Digital Lifescapes

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) connectivity has become a key product offering from global telecom service providers and a significant new revenue stream. They've also developed complex service propositions, designed to reduce costs and increase efficiency for their wireless network customers. Unique business models will apply emerging technology concepts to enable innovative applications for the Internet of Things (IoT). As an example, in-vehicle infotainment services, such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, will generate large amounts of new cellular M2M mobile data traffic. Exponential Growth of M2M Data Traffic Over the next five years, this explosion of new mobile applications will account for up to 98 percent of all M2M data traffic, according to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research. Most of that new data will be saved in hyperscale cloud object storage platforms. Their study found that data intensive applications -- such as Internet radio, music streaming a...

When a consumer electronics vendor launches a new product category they are often uncertain about the overall market demand. While early-adopters may adopt the new device relatively quickly, the mainstream user market is far less likely to be interested or motivated to buy. Sometimes the leading vendor in a category will abruptly reach market saturation, as a key indicator of the future outlook. For the first time, the worldwide smart watch market saw a year-over-year decline of 32 percent, according to the latest global market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Smartwatch vendors shipped 3.5 million units in the second quarter of 2016 (2Q16), which was down substantially from the 5.1 million shipped a year ago. Apple held the top rank by shipping 1.6 million watches. However, it was the only vendor among the top five to experience an annual decline in shipments. Smartwatch Market Development Challenges The year-over-year comparison is to the initial launch quart...

Growing applications for Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) technologies will transform commercial vehicle fleets. Moreover, the active fleet management systems already deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in North America was 5.8 million during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2015, according to the latest market study by Berg Insight. Increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17 percent, the fleet management systems installed base in North America is expected to reach 12.7 million units by 2020. In Latin America, the number of active fleet management systems is expected to increase from 2.3 million in Q4 2015, growing at a CAGR of 12.8 percent to reach 4.1 million in 2020. Fleet Management Systems Market Development The top fifteen providers of fleet management systems in the Americas now have a combined installed base of more than 4 million active units in the region, and the top five vendors account for 2.5 million units. The leading sol...

Technology industry analysts have shared their initial view on the impact from the political and social unrest that's sweeping across Europe. In particular, concerns about the outcome of the United Kingdom (UK) European Union (EU) membership referendum has added to the region's volatility. After 7 percent growth in 2015, European technology spending will remain flat at €707 billion this year and grow by just 0.8 percent next year, according to the Forrester Research midyear forecast. Business and political uncertainties after the decision by UK citizens to leave the European Union (Brexit) on top of already slow economic growth have led Forrester to reduce its original projection for EU tech market growth for 2016 and 2017 by about 2 percent. At a country level, UK tech spending will see the sharpest slowdown, growing by just 1.3 percent in pounds in 2016, with no growth in 2017 -- representing a drop of 4.2 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively, compared with Forrester’...

Several television broadcasters and pay-TV providers have attempted to match over-the-top (OTT) video by offering their own online services. Most notable is the move by HBO to offer a subscription service to their TV shows via HBO Now. Revenues from subscription video on demand (SVOD) services, such as Netflix and Amazon, are set to more than double from $14.6 billion this year, to $34.6 billion in 2021. Netflix will now grow its U.S. subscriber base to be similar in size with leading traditional pay-TV service providers. Ongoing SVOD Market Development According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, SVOD providers will see substantial returns on their expansion and growth strategies, as more countries and markets move to this method of video consumption. And, as more consumers adopt the move away from the old linear, scheduled TV model. While SVOD continues to draw customers away from traditional pay-TV providers, legacy networks are now seeking to diversify and a...

