions within a company, but it is also now one of the most challenging -- due to the raised expectations. ABI Research has compiled an analysis that collects input from the whole ABI analyst community and presents a broad perspective of which technologies should be on a CIO's planning agenda. The top technologies were broken down in to the following lists: Top Five Te...

There's been a growing concern about the impact of Over-the-Top (OTT) mobile communication software applications -- such as WhatsApp, LINE, WeChat and Skype -- on the Mobile Network Operator (MNO) business model. The negative threat is somewhat obvious, but there is also the potential for market collaboration and business partnerships. While the majority of OTT communications providers concentrate on growing their community and exploring new business models, this market development also provides an opportunity for MNOs to play an integral role -- and thereby re-emerge as a positive force in the monetization process of OTT communications. Findings from a new worldwide survey show MNOs are dramatically changing their strategy and plans to partner with the OTT players. The annual survey by Mobilesquared, revealed that by the end of 2014, 55 percent of MNOs have already formed or expect to form a relationship with an OTT partner compared to only 36 percent in 2013. Most notable,...

With profit margins under pressure, most telecom service providers are already considering dramatic cost reduction plans in the new year, such as the immediate adoption of open source software and the piloting of SDN or NFV projects. In particular, mobile service providers are most at risk. This is why they are in the process of evolving their business model -- primarily, in response to the latest global trends in mobile personal communications. Juniper Research has found that with combined annual mobile network operator expenditures now in excess of $800 billion, several leading service providers face the possibility of costs exceeding revenues by the end of the decade without remedial action. According to their latest worldwide market study, a combination of flat revenues from traditional services combined with surging data traffic costs could ultimately threaten the viability of all mobile network operations. In an analysis of 12 international mobile network operators, Juni...

One of the largest emerging applications for the Internet of Things is healthcare related technologies that enable remote monitoring and diagnostics. According to the latest market study by Berg Insight, around 4.7 million people in Europe were using connected care solutions at the end of 2013. The term connected care refers to users of traditional telecare, next-generation telecare and telehealth solutions within the European countries where the study was conducted. Until 2019, Berg Insight forecasts that the number of connected care users will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.2 percent to reach 13.7 million. Traditional telecare is currently the largest and most mature of the three market segments. The next-generation telecare and telehealth market segments are in a more nascent stage but are entering a strong growth phase that is expected to last for many years to come. The European connected care industry is facing major changes that will reshape the compe...

Over the past 5 years, the scale of mobile commerce in its various forms has grown at a remarkable rate. As more mobile computing devices -- such as smartphones and media tablets -- became available for browsing online content, the mobile commerce marketplace thrived. In 2001, global business-to-consumer eCommerce sales were around $63 billion anually. By 2011, sales had increased nearly 12 times to $745 billion. In 2012, these sales increased by a further 28 percent to reach $952 billion, before increasing by a further 23 percent in 2013 to approach $1.2 trillion. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, just over 2 billion mobile phone or tablet users will make some form of mobile commerce transaction by the end of 2017 -- that's up from 1.6 billion in 2014. Juniper believes that mobile consumption of services such as banking, money transfer and purchases of goods and services was surging as consumers were either migrating from desktop usage or be...

You're going to see many more references to the Internet of Things (IoT) in 2015, and for a very good reason. Industry analysts now believe that this nascent technology and associated ecosystem of vendors and service providers is ready to experience high growth. Together, the IoT ecosystem represents boundless opportunities -- billions of connected things within a wide variety of industries across the globe. The combined revenue opportunities are forecast to be one of the bright spots on the new Internet-related technology frontier. A recent forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC), based upon an extensive global market study, provides insights from their latest findings -- defining the hardware, software, services, connectivity, and security aspects that make up the evolving IoT ecosystem. According to the IDC assessment, the worldwide IoT market is forecast to grow from $1.3 trillion in 2013 to $3.04 trillion in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1...

Looking at the 2015 outlook, the focus in the American mobile service provider marketplace is slowly shifting from smartphone devices to software applications -- it's all part of the ongoing Mobile Cloud services trend. According to the latest market study by comScore , the key trends in the U.S. smartphone industry for September 2014 demonstrate how the market is now fully saturated, with minimal new growth. Apple ranked as the top smartphone manufacturer with 41.7 percent OEM market share, while Google Android led as the number one smartphone platform with 52.1 percent platform market share. Meanwhile, Facebook ranked as the top individual smartphone app. However, Google had the most apps, by far, within the top ranking app list for September 2014. Smartphone OEM Market Share 174 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones (72 percent mobile market penetration) during the three months ending in September -- that's up by just 1 percent since June. Apple ranked as ...

