Digital Lifescapes

As more commercial transaction infrastructure moves online, so do the criminals that seek to destroy or defraud that same business resource. Cyber crime is a growing threat to corporations across the globe, who are increasingly using digital commerce methods to operate their enterprise. With the advent of the mobile internet and an expected 46 trillion connected devices in use by 2021, the growing concern about cyber criminal activity will become commonplace. Therefore, demand for enterprise IT security solutions have increased rapidly, and requests for employee training programs. Put simply, Digital Trust is a valuable commercial asset that CEOs and their CIOs must protect. That's why more executive leadership teams are being asked to describe their ongoing security plans to the board of directors of public companies. Enterprise Security Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, criminal data breaches will cost businesses a tota

Consumer video entertainment is about to evolve, once again. High dynamic range (HDR) features will infiltrate some full high-definition (HD) television sets and thereby help to boost the emerging 4K TV set (UltraHD) market momentum. ABI Research forecasts that HDR TV shipments will grow at a 41 percent CAGR and reach 245 million units in 2022. According to their assessment, 8K TV sets are still years away from reaching the global market, with market hype currently centering on Japan’s plans to deliver 8K video at the 2020 Olympics. HDR TV Market Development "As evident with Sony’s recent announcement to include HDR in all its new TV sets, the next-generation TV technology will soon be a prominent feature in many UltraHD TV sets," said Khin Sandi Lynn, analyst at ABI Research . While some less expensive TV sets will not yet support the new technology, high-end TV manufacturers recognize the value that HDR functionality brings to the customer viewing experience. Vend

The personal computer sector is stuck in a downturn. Worldwide shipments of personal computing devices (PCDs) -- including a combination of desktop, notebook, and workstation PCs, plus slate and detachable tablets -- are forecast to decline from a total of 435 million units in 2016 to 405.2 million units in 2021, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). This latest forecast represents a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -1.4 percent. IDC reduced its overall PCD forecast from the previous version by up to 3 percent depending on the year, with the largest reductions coming from the media tablet product categories. PC Market Development Remains Bleak Always the optimist, IDC analysts now believe that the troubled market could return to an overall growth trajectory in 2019. Led by a modest recovery in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific regions within the first quarter of 2017, the traditional PC market registered

The mobile internet is a proven catalyst for online retail innovation. For some time, it's been clear that the mobile device -- either smartphone or media tablet -- is increasingly important in the world of digital commerce transaction growth across the globe. Leading industry analysts have already observed a shift in the market dynamics -- where the smartphone was once used merely as a means for discovery, to a situation where now it's used for both product discovery and for online purchase. This trend appears to be a natural progression from the relatively stagnant tablet industry, where a lack of market momentum has been compounded by the emergence of large-screen smartphones offering an improved online purchase experience. Digital Commerce Market Development Indeed, mobile applications as a whole are gaining traction as a remote goods purchase vehicle, although the smartphone growth is clearly accelerating much faster than that of the media tablet. According to th

Open source hardware and software projects continue to gain momentum in the global telecom sector. However, after a relatively slow start, the Network Function Virtualization (NFV) market will experience growth through ongoing technology investments by major telecommunication service providers. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, North America will lead global growth, accumulating $13 billion in NFV-related investments during 2022. Meanwhile, Europe will experience the highest growth rate, at an estimated 53 percent CAGR between 2017 and 2022. NFV Technology Market Development Early adopters of the technology claim several benefits to NFV-enabled systems -- which include reductions in network CAPEX and OPEX, service agility, and reduced deployment times for new network elements. "In 2015 and 2016, the market experienced some early successes but mostly reconsideration and failure with NFV," says Neha Pachade, senior analyst at ABI Research .

