Digital Lifescapes

Like so many other innovators across the globe, forward-thinking organizations in the Asia-Pacific region are reinventing themselves with a goal to fuel renewed digital business growth. As economic activities return to pre-COVID pandemic levels, these savvy leaders are building technology-enabled business models. Cloud computing has emerged as the core foundation of this renewed business technology focus, leading to Asia-Pacific public cloud services spending growth of over 38 percent to $36.4 billion in 2020, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). "Cloud services have addressed more than cost management challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cloud services and technologies have been the basis for the rapid introduction of new digital services to support remote workers and online customers, and it’s been the speed of implementation and low up-front costs that have enabled that," said Chris Morris, vice president at IDC . Cloud Computin

Both telecom service providers and large enterprises from different vertical industries are driving significant growth of private mobile network deployments within Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Singapore, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. Together they will create a $7 billion market opportunity by 2025 within the Asia-Pacific region -- accounting for more than 65 percent of global private network revenues. By 2030, developed markets in North America and Europe will account for more than $16 billion -- representing 25 percent of global private network revenues. "These findings show the great regional variability that we see for private network deployments," said Leo Gergs, research analyst at ABI Research . Private Mobile Networks Market Development Two primary factors are creating the drive for private networks. One, a rising number of national spectrum liberalization initiatives are allowing enterprises access to licensed mobile

The 'future of work' for call center or contact center employees will include more 'flexible working' location options. Seventy percent of customer service and support employees want to continue to work from home (WFH) at least once a week after the pandemic ends, according to the latest market study by Gartner. In September 2020, Gartner surveyed 5,000 employees, including 550 customer service professionals, and found that service employees who traditionally did not have many opportunities to WFH are now used to it and like it, and they wish to continue in some capacity once the pandemic is over. This is in line with most service leaders who believe WFH is here to stay post-pandemic. Eighty-one percent of service leaders believe between 30 percent to 80 percent of their workforce will primarily be working from home two years from now. Future Hybrid Workforce Market Development "As service leaders weigh the future of their work from home programs, they’ll have to b

Leading the way forward, fintech vendors have offered a variety of digital payment solutions across regional financial service markets. Plus, due in part to the disruptive COVID-19 global pandemic, and the move away from cash-dependent payment methods, digital wallets are now gaining broad adoption. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the number of unique digital wallet users will exceed 4.4 billion globally in 2025 -- rising from an estimated 2.6 billion in 2020. Juniper analysts found that mobile phone wallets are driving this impressive 70 percent growth, as fintech mobile app payments rapidly scale across geographical and vertical industry markets. Digital Payment Market Development Furthermore, the increasing alignment between in-person and remote commerce channels is leading to greater use of smartphone app wallets, with web app wallet use confined to high-value purchases or complex bill payments. Juniper Research recommends that retailers and othe

The global market for intelligent business technology solutions continues to evolve, as more CIOs and CTOs seek ways to automate routine tasks and associated business processes. The solutions have gained momentum in the marketplace as offerings matured and became mainstream across many industries. Worldwide revenues for the artificial intelligence (AI) market -- including software, hardware, and services -- are forecast to grow 16.4 percent year-over-year in 2021 to $327.5 billion, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Artificial Intelligence Solutions Market Development By 2024, the market is expected to break the $500 billion mark with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.5 percent and total global revenues reaching $554.3 billion. Among the three technology categories, software represented 88 percent of the total AI market revenues in 2020. However, it is the slowest growing category with a five-year CAGR of 17.3 perc

Enterprise IT Security investment in critical infrastructure has been consistent over the last 12 months, regardless of huge disruptions from the global Covid-19 pandemic. The resulting effect has been mostly in increased demand for secure 'remote working' connectivity. Cybersecurity spending announced by governments has not really changed significantly, with most maintaining similar funding planned in previous years, and an average year-on-year growth rate between 5 percent and 10 percent. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, cybersecurity spending for critical infrastructure (CI) will increase by $9 billion over the next year to reach $105.99 billion in 2021. IT Critical Infrastructure Market Development The primary challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic has been for CI operators to ensure that systems and services keep running smoothly, despite an increasingly distributed and remote enterprise workforce. As such, greater emphasis has been placed on ens

The quest to accelerate digital transformation has advanced technologies that enable the rapid development of new applications and associated eCommerce business models. Now, CIOs and CTOs must support line of business leader demand for more open innovation and strategic commercial advantages. As a result, the worldwide low-code development technologies market is projected to total $13.8 billion in 2021 -- that's an increase of 22.6 percent from 2020, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner.  The surge in remote development during the global COVID-19 pandemic will continue to boost low-code adoption, despite ongoing IT cost optimization efforts. Low-Code Software Market Development "While low-code application development is not new, a confluence of digital disruptions, hyper-automation, and the rise of composable business has led to an influx of tools and rising demand," said Fabrizio Biscotti, research vice president at Gartner . Low-code, applied as a

The mobile voice communication services market has been prone to technological disruption and over-the-top (OTT) software application innovation. Over the past decade, the mobile voice services landscape has been profoundly affected by several ground-breaking advances in new technology. These include the penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in communication services, the rise of highly customized OTT mobile voice and messaging apps, and the deployment of superior cellular wireless connectivity modes -- such as 4G LTE and 5G technology. Mobile Communications Market Development Looking ahead, demand for video calling solutions will drive additional growth opportunities. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the number of mobile video calling services reached 1.8 billion globally in 2020 -- rising from 1.2 billion in 2019. This represents a growth of 50 percent over 12 months, as the global COVID-19 pandemic fuelled the need for mo