CIOs have recognized that they must plan for a world where many cloud platforms coexist together, supporting the diverse needs of user groups within their midst. To some informed cloud service buyers, the notion of a one-size-fits-all public cloud offering now seems absurd. Granted, a typical IT manager's role could be simpler if they only used one vendor for all use cases and associated cloud applications. But the savvy Line of Business leaders won't let that happen -- they'll continue to demand best-fit solutions. It's an important Hybrid IT infrastructure strategy. IHS Markit interviewed the key decision makers at 158 North American organizations about the adoption of on-premises cloud architecture within the enterprise, purchase of off-premises cloud services now, and how they plan to evolve their use of off-premises cloud services over the next two years. Cloud Computing Market Development Trends Enterprise respondents to the cloud services survey plan to ...

Cloud computing services have experienced consistent growth over the last decade. Savvy IT vendors that transformed their portfolio have reaped the benefits of their strategic foresight. Others are still reacting to the diminished demand for their legacy product offerings. Many CIOs now consider public cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS) as a viable alternative to their on-premises IT infrastructure. A recent survey of over 6,000 IT organizations found that nearly two thirds of the respondents are either already using or planning to use public cloud IaaS by the end of 2016. According to their latest worldwide market study, International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts public cloud IaaS revenues to more than triple from $12.6 billion in 2015 to $43.6 billion in 2020 -- with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.2 percent over the five-year forecast period. Public IaaS Market Development Trends "Public cloud services are increasingly being seen as an enabler of bu...

According to the findings from a recent study, Connected TV devices are now in nearly two-thirds of all television households within the U.S. market. There are already more connected TV devices in U.S. households than there are pay-TV set-top boxes. Leichtman Research Group (LRG) finds that 65 percent of American TV households have at least one television set connected to the Internet via a video game system, a smart TV set, a Blu-ray player, and/or a stand-alone device -- that's up from 44 percent in 2013, and 24 percent in 2010. Connected TV Market Development Results Among those with any connected TV devices, 74 percent have more than one device, with a mean of 3.3 per connected TV household. Those with a connected TV generally find them to be easy to use: 70 percent of all with a connected TV agree (8-10 on a 1-10 scale) that streaming services like Netflix are easy to access via connected TV devices, while 12 percent disagree (1-3). The LRG study also found that 7...

As more digital content migrates to online platforms, the trend moves away from content ownership and towards content access. It also means that the device on which you pay for the content may not be the device where you primarily access that same content. The value of digital content transactions paid for by telecom service provider billing is expected to reach $47 billion by 2020 -- that's more than four times 2015 results of just under $11.3 billion, according to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research. Exploring Digital Content Payment Options According to the study findings, Apple’s decision to test telecom carrier billing in Germany and Russia is likely to drive a substantial number of new deployments in the medium term. The move will be essential if Apple is to monetize unbanked owners of refurbished mobile devices in emerging markets, who would otherwise be limited to paying for content via iTunes gift cards. Mobile network service provider billing s...

Online video entertainment has disrupted most legacy media companies that refused to acknowledge the market opportunities beyond traditional pay-TV services. This shift has become a global phenomenon. The impact and implications are far-reaching. Western European over-the-top (OTT) television and video revenues will more than double between 2015 and 2021. However, growth rates within each nation will vary considerably, according to findings from the latest market study by Digital TV Research. "OTT adoption is already high in Scandinavia, the Netherlands and the UK, but it has been much more muted in other countries -- such as France, Spain and Portugal," said Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research . European OTT TV Market Development OTT TV and video revenues in Western Europe will reach $14.64 billion in 2021 -- that's up from $6.40 billion in 2015. From the $8.25 billion in revenues to be added between 2015 and 2021, the UK will contribute $2.30 ...

Server, storage and networking hardware revenue decreased 1.1 percent year-to-year in the first quarter of 2016 (1Q16), due to ongoing software prioritization in the IT data center market, according to the latest market study by Technology Business Research (TBR). Year-to-year growth in the industry-standard server (ISS) and networking product segments was not enough to drive overall revenue growth during the quarter, due to steep declines in the legacy proprietary server segment. Software functionality is very important in the migration to hybrid cloud-enabled and data-centric IT business models, as enterprise buyers seek to mitigate complexity and management challenges. This change in demand is causing a significant shift away from proprietary servers and legacy storage technologies. Data Center Market Development Transition "Customers target high business growth areas to make strategic IT investments, but at the same time, they face budget restraints," said Krista ...