According to the latest 2017 CIO Survey from  Harvey Nash and KPMG , 89 percent of respondents are maintaining or increasing their investment in IT innovation. Moreover, 52 percent are investing in more nimble business technology platforms to help their organization innovate and grow. Digital growth strategies are now fueling businesses across the globe at an entirely new level. The proportion of organizations surveyed that have enterprise-wide digital growth strategies increased 52 percent in just two years, and organizations with a Chief Digital Officer (CDO) have increased 39 percent over last year. To deliver these complex digital growth strategies, organizations also report a big demand for Enterprise Architects -- the fastest growing technology skill this year -- that's up 26 percent compared to 2016. Cyber security vulnerability is at an all-time high, with 32 percent of IT leaders reporting their organization had been subject to a major cyber-attack in the past 24

Semiconductors are the heart of information technology and telecommunications systems. Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $343.5 billion in 2016 -- that's a 2.6 percent increase from 2015 revenue of $334.9 billion, according to the latest global market study by Gartner. The top 25 semiconductor vendors' combined revenue increased 10.5 percent, a significantly better performance than the overall industry's growth. However, most of the reported growth resulted from vendor merger and acquisition (M&A) activity. Semiconductor Sector Market Development "The semiconductor industry rebounded in 2016, with a weak start to the year, characterized by inventory correction, giving way to strengthening demand and an improving pricing environment in the second half," said James Hines research director at Gartner . Worldwide semiconductor revenue growth was supported by increasing production in many electronic equipment segments, improving NAND flash memory pric

Organizational security online is everyone's responsibility, and a key part of all digital transformations. Furthermore, maintaining 'digital trust' is a critical aspect of all business technology deployments. Besides, the concept of digital trust is essential in the Financial Services sector of the Global Networked Economy. People trust banks with their money, insurance companies with their health and future and investment companies with their savings, and yet the recent International Data Corporation (IDC) market study highlighted that how these organizations manage IT security is not as advanced as we might expect. Digital Trust Assessment in Asia-Pacific The report of the findings entitled "IT Security in Financial Services in Asia-Pacific (Excluding Japan) 2017" studied the maturity of 106 financial services organization and found that, on a scale of 1-5 for IT security maturity, more than two thirds of all respondents (71.6 percent) were at either stag

Digital transformation requires savvy talent. That's why more Line of Business (LoB) leaders are adding business technology experts to their staff -- independent of the traditional IT department. Senior executives cite the need for specialized skills, faster response times and predictable business outcomes. But while lines of business have autonomy to make technology decisions, they continue to collaborate with the corporate IT organization. Forty percent of business respondents to a recent survey said that their department works jointly with CIOs and CTOs to determine the solutions they'll deploy. Digital Transformation Market Development Executives from finance, marketing, sales, logistics and other departments play an increasingly central role in the evaluation, purchase and deployment of technology solutions, according to the latest market study by CompTIA. "CIOs and CTOs remain involved in the process, as their expertise and experience are valued," said C

Cloud computing services continue to grow, as more organizations discover the benefits of hybrid cloud solutions. The worldwide cloud infrastructure services market grew significantly in the first quarter of 2017, up by 42 percent year-on-year to reach $11.4 billion, according to the latest market study by Canalys. Once again, Amazon AWS maintained its dominance in the sector, holding a stable global market share of 31 percent. It was followed by its strongest hyperscale rivals - Microsoft, Google and IBM. Microsoft grew 93 percent and Google was up 74 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago. These growth rates were faster than those of AWS and IBM, which grew 43 percent and 38 percent respectively. Public Cloud Service Market Development "Competition for enterprise customers is intensifying among leading cloud service providers, which are investing heavily to secure key national and global accounts," said Daniel Liu, research analyst at Canalys . Timing is

The term connected cars refers to devices installed in the vehicle which allow Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication or machine-to-human interaction. M2M is communication between two machines that require no human interaction. In contrast, vehicle telematics enables data to be sent from a vehicle to another location, and used for vehicle conditioning or to monitor driver behavior. Beyond the connected car ecosystem, opportunities will present themselves for integration with other ecosystems, such as the smart home and smart city technology. The full value of the ecosystem will be felt by others outside the connected car ecosystem, such as law makers and mobile network operators. Connected Vehicle Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, 50 percent of new vehicles will be shipped with Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) hardware by 2022 -- it's a wireless communication technology that enables real-time short-range communication between veh