Initially most incumbent mobile network service providers resisted the inclusion of Wi-Fi connectivity within the smartphones that they offered to their subscribers. Today, most informed service providers have embraced the benefits of Wi-Fi technology and the upside potential of Mobile Cloud service strategies. The pieces of the mobile network service provider Wi-Fi puzzle are falling into place as the standardization process speeds up with the recent updates on Hotspot 2.0 and commercial Next Generation Hotspot deployments counting more than 12 networks worldwide. According to the latest global market study by ABI Research, the increasing appetite for Carrier Wi-Fi solutions will result in revenues growing to nearly $8 billion by 2019. The main vendors in this emerging market market include Cisco, Ruckus Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia, and Ericsson. Asia-Pacific is the top region in number of installed Wi-Fi hotspots while Europe and North America continue to grow their networks throug...

The global outlook for media tablet shipments will further evolve as vendor diversification occurs and emerging markets drive more growth. The worldwide tablet market grew 11.5 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2014 (3Q14) with shipments reaching 53.8 million units, according to the the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Partly driven by back-to-school promotions and U.S. appetite for connected tablets, the third quarter also saw shipments grow sequentially by 11.2 percent compared to 2Q14. "Not only is the U.S. market one of the largest for tablets, but third quarter results also indicate that this is where the growth is," said Jean Philippe Bouchard, research director at IDC . As an example of evolving market developments, IDC says that Verizon is continuing to sell connected tablets at a fast pace, a strategy that they believe other carriers will replicate in following quarters. Also, RCA entered the top 5 vendor list, impacti...

Like any business that's investing heavily in new technology, telecom service providers must monitor their project ROI to determine if it has met the stated business outcome-related objectives. Now more than ever, project goals for bottom-line cost savings are aligned with equally important goals to enable top-line revenue growth. In fact, telecom service providers view the creation of new revenue, quicker time to revenue attainment, and service provisioning agility as their top drivers for investing in Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) projects. Moreover, new research indicates some service providers have discovered that the business case for deploying SDN and NFV is marginal until the new revenue upside value is incorporated into the equation. According to the latest global market study by Infonetics Research,  there is now a significant growth opportunity for the leading vendors that offer NFV and SDN hardware or software that...

To some people, smart glasses are a "cool" new gadget. They're one of the most innovative developments in the emerging wearable technology market. It is the product segment closest to an imagined future for many tech-savvy consumers. The current reality of smart glasses, however, has proven to be somewhat different -- with emerging privacy concerns, dismissal of the initial devices as ugly and questions about exactly how useful the devices are in day-to-day life. According to the findings from the latest market study by Juniper Research , a combination of lengthy time-to-market and the lack of a compelling use-case has resulted in low levels of shipments and adoption within the smart glasses marketplace. The Juniper market study findings estimated that shipments of smart glasses were unlikely to exceed 10 million units per year until 2018. Juniper expects sales to be buoyed slightly by fresh releases by several key industry players in 2015-2016 -- including Samsun...

As we look toward 2015, we'll see signs that the mobile service provider sector will start to shift its investment budget into new technologies. The 4G Americas organization says Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) each offer an opportunity for expanded network flexibility and capacity, while also enabling the reduction of operating and capital expenses. By utilizing more off-the-shelf bare metal hardware and open source-based software solutions, they're going to be in a much better position to revolutionize mobile networking infrastructure optimization. According to the latest global market study by ABI Research, the total worldwide wireless network operator capital investment (CAPEX) budget will increase by 5.9 percent by the end of 2014 -- that's a slower rate than 2013. The investment will reach $185.5 billion as large capital expenditure is expected in developing regions of Latin America, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. ABI Re...

According to the latest global market study by Juniper Research , smartphone shipments reached 316.6 million in the third quarter (Q3) of 2014, representing 13.1 percent y-o-y growth and 5.5 percent q-o-q growth. The biggest gainers of market share this quarter are those capitalizing on expanding Asian markets -- such as Xiaomi, the Chinese ODM. The company sold 19 million new devices in Q3 -- that's a 25.8 percent increase in sales on last quarter. Combined Lenovo-Motorola shipments are estimated to be in excess of 23 million devices this quarter, with Motorola on-track to return to profitability in Lenovo's target of 4 to 6 quarters. Lenovo is now well-positioned to expand into India and other Southeast Asian markets, where the Android-based Moto X and Moto G have a large consumer base, as well as a positive brand presence in the U.S. market. Apple experienced strong growth following the iPhone 6 launch, posting its highest ever Q3 results, representing a 16.2 percent...

Consumption of on-demand streaming video continues to grow in American homes, at the expense of broadcast TV viewership. According to the latest market study by Parks Associates, the average U.S. broadband household now watches more than 17 hours of non-linear video per week, compared to 11.5 hours of linear video. The research firm has examined the market for over-the-top (OTT) video entertainment services and streaming media devices and made some assumptions about the key trends shaping consumer demand. "Non-linear video accounts for 49 percent of the video consumed on the TV, and it is already the majority, 60 percent, of TV video viewed by consumers 18-24," said Barbara Kraus, director of research at Parks Associates . Growing consumer demand, alongside new OTT service announcements from HBO and CBS, is driving all players in the video ecosystem to add streaming capabilities to their devices. The negative impact on legacy pay-TV services is likely to be very signifi...