Digital Lifescapes

The Internet of Things (IoT) and the process of connecting sensor devices to public cloud services will become commonplace in 2016. But it's unknown if the current hyperscale cloud computing infrastructure will be capable of adding billions of latency-sensitive devices in the future. That being said, this anticipated surge in connected devices has some mobile network operators exploring new ways to complement their cloud service offerings, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. One solution in particular is gaining adoption. 'Fog Networking' is a means to combat these challenges, with various telecom vendors developing their own architectures to bring the cloud closer to the end-user. A distributed architecture, fog networking consists of multiple end-user clients or near-user edge devices that manage and operate on vast amounts of storage instead of using centralized cloud data centers. Fog networking does this by enabling small purpose-built computi...

The shift to public cloud computing continues to disrupt the traditional enterprise IT market, as more CIOs adopt the services that deliver numerous benefits gained from a managed low-cost hyperscale infrastructure. In the latest quarterly update to the Cloud Price Index (CPI), 451 Research details the savings that public cloud buyers can achieve, by shopping around for the lowest-cost services for each part of their Web application. Instead of using a single cloud service provider to deliver an application, buyers who combine services -- such as compute and storage -- from multiple providers can realize substantial savings. Their analysis reveals that if cloud service buyers mix and match services and make long-term commitments to their providers, they can reduce their overall operational cost, starting at 58 percent for a small application. Furthermore, for a large Web server application, the savings could be as much as 74 percent -- which, over three years, equates to a tota...

Micro-credit, insurance, and simple saving accounts are already making a very positive impact on millions of the world's poor, while also creating new opportunities for innovative mobile network service providers in emerging markets. Both micro-finance providers, and mobile carriers, are driving a surge in financial inclusion for the un-banked populace in developing nations, through the provision of sophisticated mobile finance services, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research. Juniper now estimates that micro-finance user numbers in developing regions -- including Africa & India -- will triple from 94 million in 2015 to 283 million by 2020. They found that mobile savings accounts -- such as Safaricom’s M-Shwari and Tigo Tanzania -- had already gained mass adoption in their respective markets, with the mobile network operators benefiting both from reduced churn and from the opportunity to upsell additional content such as micro-insurance and loans. Inde...

Today, cloud computing is an essential enabler of forward-looking digital transformation projects that empower organizations across the globe. When combined with DevOps methodologies, these IT capabilities are helping developers rapidly build the infrastructure for new disruptive business models. Over half of the enterprise IT market respondents to a recent survey report using public cloud services for their projects, according to the latest worldwide market study by Technology Business Research (TBR). Findings from the comprehensive global study indicate that vendors offering built-in integrations for cloud and on-premises applications are best positioned to capture new customers. Moreover, the study uncovered that hybrid IT, brokerage services and geographic expansion will support and sustain ongoing public cloud computing adoption, during 2016 and beyond. "The public cloud market is getting a boost from broader IT trends such as hybrid IT, brokerage and global demand,...

The American video entertainment realm has continued to evolve during 2015. Market development in the traditional pay-TV sector has been particularly difficult. However, there are still some significant upside opportunities. Baby Boomers comprise nearly a third of U.S. adult broadband users and are significantly more likely than other segments to subscribe to traditional pay-TV services. According to the latest TDG Research study and data-driven analysis of this vital but oft-overlooked consumer segment, this makes them excellent candidates for the high-revenue sales of operator value-added services. As TDG first noted earlier this year, the race-to-the-bottom that currently defines pay-TV operator strategy -- that is, the targeting of Millennials with low-cost bundles -- has deflects marketing resources away from efforts to grow ARPU among other subscribers. "Unlike Millennials, Broadband Boomers are quite loyal to their current operators and have very deep pockets,"...

Informed management consultants and industry analysts agree, the digital transformation journey begins with the adoption of digital marketing practices that enable companies to evolve beyond obsolete advertising-centric thinking. Today's progressive marketers have embraced change. They've learned new skills and pushed past the fears that were once holding them back. Now, digital marketing is an imperative, and digital commerce is also a top priority, according to the latest market study by Gartner, Inc. The recent Gartner survey also found that marketing budgets increased by 10 percent in 2015, with 61 percent of respondents saying they expect budgets to increase once again in 2016. "There is little doubt that digital marketing is now mainstream," said Yvonne Genovese, group vice president at Gartner . "Marketers no longer make a clear distinction between offline and online marketing disciplines." Gartner believes that as more enterprise customers op...

During 2016, commercial vehicle applications of sensor technology will drive more use cases for the Internet of Things (IoT). As market demand grows, vendor merger and acquisition activity will continue, as a catalyst to combine the most compelling technology and services foundation for ongoing market development. The number of active Fleet Management (FM) systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets within Europe was 4.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.1 percent, this number is expected to reach 8.90 million by 2019, according to the latest market study by Berg Insight. The vendor activity over the last twelve to eighteen months has been remarkable. A group of international aftermarket solution providers have now emerged as leaders in the European fleet management market. TomTom Telematics was the fastest growing vendor in 2014 and has climbed to the number one spot in Europe, ahead of Masternaut. TomTom has about 450...