It's a given, cloud computing will become an essential component of every enterprise Digital Transformation agenda. By 2020, a corporate "no-cloud" policy will be as rare as a "no-internet" policy is today, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Cloud-first is replacing the defensive no-cloud stance that dominated many large IT vendors in recent years. Today, most provider technology innovation is cloud-centric, with the stated intent of adapting the technology to on-premises. "Aside from the fact that many organizations with a no-cloud policy actually have some under-the-radar or unavoidable cloud usage, we believe that this position will become increasingly untenable," said Jeffrey Mann, vice president at Gartner . The Adaptive Hybrid IT Foundation According to the Gartner assessment, cloud services will often be the default option for software deployment. The same is true for custom software, which increasingly is designe...

How did the Shadow IT phenomenon disrupt an established industry, when the signs of growing discontent were so clear and obvious? Many CIOs have been challenged to offer a similar experience -- easy to use, rapid provisioning of infrastructure -- to compete with the savvy public cloud service providers. Meanwhile, most of the traditional IT vendors seemed to have little appreciation for shifting customer needs -- delivering their compute and storage in the same old way, regardless of the implications. Not being oblivious to emerging market demand, new entrants seized the opportunity by creating a better way. As a result, the continued adoption of hyper-converged platforms has invigorated the waning data center IT infrastructure market. But deployment expansion reveals even more challenges ahead that legacy vendors must address to preserve sales momentum -- as the market quickly departs from complex, stand-alone hardware deployments. Hyperconverged Systems Market Development A...

The Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) sector has experienced a re-balancing compared to the record M&A activity seen in 2015, according to the latest global market study by Mergermarket . During the first half (H1) of 2016, 1,363 deals worth $223.1 billion represented a 41.6 percent decrease in value compared to H1 2015 ($382.3 billion, 1,580 deals), and the weakest H1 deal value and count since 2013 ($173.5 billion, 1,056 deals). Reflecting this low activity, no mega-deals (< $10 billion) took place within the Technology, Media and Telecommunications sector during H1 2016, compared to a record nine during the same period in 2015, with the highest recorded deal of H1 -- Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holding's acquisition of Finland's online gaming editor Supercell -- valued at $8.6 billion. TMT Market Development Results Following a succession of high valued deals seen over the past few years, Telecommunications M&A seems to be feeling the e...

Government use of business technology is primed for change. Next-generation IT solutions developed for the more progressive commercial markets are starting to contribute to the recovery of the public sector IT and professional services market, according to the latest worldwide market study by Technology Business Research (TBR). After five years of consistently declining revenues in the sector, government services contractors realized aggregate weighted average growth of 3.9 percent in the first quarter of 2016 (1Q16) -- that's a 640 basis-point improvement over year-to-year. While TBR attributes a return to growth in part to industry consolidation among a few vendors, average organic revenue declined 0.9 percent year-to-year among the 18 companies included in their research study. Governement IT Market Development "The public sector IT and professional services market recaptured growth during 1Q16, marking the turnaround of a long-pressured industry," said Sebasti...

Wearable Technology development is focused any electronic products that are designed to be worn on the person. Over the last couple of years, vendors in the market for wearable devices have moved beyond the initial hype to describe practical uses that are enabled by software apps. With the core wearable technology sectors now beginning to mature, IDTechEx has released their latest analysis of this diverse and growing industry in their "Wearable Technology 2016-2026" report. Their latest worldwide study finds the market to be worth over $30 billion in 2016, with over $11 billion of that coming from newly popular products -- including smartwatches and fitness trackers. Wearables Market Development Opportunities However, despite the total market growing to over $150 billion by 2026, IDTechEx forecasts a pending shake-up in several prominent sectors -- with some commoditization impacting pricing and product form factors adapting to nascent opportunities. The IDTechEx m...

