Digital Lifescapes

In-flight entertainment has been available on long-haul flights for several decades and increasingly, in an age where permanent Internet connectivity is becoming the norm, in-flight Wi-Fi is now becoming a standard service offering for airlines. Digital transformation, developing communications technology, the promise of ancillary revenues for airlines and increasing demands from passengers to stay connected at all times are driving the deployment of new services across both large airlines and smaller low-cost carriers. In-Flight Internet Access Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research , commercial aircraft adopting in-flight Wi-Fi services will reach 14,419 globally by 2022 -- that's up from an estimated 5,243 in 2017. This will mean that over half of the global fleet of commercial passenger airplanes will offer these services in 2022, compared with just under a quarter this year. This increase will be driven by the impact of th...

Once again, the bring-you-own-device (BYOD) to work phenomena will help to elevate personal communications within the typical office or factory environment -- thanks to the ongoing adoption of smartphone apps in the workplace. Today, Wi-Fi is being used to connect a variety of devices, besides notebook PCs. Many consumers already use their home Wi-Fi connection to improve the communication capabilities of their smartphone while indoors. They use Facebook WhatsApp for impromptu chats with friends and family and Google Hangouts Dialer to make high-quality voice calls to anywhere in America, for free. Naturally, they expect the same type of benefits at their employer's facilities. Consumer and Enterprise Mobility Advances The combined consumer and enterprise worldwide wireless local area network (WLAN) market segments increased 7.0 percent year over year in the fourth quarter of 2014 (4Q14), according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The ente...

The Internet has had a profound impact on the Global Networked Economy during the last year, with more changes still to come -- as applications expand and evolve. International Data Corporation (IDC) has shared its worldwide Internet of Things (IoT) predictions for 2015. Their latest forward-looking view provides C-level leaders with insight and perspective on the long-term trends. The IDC research report is designed to help leaders capitalize on emerging market opportunities and plan for future growth. "The Internet of Things will give IT managers a lot to think about," said Vernon Turner, senior vice president at IDC . According to the latest IDC assessment, enterprises will have to address every IT discipline to effectively balance the deluge of data from devices that are connected to the corporate network. In addition, IoT will drive tough organizational structure changes in companies -- allowing innovation to be transparent to everyone, while creating new competi...

​Mobile application management (MAM) is seeing increased adoption levels as enterprises seek solutions that are more flexible than traditional mobile device management (MDM). Furthermore, open source software projects are starting to gain momentum. OpenMEAP is the first open source HTML5 mobile application platform that enables businesses and consumers with no programming experience to easily create, manage and deploy mobile applications that are automatically optimized for every device -- including desktops, smartphones, and tablets. Currently, MDM solutions comprise over 60 percent of enterprise mobility management solution users, according to the latest global market study by ABI Research. However, by the end of 2019, MDM share will drop to a bit more than 30 percent and MAM will command the lion's share at over 60 percent. Thanks to large growth in the Asia-Pacific region, MAM will supplant MDM as the preferred enterprise mobile management choice. "MDM is a tool ...

Wearable technologies are not limited to consumer applications. Growing at a CAGR value of 56.1 percent over the next five years, wearable device technologies could become an integral part of enterprise mobile enablement strategies, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. The North American region will be the largest and grow at a CAGR value of 39 percent over the next five years. More interestingly, the Asia-Pacific region will become the second largest market -- outpacing Europe by 2019 with a CAGR of 90 percent. "There are cases being made for wearables in the enterprise despite the relative newness of the technology. However, which wearables are primed for enterprise usage and adoption is a more important question," said Jason McNicol senior enterprise analyst at ABI Research . Wearable technology such as smart glasses and those used for healthcare are better suited for the enterprise as corporate-liable devices. Smartwatches, on the other hand, will m...

The bring your own device (BYOD) to work phenomenon continues to impact IT budgets as demand for better in-office wireless coverage increases with each new wave of mobile business productivity applications. As an example, Voice over IP (VoIP) and emerging video-based collaboration apps typically create the need for improved Wi-Fi or broadband 3G/4G cell coverage. Enterprise femtocell deployments will capture 97 percent of the $4.3 billion market revenue in 2019, outpacing consumer-residential femtocells, according to the latest global market study ABI Research. While femtocells are successful in the consumer market, both mobile network operators and wireless LAN vendors are eager to participate in these lucrative new mobile workplace deployments. "The femtocell business model becomes clear for small and medium enterprises. The cost of a Distributed Antenna System cannot be justified for these firms, but yet there is an increasing demand for mobile voice services," sai...