Blockchain applications are driving significant new investment in related Internet of Things (IoT) projects. The rapidly evolving distributed ledger technology will alter established industries beyond financial services, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. In addition to online transactions, blockchain technology can also be used for communication, identification, ownership, and device management. Besides, with continued architecture improvements and ecosystem expansion, blockchain technology is moving into smart contracts and other promising use cases. Blockchain Apps Market Development "These pre-programmed, self-executing, autonomous contracts can be used for numerous applications, including: digital identities, governance, asset tracking, and M2M transactions, among many others," said Michela Menting, research director at ABI Research . Through these evolving IoT related technologies, blockchain can affect and perhaps transform all kind

Internet of Things (IoT) market growth will accelerate in 2017, with the adoption of narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), according the the latest worldwide market study by Frost & Sullivan. This cellular technology uses licensed spectrum and offers a standardized low-power, wide-area network (LPWAN) solution. Furthermore, machine learning and blockchain technologies are being integrated with IoT capabilities to drive new demand in different industries -- such as financial services or energy generation and distribution. IoT Market Development Trends In Europe, IoT connections are set to exceed 9 billion by 2021. Dedicated venture funds for IoT development will help create an ecosystem that is conducive to the growth of startups in the region. "IoT applications integrate the consumer into the wider connected system to reflect a truly intelligent society," said Yiru Zhong, research analyst at Frost and Sullivan . The analyst believes that significant funding in the last 18 mo

Are you ready for the Cognitive Systems era? If not, have you at least updated your business technology plan? Evolving the CIO role, and preparing a company for the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), is a high priority at many forward-looking enterprises. By 2022, intelligent machines and robots may replace some trained professionals for basic tasks within the healthcare, law and information technology (IT) sectors, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Artificial Intelligence Market Development "The economics of AI and machine learning will lead to many tasks performed by professionals today becoming low-cost utilities," said Stephen Prentice, vice president at Gartner . The effects that AI will have on the enterprise will depend on its industry, business, organization and customers. Mr. Prentice cited the example of a lawyer who undergoes a long, expensive period of education and training. Law firms must pay salary and benefits for each law

Security system monitoring via the Internet is still a growth business. According to the latest market study by Berg Insight, the number of monitored security alarm systems in the European market is forecast to grow from 8.7 million subscribers in 2016, at a CAGR of 4 percent, to reach 10.6 million in 2021. In North America, the total number of monitored security alarm systems is now forecast to grow at a CAGR of 2.9 percent from 32.1 million at the end of 2016 -- eventually reaching 37.1 million at the end of 2021. Small alarm systems for businesses and private homes can be divided into two main categories -- local alarms and monitored alarms. The simplest type of local alarm only reacts to activation by ringing bells or sirens to alert the people in the surrounding area and potentially deter intruders. Security Alarm Market Development A more advanced type of local alarm is a self-monitoring security alarm. Monitored alarms are connected to an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) tha

Chatbots have the potential to complete many of the tasks currently performed by online workers via utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems that are capable of fluent conversations with human clients and customers. Chatbots are becoming increasingly influential in day-to-day online life. These applications have been developed to offer assistance in a range of industries -- from simple banking transactions, to eRetail customer service inquiries. The aim of a typical chatbots is to apply AI and cognitive computing technology to streamline routine business processes, such as customer service transactions and eCommerce processes. Chatbot Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, chatbots will redefine the customer service industry, with healthcare and banking sectors set to benefit the most from these ongoing application deployments. Juniper forecasts that chatbots will be responsible for cost savings of over $8 billion a year b

The ecosystem for Internet of Things (IoT) applications in the B2B market continues to blossom, as more vendors develop new offerings. In a recent analysis of more than 500 companies and their IoT service capabilities, ABI Research found that both partner programs and their member companies are maturing, with 59 percent of listed organizations receiving a high grade. This is nearly double the number of organizations that received a high maturity ranking when ABI Research first analyzed these IoT ecosystems in September 2015. This increase in IoT maturity stems in part from the actions of partner program parents who offered their members access to training and certification programs. Internet of Things Market Development "Within these ecosystems, there is a continuing shift from traditional volume-based partnerships to value-based partner engagements," says Ryan Harbison, research analyst at ABI Research . These IoT programs require a higher level of engagement from bo