One of the key principles that has enabled global wireless telecom network connectivity is the development and implementation of technology standards. As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to evolve, new standards will set the stage for market development to blossom. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, new 3GPP IoT standards will account for more than 50 percent of cellular IoT radio node unit shipments by 2021. Moreover, Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) is forecast to consume more than 70 percent of Release 13 shipments and more than one third of all cellular IoT shipments -- a value which is greater than legacy M2M or the current Cat-1 standard. 4G LTE Mobile Network Standards  "While some in the industry view the new 3GPP standards as competitors to the current non-3GPP LPWA technologies and predict their demise, we believe that NB-IoT will complement LPWA," said Nick Marshall, research director at ABI Research . However, ABI analysts belie...

Leading vendor revenue from sales of infrastructure products for cloud computing applications -- including public and private cloud -- grew by 3.9 percent year-over-year to $6.6 billion in the first quarter of 2016 (1Q16), according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The ongoing transition to Hybrid IT infrastructure models continue to negatively impact some vendors. Meanwhile, total cloud computing infrastructure revenues climbed to a 32.3 percent share of overall IT revenues during 1Q16 -- that's up from 30.2 percent a year ago. Revenue from infrastructure sales to private cloud grew by 6.8 percent to $2.8 billion, and to public cloud by 1.9 percent to $3.9 billion on slowed demand from the hyperscale public cloud sector. Cloud App Market Development In comparison, revenue in the traditional (non-cloud) IT infrastructure segment decreased by 6.0 percent year over year in the first quarter, with declines in both storage and ser...

Smart Cities are applying Internet of Things (IoT) based solutions. A smart city is an ecosystem that places emphasis on the use of digital technology to drive efficiency for existing social, economic and environmental processes, while developing new, data-driven processes. According to findings from the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, smart traffic management and smart parking initiatives will save 4.2 billion man-hours annually by 2021 -- that's equivalent to each city driver saving nearly an entire working day per year. Juniper analysts also found that while the smart city remains a relatively young concept, many metropolitan governments are beginning to recognize the need to improve in terms of competitiveness and quality of life. Moreover, increasing urban populations around the world are creating pressure on city resources, driving the need for new and efficient solutions. Smart City Transportation Juniper’s comprehensive study found that traffic ea...

Once upon a time, technology industry analysts optimistically reported on the market opportunities for telecom service providers within the emerging public cloud computing arena. A decade later, the outlook has been softened by the realities of the competitive marketplace. Results from the latest global market study by Technology Business Research (TBR) indicate telecom service providers are re-evaluating their public cloud strategies, due to the ongoing struggle to gain market share against the pure plays and incumbents -- such as AWS, IBM, Microsoft and Google. Despite carrier cloud providers generating over $4.5 billion in public cloud revenue in 2015, the segment is still dominated by large incumbents, particularly AWS and Google, as aggressive pricing competition makes pure public cloud unprofitable without the hyperscale advantage. Reassessing Market Development Strategies "Carriers, including Verizon, AT&T and BT, are de-emphasizing public cloud and are instead ...

The ongoing evolution of mobile network infrastructure to fifth-generation (5G) technologies is already in the planning stages within much of the developed world, as mobile internet traffic fuels the demand for more data bandwidth. Meanwhile, 4G investment has peaked in several key markets. North America and Asia will each account for more than 40 percent of global 5G subscriptions at the end of 2021, followed by Europe with more than 10 percent of subscriptions, with the Middle East and Africa accounting for the remainder. According to the findings from their latest global market study, Ovum now estimates that 5G services will be available in more than 20 markets worldwide by the end of 2021, with services in all four major world regions. However, the vast majority of 5G subscriptions will be concentrated in the U.S. market, Japan, China, and South Korea, where major mobile network operators have revealed aggressive timelines for launching 5G services. 5G Wireless Network Mark...