While much of the prior demand for media tablets was for personal use at home, usage is now increasing rapidly in the workplace -- threatening to disrupt the traditional players. Other changes in the marketplace, such as the disappointing results for Ultrabook PC sales, are forcing Microsoft and Intel to rethink their market development strategy. The two legacy PC market players have chosen to promote 2-in-1 devices -- a Windows 8 tablet with detachable keyboard -- in the hope that they gain traction in the workplace. They will likely target these devices at CIOs and IT managers that are at odds with their employee's Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy demands. Both companies have briefed industry analysts about their new strategy, with the expectation that their forecasts of 2-in-1 demand and adoption could eventually result in meaningful new sales for these expensive Windows 8 devices. Only time will tell if this approach will produce the desired outcome for Microsoft and Int...

With hackers becoming more effective in targeting and exploiting emerging technologies -- such as smartphones, media tablets and associated cloud services -- enterprises are investing in mobile endpoint security software to protect and manage mobile devices. Hackers are able to gain access or control of mobile devices via malicious software (malware), while mobile applications (apps) on the device can perform unwanted, high-risk actions. This threat jeopardizes the safety of sensitive data stored on the mobile device, as it can be lost or stolen. With the ubiquity of mobile devices and trends such as bring your own device (BYOD) to work, industry and government regulations requiring businesses to control network access for all device types and applications adds to market growth. According to the latest market study by Frost & Sullivan, the mobile endpoint protection market earned revenue of $433.5 million in 2012, and estimates this to reach $1.0 billion in 2017. They note ...

Today, securing all devices with mobile internet access has become an ever increasing concern. People want to be protected during their daily activities involving email access, online banking or simply browsing content. Meanwhile, corporate stakeholders are much more concerned about their organisational network integrity and business data protection. The number of employee owned smartphones and tablets used in the enterprise will exceed 1 billion by 2018, as the growing trend of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) redefines business connectivity, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research . This represents almost 35 percent of the total installed base of consumer owned tablets and smartphones. However, the Juniper study uncovered that there are a number of issues and implications that need to be addressed and a single policy or measure may not be sufficient while devising future BYOD strategies. Assessing the BYOD Pros and Cons The study found that while BYOD has th...

Securing devices with 24/7 mobile data access has become an ever increasing concern, both from a consumer and an enterprise point of view. According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, more than 80 percent of the total enterprise and consumer owned smartphone device base will remain unprotected through 2013 -- despite a steadily increasing consumer awareness of mobile security products. Juniper claims that the low level of adoption of security software can be attributed to a number of factors, including the relatively low consumer awareness about online attack on mobile devices and a widespread consumer perception that the price of security products is excessive. Their study found that nearly 1.3 billion mobile devices -- including smartphones, feature-phones and media tablets -- are expected to have mobile security software installed by 2018, that's up from around 325 million this year. Increasing Risks for Mobile Devices The study also found that security ri...

There's a growing market for business use of mobile application storage and download servers or alternative cloud-based offerings. ABI Research predicts the number of large companies to adopt enterprise app stores will grow at double-digit rates through 2018. Globally, large enterprise app store adoption will grow at 30.4 percent YoY with the manufacturing and trade industries commanding the largest share of app deployments. North American and Western European enterprise app store adoption will grow at 20.7 percent and 21.5 percent, respectively. However, Asia-Pacific will have the most enterprises with enterprise app stores by 2018 -- growing at 59 percent YoY. "Mobile Application Management is growing in popularity among enterprises looking to deploy flexible mobile solutions to support Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) initiatives," said Jason McNicol, senior analyst at ABI Research . ABI believes that the problem is finding a scalable solution to deploy enterpris...

More employees are using their own smartphones and media tablets at work, and they expect to connect them to the enterprise wireless network. Some IT managers still wonder if this is merely a fad -- it isn't. According to the latest market study by Ovum, Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) is here to stay. Moreover, they have revealed the findings of a 2013 multi-market BYOX (bring-your-own-anything) study to help the doubters understand that the time for decisive action is now. With corporate BYOD activity by full-time employees (FTEs) remaining steady at almost 60 percent over the past two years, Ovum tells business leaders to respond and adapt to this change in employee behavior -- rather than resist the growing demand. Launching the research at its "BYOX World Forum" in London, Ovum revealed that the BYOX phenomenon shows no signs of disappearing, as nearly 70 percent of employees who own a smartphone or tablet choose to use it to access corporate data. The personal ...