In hindsight, the reported ongoing IT security breaches during 2015 have paved the way for a significant cyber security solutions marketplace in 2016 and beyond. Savvy IT leaders have already started to address the need for real-time policy updates, ongoing employee training and an evolving systems architecture. Data trends show that the global cyber threat and Vulnerability Management (VM) market is expected to grow from $5.3 billion in 2015 to $8.6 billion in 2020, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research . This study was launched to uncover the commercial implications of newly discovered ICT security vulnerabilities, while also assessing current solutions to the known people, process and technology-related challenges that most CIOs must address with proactive enterprise security measures. "Each day, organizations are deluged with warnings about newly discovered security vulnerabilities," says Monolina Sen, senior analyst at ABI Research. "W...

Are you ready for the next wave of technology innovations to create opportunities in the new year, or are you concerned about the potential for a digital disruption to upset your current business model? Who knows what the future will bring? Industry analysts, that's who. Juniper Research has shared a list of their predictions for the top technology trends in 2016. I'll also publish the highlights of other industry analyst predictions between now and the end of 2015. Stay tuned... 2016 – The Year Virtual Reality Gets Real Juniper has identified 2016 as the watershed year for virtual reality (VR) headsets, both in terms of product launches and user adoption. Oculus, Sony, and HTC are among the leading technology industry players expected to launch new VR products over the next 12 months. The recent attention to and investment into virtual reality is helping to revitalize the industry and with major brand commercial launches imminent, Juniper says there is huge upside po...

Mobile network service providers are concerned by the dominant position that Facebook and Google maintain on the majority of American smartphones. Why are they anxious? Instant messaging was the Trojan Horse software app that has enabled both companies to position their future expansion into traditional telecom service offerings, such as voice and video communication. During 2016, both Facebook and Google will expand their app-enabled capabilities, thereby further eroding the network operator's role in value-added mobile services. Meanwhile, comScore released data on key trends within the U.S. smartphone industry for September 2015. Apple ranked as the top smartphone manufacturer with 43.6 percent OEM market share in America, while Google Android led as the number one smartphone platform with 52.3 percent platform market share. Facebook ranked as the top individual smartphone application. Google has six apps in the top 15 list this quarter. Software apps are likely to lead t...

As more multinational companies plan for their digital transformation, most are assessing their communication network capabilities. Meanwhile, the enterprise software-defined networking (SDN) market is maturing, and increasing adoption indicates that it's gaining momentum. SDN early-adopters are completing proof-of-concept trials and shifting to production deployments, which will transition into mainstream market adoption between now and 2020, according to the latest worldwide market study by Technology Business Research (TBR). "SDN will become a substantial contributor to the overall network infrastructure market," said Krista Macomber, data center analyst at TBR . Production deployments have started within large-scale enterprise environments, and will spread as international standards bodies finalize their work and SDN vendors expand into new use cases. According to the TBR assessment, previously a small number of large vendors dominated networking standards, bu...

While the global automotive and transportation industry seems laser-focused on exploring new upside opportunities associated with the Internet of Things (IoT), another cluster of technology research and development is about to emerge into the mainstream marketplace. Artificial Intelligence (AI) -- in particular, Deep Learning based on neural network computing -- parallel processing and unassisted cloud-based crowd learning are propelling new innovations within the established consumer vehicle and commercial transport sectors. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, two key technologies and associated use-cases are noteworthy. AI technology application areas include machine vision and speech recognition, both of which have huge relevance for the automotive and transportation sectors. Exploring AI Use Case Scenarios Virtual Assistants – Advanced agents knowing the driver's preferences and allowing natural language interaction within the vehicle and dr...

The emerging 'big data' market will continue to gain new momentum as more organizations accelerate their digital transformation into agile data-driven entities. This ongoing market development is driving strong growth in big data-related storage infrastructure, software, and associated professional services. As a result, the big data technology and services market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.1 percent during the 2014-2019 forecast period -- with annual spending reaching $48.6 billion in 2019, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC ). "The ever-increasing appetite of businesses to embrace emerging big data-related software and infrastructure technologies, while keeping the implementation costs low, has led to the creation of a rich ecosystem of new and incumbent suppliers," said Ashish Nadkarni, program director at IDC . At the same time, the market opportunity is spurring new investments and M...

The public cloud service adoption trend has driven many changes at traditional IT organizations. In particular, savvy CIOs have introduced new converged system technology into their enterprise data centers, to improve automation and increase their agility. As a result, converged systems are now established as a platform of choice for enterprise mission-critical workloads. According to the latest worldwide market study by Technology Business Research (TBR), converged systems continue to displace traditional, stand-alone infrastructure, establishing the market as critical to the future longevity of data center hardware OEMs. "The evolution of converged systems represents a landmark in the history of data center infrastructure," said Christian Perry, principal analyst and practice manager at TBR . According to the TBR assessment, informed business technology decision-makers are overcoming internal resistance to IT change. They're deploying these converged systems rap...

