Digital Lifescapes

In the past, most CIOs and CTOs would consider Wi-Fi infrastructure as the primary mode of delivering wireless local area network connectivity to their organization. Now, the development of fifth-generation (5G) cellular technologies has created alternative modes of wireless networking. Moreover, the demand for private networks in the enterprise domain continues to rise. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, private cellular network deployments within the enterprise domain will generate equipment revenues of more than $64 billion by 2030. While very large enterprises will likely drive the market for the next 10 years -- accounting for 50 percent of private networks by 2030 -- companies with annual revenues between $250 million and $1 billion will account for 40 percent of private networks by 2030, with their proportion expected to rise further beyond the forecast period. Private Cellular Network Market Development "These numbers underline the huge momentu...

While many organizations are concerned about cash flow and other financial metrics, given the current economic environment, the most forward-looking leaders plan further investments in strategic Digital Transformation projects.  Sixty-nine percent of enterprise boards of directors (BoDs) accelerated their digital business initiatives in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic disruption, according to the latest market study by Gartner. Almost half anticipate changing their organizations’ traditional business model as a result of the pandemic. The '2021 Gartner Board of Directors Survey' was aimed to understand how boards of directors view digital business model evolution in their enterprises, along with the role of the CIO and other executive leaders, specifically in the context of responding to the current economic crisis. Digital Business Market Development "BoDs play a strong role in helping the executive leadership team focus beyond the short-term risks associated with this...

The global pandemic has accelerated the expansion of eCommerce deployments and the adoption of new and innovative online payment methods. Moreover, instant or real-time payments are having a disruptive effect on the traditional payments market by enabling rapid transaction processing. However, the transition to instant payments is not happening in a universal way. Rapid payment schemes tend to be updated versions of legacy payment settlement approaches that were created by individual authorities in countries. Debit card payments, while certainly fast, do not tend to lend themselves to the same use cases as instant payment applications, given the requirement for the supplier to accept the card transaction -- which historically include significant transaction processing fees. Instant Payments Market Development While instant payments are somewhat unique -- in terms of replacing old payment schemes to enable faster payments -- the outcome of this approach is not unique by any means. Acros...

Courageous leadership is most valuable when others fail to act, due to fear and uncertainty. As an example, when a pandemic disrupts the Global Networked Economy, there's still an opportunity for bold and brave executives to lead an investment in platforms that enable sustainable digital growth. Global spending on artificial intelligence (AI) is forecast to double over the next four years, growing from $50.1 billion in 2020 to more than $110 billion in 2024. Investments in AI systems will accelerate as more organizations deploy new platforms for digital transformation projects, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for AI technologies and associated platforms will reach 20.1 percent during the 2019-2024 forecast period. Artificial Intelligence Market Development "Companies will adopt AI -- not just because they can, but because they must," said Ritu Jyoti, vice president at IDC . ...

The Work from Home (WFH) phenomena has fueled the need for more devices, better internet access, and secure networking technologies. Plus, the COVID-19 pandemic is now driving demand for Wi-Fi customer premise equipment (CPE) as millions of people work and learn from their homes. According to the latest global market study by ABI Research, the closely related worldwide Wi-Fi CPE market will see vendors ship more than 223 million units in 2020 -- that's a surge of 10 million units from 2019 reported growth. "Stay-at-home orders imposed in the first quarter of 2020 forced millions of consumers to work from home and students to do home-based learning, creating the need for ultra-reliable broadband and Wi-Fi connectivity in households worldwide," said Khin Sandi Lynn, an analyst at ABI Research . Wi-Fi CPE Market Development There has been a sudden spike in the adoption of Wi-Fi routers and wireless network extenders as consumers seek a reliable Wi-Fi connection that can simu...

Given the strategic significance of digital transformation, IT security leadership is a really important role. And yet, only 12 percent of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) excel in all four categories of the 'CISO Effectiveness Index', according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Gartner analysts presented their global survey findings and discussed the key traits of top-performing CISOs during their recent 'Security & Risk Management Summit'. "Today’s CISOs must demonstrate a higher level of effectiveness than ever before," said Sam Olyaei, research director at Gartner . "As the push to digital deepens, CISOs are responsible for supporting a rapidly evolving set of information risk decisions, while also facing greater oversight from regulators, executive teams and boards of directors." IT Security Market Development These significant enterprise challenges are further compounded by the pressure that the COVID-19 pandemic h...

The application of new technology is an opportunity for traditional retailers to enhance customer engagement via digital transformation. Many of these established retailers are confronted by disruptive competition from eCommerce. Savvy retailers are evolving their business model into an omnichannel offering, where they combine the best of their offline experience and supplement it with an online shopping experience. Therefore, retailers that intend to maintain a physical in-store presence must operate more effectively. There are several technologies being combined to enhance the way retail store operations function -- including self-checkout apps, beacons, RFID tags, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI). That said, the current global economic environment requires retailers to become more agile and decisive. Retailer Technology Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the value of transactions processed by smart checkout technologies, ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the Digital Transformation trends. Savvy CIOs and CTOs that were an early adopter of public cloud computing technologies now have a significant strategic market lead over their competitors. Moreover, a few dominant IT platform providers continue to benefit from this trend. The worldwide public cloud services market -- including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS) -- grew by 26 percent year-over-year in 2019 with revenues totaling $233.4 billion, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Spending continued to consolidate with the combined revenue of the top five global public cloud service providers -- Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Salesforce.com, Google, and Oracle -- capturing more than one third of the worldwide total and growing at 35 percent year-over-year. Public Cloud Services Market Development "Cloud is expanding far beyond niche e-comm...

A multitude of new devices have been connected to the Internet already this year, and many more will connect in the coming weeks and months. That said, the Internet of Things (IoT) gateway has become an important link in the IoT security and device authentication value chain. They've emerged as a crucial conduit for intelligent network operations across the entire IoT ecosystem, and will very likely increase the demand for more edge computing infrastructure investment. Now the new wave of next-generation smart IoT gateways has arrived at an opportune time, enabling a breadth of novel security, intelligence, and authentication operations at the edge, causing IoT vendors to revisit their deployment and IT management strategies. IoT Gateway Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, there will be 21.4 million next-gen smart IoT gateways shipped in 2025. "Smart IoT gateways are currently caught amid a greater transformative evolution, furthe...