Digital Lifescapes

Today, it's challenging to be in an organization led by a CEO with a custodian mindset. They may reflect back on their legacy of serving longtime customers, even when they're losing customers at an alarming rate. Meanwhile, carefully chosen loyal lieutenants defend their static corporate culture and smile reassuringly. However, there are agile large multinational companies with leaders that reject the status quo. These are the leading organizations that will pursue digital growth in 2021 and beyond. They willingly embrace change.  More savvy CEOs anticipate an economic boom (60 percent) in 2021 and 2022, according to the latest worldwide survey of CEOs and senior executives by Gartner. Digital Business Market Development "CEOs’ top priorities for 2021 show confidence," said Mark Raskino, vice president at Gartner . Over half report 'growth' as their primary focus and see opportunity on the other side of the crisis, followed by 'technology change' and &

The way shoppers pay for products has evolved due to the rise of eCommerce during the pandemic. Online retail transactions have grown rapidly, and in many parts of the world, in-person cash transactions are now a smaller percentage of retail payments. These changes have a significant implication for retail point-of-sale (POS) terminal vendors, as consumers choose to shop less at local in-store retailers and more online, or the vendor may lack the functional capabilities to process contactless payments. The evolution of payment interactions has driven an in-store retailer transformation. With COVID-19 pandemic-related government control measures and the ongoing public wariness in many nations, non-contact forms of payment are becoming even more popular. POS Terminal Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research , the total value of transactions processed by POS terminals will exceed $17.3 trillion in 2026 -- that's up from $14.8 trillion in 20

The large enterprise quest to shift more IT workloads to hyperscale cloud service providers was pursued with the expectation of streamlining business processes for new digital transformation projects. While there are benefits to adopting public cloud services, there remain inherent IT management complexities. The global public cloud services market includes a broad mix of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), System Infrastructure Software as a Service (SISaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS), which grew by 24.1 percent year-over-year in 2020 with revenues totaling $312 billion, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Spending continued to consolidate in 2020 with the combined revenue of the top 5 public cloud service providers capturing ~38 percent of the worldwide total, and it's growing 32 percent year-over-year. Due to an expanding portfolio of SaaS and SISaaS offerings, Microsoft now shares the top p

As demand for broadband internet access increases, many providers focus on infrastructure upgrades. Deployment of technology solutions that support a better broadband user experience is becoming critical for tier-one telecom network service providers to achieve revenue growth. Smart Wi-Fi and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) are becoming among the key solutions to enhance existing broadband services and support fiber-like broadband in underserved markets without installing last-mile fiber connectivity. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, smart Wi-Fi and FWA deployments will drive Wi-Fi mesh and 5G FWA Consumer Premise Equipment (CPE) unit shipments to reach 40.6 million and 14.6 million units respectively in 2025. Wireless Internet Access Market Development Despite the network operators’ efforts to provide higher-speed broadband services, investment in infrastructure upgrades alone is no longer enough for a better user experience. As the number of connected devic

When the world was disrupted by a global pandemic during 2020, many CEOs and their board of directors were consumed by reacting to immediate problems. Meanwhile, a few forwarding-thinking enterprise leaders also paused to invest in accelerating their prescient digital transformation agenda. What enables executives to envision an opportunity while others see only challenges? Strategic foresight, and a willingness to embrace the apparent changes that are transforming the legacy status quo. During this period of uncertainty, hyper-automation investment has gained new momentum. Hyperautomation is the application of advanced technologies that augment humans by helping to streamline processes in new ways that are significantly more impactful than the legacy approach. Hyperautomation Market Development The global market for technology that enables hyperautomation will reach $596.6 billion in 2022, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. This is up from $481.6 billion in 202

The global COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation across many industries. As an example, consider the healthcare sector. Some routine medical situations can be diagnosed and resolved online. While the trend was already in motion long before the pandemic arrived, the adoption of telehealth increased rapidly in 2020. Around the world, many governments responded to the disruption and inaccessibility of healthcare facilities by loosening previous regulations and restrictions on the practice of telemedicine apps, and teleconsultations. This decision resulted in the mass adoption of these medical services among patients and providers. According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, telemedicine will save the healthcare industry $21 billion in costs by 2025 -- that's rising from an estimated $11 billion in 2021. This increased app usage represents an anticipated growth rate of over 80 percent in the next four years. Telehealth Services Market Development The co

The technology sector is a key driver of the U.S. economy. Therefore, components like semiconductors play an important role in America's future. The 'CHIPS for America Act' is a new law that calls for incentives on domestic semiconductor manufacturing and investments in research and development. But these renewed efforts will require years of ongoing commitment. Meanwhile, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the semiconductor market performed well in 2020. However, new demand by industry was uneven throughout last year due to global lockdowns, remote working adoption, and shifts in consumer and commercial buying behavior. Worldwide semiconductor revenue grew to $464 billion in 2020 -- that's an increase of 10.8 percent compared to 2019, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Semiconductor Technology Market Development IDC now forecasts that the semiconductor market will reach $522 billion in 2021, that's a 12.5 percent

Public cloud computing platforms serve as the foundation for enterprise digital business. Increasingly, telecom service providers seek to partner with hyperscale cloud providers to use their scalable compute capacity and flexible object storage. Affordable compute capacity is the primary reason a growing number of network equipment vendors and telecom service providers are now exploring global public clouds as a complement to telco 5G core and cloud-edge infrastructure. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, the public cloud is set to spur new growth for the telco cloud market, which is forecasted to grow to $29.3 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 27 percent. Telco Cloud Infrastructure Market Development The perceived low cost of ownership, little or no implementation risk, plus increased business agility and innovation are some of the key drivers that are propelling the advance of cloud computing capacity in the telecom sector. "

Corporate risk management leaders must face the trade-off between delivering timely guidance and conducting detailed risk audit assessments. Meanwhile, the ability to protect assets, reputation and sustainability is becoming more challenging amid rapid shifts in the global economic environment. Enterprise information technology (IT) security control failures were listed as the top emerging risk in the first quarter of 2021 during a poll of senior executives, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Despite a myriad of potential risks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic -- such as alternative work locations and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) concerns -- cybersecurity risk was consistent across all global regions and most industries, cited by 67 percent of survey respondents. Comprehensive IT Security Market Development The next highest cited risk, "the new working model" was cited by 43 percent of respondents. "Many organizations were forced