Just imagine, 6.4 billion 'connected things' will be in use worldwide in 2016 -- that's up 30 percent from 2015 -- and will reach 20.8 billion by 2020, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner, Inc. In 2016, 5.5 million new things will get connected to the public internet every day. Gartner now estimates that the Internet of Things (IoT) will support total services spending of $235 billion in 2016 -- that's up by 22 percent from 2015. Services are dominated by the professional category -- in which businesses contract with external providers to design, install and operate their IoT systems. However, connectivity services -- offered through telecom service providers -- and consumer services will grow at a faster pace. "IoT services are the real driver of value in IoT, and increasing attention is being focused on new services by end-user organisations and vendors," said Jim Tully, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner . Cons...

As national governments release their plans to decrease carbon dependency and adapt to the ongoing challenges of climate change, regional and local energy policies represent one of the most effective vehicles for achieving these new goals. Meanwhile, municipal leaders across the globe are assuming a more proactive role in the process of creating sustainable energy policies, by developing their own comprehensive energy efficiency and carbon reduction goals. According to the latest worldwide market study by Navigant Research, the result has been a number of ambitious energy projects supported by innovations in smart grid technology, demand management, alternative or renewable generation, and distributed energy resources. For cities and utilities, developing an effective cross-agency smart energy and smart city strategy enables the optimal use of energy resources and reduces redundant investments in infrastructure. According to the Navigant assessment, such a strategy also improve...

Mobile network service providers are focused on defending their traditional voice services from new market disruption that threatens to further erode their legacy business model. Armed with new technology and bold plans for more rapid deployment, savvy operators are responding to the incursion. The number of VoLTE (Voice over LTE) connections is now anticipated to reach 2 billion by 2020, rising from an estimated 123 million in 2015, according to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research . The research uncovered that the marked improvement in voice quality, enabled by VoLTE, is likely to spur increased adoption of the technology by mobile network service providers across the globe. Besides, given the downward trajectory of voice service revenue trends, wireless network operators must act swiftly to slow the decline. Juniper found that direct revenues from VoLTE will likely be limited at first, with increased availability of compatible smartphones driving adoption o...

During 2015, across numerous industries, the quest for a competitive advantage via a Digital Transformation agenda has been a key focal point of strategic planning discussions between concerned CEOs and their executive leadership teams. Making bold moves and implementing big changes requires a huge concerted organizational effort. Besides, it can't be rushed. However, with their legacy business models already showing signs of imminent disruption, the leaders of major telecom service providers have been moved to action. Many have discovered that they're not adequately equipped to address the forward-looking view of their markets. So, they've now embarked on several momentous experiments -- intended to uncover the foundation for future success. According to the latest worldwide market study by Technology Business Research ( TBR ), the telecom service provider sector is entering the early commercial stage for Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software Defined Net...

The worldwide media tablet market recorded lower shipments for the fourth straight quarter, with 48.7 million units shipped in 3Q15, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Despite early signs of a slight improvement, shipments were actually down -12.6 percent year-over-year. IDC estimated the global installed base of tablets to stand at 581.9 million at the end of 2014, which was up 36 percent from 2013. With mature markets like North America, Western Europe, and Asia-Pacific well past 100 million active tablets per region, the opportunities for new growth are fewer. "We continue to get feedback that tablet users are holding onto devices upwards of four years," said Ryan Reith, program director at IDC . IDC believes the traditional media tablet still has a place in personal computing. However, as the smartphone installed base continues to grow and as phablets become more capable, the need for smaller form-factor slate tablets is le...

The leading public cloud computing service providers will gain the lion's share of all cloud-related revenue, but there are still market development opportunities for hybrid scenarios -- where combinations of public and private cloud can be justified. The hosted private cloud market will continue to grow at a low-double-digit CAGR through 2019, reaching $39 billion, according to the latest worldwide market study by Technology Business Research (TBR). Widespread enterprise adoption of cloud solutions will drive steady revenue growth for vendors across all cloud computing segments -- particularly for hosted private cloud vendors that offer the flexibility of public clouds with the added layer of implied security from a hosted private cloud. "Security is a driver and a barrier of hosted private cloud adoption and will greatly affect the private cloud landscape through 2019," said Cassandra Mooshian, cloud analyst at TBR . TBR believes that the best case scenario for ...

Technology industry analysts are reporting that the current trends within the smartphone marketplace are being led by two key phenomena -- more low-cost, high-value product introductions and dominant mobile service providers being forced to react to the disruptive actions of savvy competitors. Vendors shipped a total of 355.2 million smartphones worldwide in the third quarter of 2015 (3Q15), that's up 6.8 percent from the 332.6 million units in 3Q14, marking the second highest quarter of shipments on record, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The 3Q15 shipments were slightly below the previous forecast of 363.8 million units, largely due to lower than expected Apple iPhone shipments, as well as Google Android flagship introductions from several top-tier OEMs. "The vendor landscape and product offerings are really unique at the moment as many markets are seeing consumers become more aware of alternative buying options when it com...