The worldwide media tablet market contracted in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17) with total shipments of 36.2 million -- that's a year-over-year decline of 8.5 percent, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The first quarter contraction marks the tenth straight quarter that tablets have experienced a decline over the same quarter a year earlier, with the previous five quarters recording double-digit drops. Meanwhile, the market for Google Chromebooks continues to rise, and phablets continue to gain market share. Media Tablet Market Development The tablet market is comprised of two different product categories. Devices offering a keyboard, which IDC refers to as detachable tablets, continue to grow. The other product category is slate tablets (those lacking this keyboard option), which saw shipments peak in 2014 and is now in a steep decline. "As far as most are aware, the tablet market was created in 2010 with the launch of the o

High growth continues within the public cloud sector. CIOs report that growth in their hosting and cloud computing services spending will outpace growth in their overall IT spending, according to the latest worldwide market study by by 451 Research. This growth trend applies across almost every vertical market and company size category, but is most pronounced among very large businesses, which expect an average of 33.3 percent growth in hosting and cloud services spending this year. Among survey respondents, 88 percent will increase their hosting or cloud budgets in 2017 vs. 2016 -- that's compared to 70 percent that expect to increase total IT budgets year-over-year. In contrast, just 9.5 percent expect a decrease in hosting or cloud spending -- that's compared to 22.3 percent that expect a decrease in their total IT spending. Public Cloud Service Market Development "We see the pace of investment in hosting and cloud services exceeding investment in IT overall, me

When asked, most senior executives can describe their digital transformation agenda for 2017. In fact, on average, the top-performing commercial organizations will spend 33 percent of their IT budgets on digital business initiatives, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Looking forward to next year, IT decision makers at the leading organizations anticipate spending 43 percent of their budgets on digital transformation projects. However, that's compared to just 28 percent for government CIOs. Let's take a closer look at that market data. Government IT Market Development Government CIOs anticipate a 1.4 percent average increase in their IT budgets, compared with an average 2.2 percent increase across all industries. Local government CIOs average 3.5 percent growth, which is still less than the average IT budget growth among top-performing organizations overall (4.6 percent). Average IT spending for state and local governments in 2016 represented 4 p

The banking and payments arena is now greatly influenced by mobile device adoption. Moreover, retail spend continues to migrate from the physical storefront to the online checkout, enabled in part by mobile internet usage. Money transfers, traditionally dominated by the international service operators -- such as Western Union and MoneyGram -- have been disrupted by the emergence of new fintech payment service providers. Furthermore, in emerging markets, mobile network service providers have become a key enabler of financial services inclusion. Besides, the emergence of new technologies are about to transform this market, yet again. While most of the original focus around cryptocurrency was on its usage as an alternative to fiat currencies, attention has shifted to the technologies that underpin them. It 's now believed that blockchain will have a significant role to play in the future evolution of transaction settlement solutions. Money Transfer Market Development The va

Public safety 4G/5G LTE technology will reach the mainstream markets after 2020 as trials and deployments gain momentum across the world, according to the latest global market study by ABI Research. Hardware revenue is expected to grow by 30 percent annually, reaching $540 million in 2025. The United States, UK, and South Korea markets will host the world’s first three operational public safety LTE wireless networks by the end of 2017 or early 2018. Many countries will likely follow, either through a dedicated public safety LTE network or via a hosted or shared infrastructure model. Public Safety LTE Market Development "Coexistence with legacy public safety protocols is still crucial, as legacy protocols, such as TETRA and P25, are still being deployed by agencies across the world," said Lian Jye Su, senior analyst at ABI Research . Public safety LTE offers features that generate augmented user experience for public safety agencies through video streaming, file sharin

Smartphones are essential to mobile internet growth, and the related economic development that these devices enable within emerging markets. That being said, there's also a significant segment of the developed markets that favors lower-cost devices with 'good enough' features and performance. Mobile phone vendors shipped a total of 347.4 million smartphones worldwide in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17), according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Smartphone Global Market Development According to the IDC assessment, consumers continue to show demand for smartphones and vendor flagship hype seems strong as ever. Worldwide smartphone shipments grew 4.3 percent in 1Q17, which was slightly higher than IDC's previous forecast of 3.6 percent growth. "The first quarter smartphone results further prove that the smartphone industry is not dead and that growth still exists," said Ryan Reith, program vice president at IDC . "