Digital Lifescapes

Leading public cloud service providers continue to gain market share across the globe. The cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) market grew 37.3 percent in 2019 to reach $44.5 billion -- that's up from $32.4 billion in 2018, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Amazon (AWS) retained the number one position in the IaaS market in 2019, followed by Microsoft (Azure), Alibaba, Google and Tencent. The remaining cloud service providers are essentially niche players, by comparison. "Cloud underpins the push to digital business, which remains at the top of CIOs’ agendas," said Sid Nag, vice president at Gartner . “It enables technologies such as the edge, AI, machine learning and 5G, among others." Public Cloud IaaS Market Development Each emerging technology requires a scalable, elastic and high-capacity infrastructure platform like public cloud IaaS. In 2019, the top five IaaS providers accounted for 80 percent of the market -- that's ...

Among the key assets of a mobile telecommunications service provider are its network infrastructure and its billing relationship with their customers. While its role as a retailer of content has declined, Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) offers a new revenue stream. Even though it will not provide a wholescale solution to the underlying profitable revenue challenges of mobile network operators, it may eventually equal or exceed MNO content revenue pre-storefront. According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, DCB could benefit players across the value chain -- including content developers, content publishers, aggregators, and consumers. This includes increasing the incremental revenue opportunities for the providers of both digital and physical goods. Mobile Content Payment Market Development Juniper Research has found that total spend over direct carrier billing will reach $100 billion for the first time by 2025 -- that's rising from $37 billion in 2020. They anti...

Within the business-to-business (B2B) realm, large enterprise corporate events are often a major component of the marketing organization's operating budget. These events are frequently held at resort hotels or conference centers in popular destinations, such as Las Vegas. They're very expensive to produce. What are the typical event goals? How does this investment deliver results? In many cases, these events are funded as 'sales progression' activities. Meaning, the company invites key contacts from their existing customers that they know are already likely to purchase products and services. In reality, there's very little 'selling' that takes place. More often than not, the event execution actually revolves around scheduled hospitality (meals, cocktails, and entertainment) rather than a definitive business objective. Keynote sessions set the tone for the remainder of the event. Education and certification opportunities are sometimes offered to attende...

As we look to the future, more robots are likely to appear in the typical workplace. These robots will perform repetitive tasks that were once performed by humans. This automation promises to improve productivity significantly. In some cases, robots will also augment human capabilities. With the popularization of mobile robotics in a wide range of industries, more organizations will store the collected data from these robots in public cloud services, and then use that data to train more advanced AI algorithms that enable robot cognition. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, the robot-related services powered by cloud computing will reach $157.8 billion in annual revenue by 2030. Mobile Robotics Market Development "Since 1961, most commercial robots have been wired or tied to external infrastructure for movement. The next generation of robot deployments will be increasingly mobile, tied to cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity, will consume vast troves ...

As the impact of the global pandemic disrupted enterprise operations, more CIOs and CTOs determined that their highest priority was maintaining existing IT services. For many, that meant scaling-up public cloud services and enhancing the management of on-premises IT resources. The worldwide public cloud services market is forecast to grow 6.3 percent in 2020 to reach a total spend of $257.9 billion -- that's up from $242.7 billion in 2019, according to the latest global market study by Gartner. Also, infrastructure that supports remote working, such as SD-WAN and virtual workspace solutions, has gained new momentum as more organizations deploy the capabilities that enable their employees to connect to enterprise IT systems from their home-based office. Public Cloud Services Market Development Desktop as a service (DaaS) is expected to have the most significant growth in 2020, increasing 95.4 percent to $1.2 billion. DaaS offers an inexpensive option for enterprises that are...

Mobile communication apps have experienced significant usage growth across the globe. Modern smartphone software applications provide various forms of voice and data communications that have transformed telecom service delivery. Furthermore, mobile channels have become important for organizations to connect with customers, as online service providers now offer a comprehensive communication solution. These are emerging cloud-based Communications-Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) offerings. CPaaS Platform Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the CPaaS market will reach $25 billion in 2025 -- rising from $7 billion in 2020. CPaaS platforms provide a centralized management service for outbound communications including short message services (SMS), over-the-top (OTT) business messaging, rich communication services (RCS) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) services. The study identified the ability to make payments over services such as RCS and OT...

The original concept of 'Hybrid Cloud' service deployment now seems outdated. In practice, few enterprise IT organizations have embraced private cloud models. And, even fewer will modernize their legacy non-cloud IT applications or the systems where they reside in the corporate data center. That said, new IT infrastructure investment continues to shift as more leaders execute their digital transformation plans. Many enterprise CIOs and CTOs prefer to develop customer-facing applications within public cloud environments, and then connect those Web services to apps and data that reside on legacy systems within their on-premises data center. The vendor impact is apparent. Vendor revenue from sales of IT infrastructure products (server, enterprise storage, and Ethernet switch) for cloud environments -- including public and private cloud -- increased 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2020 (1Q20) while investments in traditional, non-cloud, infrastructure declined 16.3 percent ...

Many organizations that have already considered applications for the Internet of Things (IoT) will eventually explore the related device security issues. So, what's the evolution of the IoT hardware security value chain, and which emerging technologies are gaining momentum? By 2026, IoT connections will exceed 23 billion across all major IoT markets. Almost all those connections will be faced with incessant and constantly evolving cyber threats, forcing implementers and IoT vendors to embrace new digital security options to protect managed fleets and connected assets. IoT Security Market Development Secure device authentication currently stands among the top-tier investment priorities for key IoT markets. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, hardware-focused IoT authentication services will reach $8.4 billion in revenues by 2026. "There are several key technologies revolving around authentication security that currently transform the IoT de...

Delaying your investment in supply chain digital transformation is unwise. Why does it matter? Innovative supply chain technologies are proven to deliver a measurable outcome for people, process performance and industry leadership. Gartner studied current strategic supply chain technology trends that have a high potential for enabling a transformational impact. Some are now reaching critical tipping points in capability and maturity. "The vast majority of organizations have a cautious approach to adopting supply chain applications and technologies," said Christian Titze, vice president analyst at Gartner . Local Supply Chain Market Development According to Gartner study findings, only 21 percent of survey respondents are willing to consider or adopt early-stage technologies. However, even cautious supply chain leaders must keep an open mind and embrace long-term perpetual change. This is the path to rapid progress and growth. Here are the key trends from their lates...