The key technology trend that has created huge challenges for major vendors -- such as HP and Dell -- shows no sign of changing direction. Worldwide personal computer (PC) shipments are now expected to fall by -7.8% in 2013, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The new forecast reflects a shift in PC buying trends as users increasingly consider alternatives such as delaying a PC purchase or using tablets and smartphones for more of their computing needs. In place of a limited decline of -1.3% in 2013 followed by a gradual increase in volume, the new outlook calls for a more substantial decline of -7.8% in 2013 and -1.2% in 2014 with shipment volume reaching only 333 million in 2017. To put this into perspective with the past experience, that forecast is still below the 349 million shipped in 2012 and a peak of more than 363 million shipped in 2011. The updated forecast reflects the significant drop in volume during the first quarter of 2...

ABI Research predicts that subscribers of enterprise-grade mobile content management (MCM) solutions will grow at double-digit rates -- to reach over 110 million subscriptions by 2018. Smartphone subscribers of MCM will grow at a modest 12 percent year-over-year, whereas corporate-liable media tablet subscribers will grow by 21 percent over the next 5 years. North America and Western Europe are the largest subscribing markets; Asia Pacific will stay in the number three position throughout the forecast period, but grow nearly twice as fast as the regional leaders. "As the Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) phenomenon becomes more widely accepted within enterprises, more corporate content is being placed in the cloud using consumer-grade storage solutions. As such, more corporate content is susceptible to leakage and theft, placing a higher need on mobile content security and protection," said Jason McNicol, senior analyst for enterprise at ABI Research . ABI believes that th...

As more people use their smartphones and tablets to download software apps, they potentially become a security risk for their employers. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, mobile device malware has advanced to a new level of sophistication -- as more smart devices are adopted. The number of unique mobile threats grew by 261 percent in just two quarters. Increasingly complex malware is taking advantage of a wider range of mobile functionality to exploit vulnerabilities on the device and in the wireless communication networks that they're connected to. Organizations allowing bring your own device (BYOD) to work programs -- without proper mobile device management capabilities -- are at great risk from covert interception and corruption. More than simple security applications, the demand for specialized services is driving the market for mobile security; network security, managed and professional services are set to become the biggest category for business...

Across the globe, there is a delicate balance between sustained investment in essential infrastructure and a corresponding advance in socioeconomic progress. Telecommunications platforms have become the driver of growth in the twenty-first century. It's now the forward-thinking key performance indicator that all economists must monitor, in addition to the GDP. Infonetics Research has released excerpts from its latest market study, which analyzes global and regional market trends and conditions affecting telecom service providers, enterprises, subscribers, and the global networked economy. "As 2012 ended, Europe's crisis remains un-contained and is now spreading to Germany. The potential of shaking business confidence everywhere in the world has risen to new heights, and the IMF lowered its growth forecast and is warning of recession risks due to downward revision of global GDP, which now stands at 3.3 percent," said Stephane Teral, principal analyst for mobile i...

Businesses smartphone users are moving away from BlackBerry, and the rise of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) phenomenon is making mobile device management (MDM) one of the hottest markets for enterprise IT, according to the latest market study by Ovum. The challenge for already busy CIOs is how to manage and secure data, while exploiting the innovation and productivity benefits that embracing the major smartphone platforms can deliver. In its latest Solutions Guide, Ovum reveals that no longer is MDM purely the domain of specialist enterprise mobility vendors. Vendors from a variety of backgrounds across the IT and telecoms space are looking to grab clients in this market -- as it becomes a gateway to a larger enterprise managed mobility sector. The guide also highlights strong support for remote device security capabilities across a range of mobile operating systems. However, limitations of the major operating system (OS) platforms are preventing vendors and enterprises from im...

Truly, a media tablet has been one of the most eagerly adopted new devices in the consumer electronics market since the Apple iPad launch in 2010. Moreover, during the past year, tablet use has begun to crossover from the consumer world into the workplace. Business use of tablets is expected to rise in 2012, as more people learn about the introduction of new BYOD workplace policies by their employer. According to the latest U.S. market study by NPD In-Stat, the most common business uses of tablets are email or calendar management, note taking, and presentations -- with 77 percent of survey respondents reporting that email as a common workplace use. "Email is by far the most dominant tablet application for business users," says Frank Dickson, VP Mobile Research at NPD In-Stat . However, when you dig into the data, you find a plethora of strong niche uses arising. When business tablet users are asked to list ALL the applications they use, note taking, for example, is li...