Digital Lifescapes

The world of high-performance computing (HPC) will continue to evolve, as enterprise CIOs and CTOs anticipate the future demands for IT Infrastructure capable of supporting new workloads. That said, there isn't enough computing capability today to process the amount of data being created and stored, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The processing power required to convert the flood of structured and unstructured data into useful and valuable insights, for a new class of digital business workloads, must now scale faster than Moore's law ever predicted. HPC Platform Market Development To address this gap, the computing industry is taking a new path that leverages alternative computing architectures like DSPs, GPUs, FPGAs for acceleration and offloading of computing tasks in order to limit the tax on the general-purpose compute architecture in the system. IDC believes these architectures are key to the enablement of artificial i...

Internet of Things (IoT) market growth will accelerate in 2017, with the adoption of narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), according the the latest worldwide market study by Frost & Sullivan. This cellular technology uses licensed spectrum and offers a standardized low-power, wide-area network (LPWAN) solution. Furthermore, machine learning and blockchain technologies are being integrated with IoT capabilities to drive new demand in different industries -- such as financial services or energy generation and distribution. IoT Market Development Trends In Europe, IoT connections are set to exceed 9 billion by 2021. Dedicated venture funds for IoT development will help create an ecosystem that is conducive to the growth of startups in the region. "IoT applications integrate the consumer into the wider connected system to reflect a truly intelligent society," said Yiru Zhong, research analyst at Frost and Sullivan . The analyst believes that significant funding in the last 18 mo...

There's an explosion of data being created by a variety of existing and emerging IT applications. Converting raw data into meaningful insights is a global trend that's driving demand for solutions. Western European revenues for Big Data and business analytics (BDA) will reach $34.1 billion in 2017 -- that's an increase of 10.4 percent over 2016. Commercial purchases of BDA-related hardware, software, and services are likely to maintain a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.2 percent through 2020 when revenues will be more than $43 billion, according to the latest study by International Data Corporation (IDC). "Digital disruption is forcing many organizations to reevaluate their information needs, as the ability to react with greater speed and efficiency becomes critical for competitive businesses," said Helena Schwenk, research manager at IDC . Big Data Analytics Market Development According to the IDC assessment, the shift toward cloud deployments, gr...

The Internet of Things (IoT) and the manufacturing sector are destined to collide, as more companies with factories explore the benefits of new technologies. This year we're going to witness how forward-thinking manufacturers innovate and grow. Though industrial manufacturers are somewhat slow in their adoption of cloud-based services and connecting their legacy systems to digital networks, the vision for a vast IoT market is finally starting to take shape. Industrial manufacturing applications will generate more than $138 million this year from cellular and satellite connectivity fees, according to the latest market study by ABI Research . Industrial IoT Market Development The industrial IoT (IIoT) market will add more than 13 million new wireline and wireless connections worldwide in 2017 to an installed base exceeding 53 million connections. "The costs for data storage and compute processing dropped significantly in the past few years making the digitization of in...

Worldwide revenues for big data and business analytics (BDA) will reach $150.8 billion in 2017, that's an increase of 12.4 percent over 2016, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Commercial purchases of BDA-related hardware, software, and related services are expected to maintain a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.9 percent through 2020 when revenues will be more than $210 billion. Big Data and Business Analytics Market Development "After years of traversing the adoption S-curve, big data and business analytics solutions have finally reached the mainstream," said Dan Vesset, group vice president at IDC . "BDA as an enabler of decision support and decision automation is now firmly on the radar of top executives. This category of solutions is also one of the key pillars of enabling digital transformation efforts across industries and business processes globally." According to the IDC assessment, the industri...

The emerging market for Internet of Things (IoT) technology is expanding. In particular, industrial automation and industrial robotics -- a subset of industrial automation -- continue to evolve after decades of growth globally. According to the latest market study, new advancements are pointing to further upside potential. Several manufacturing technology trends are converging, forcing a change in how all kinds of products are made worldwide. Robotics, big data, cognitive computing and other elements of industrial automation are making Advanced Manufacturing a reality in 2017. Industrial Automation and Robotics Market Development ABI Research forecasts industrial automation control and field device shipments will surpass 55 million units in 2017, and grow to reach approximately 146 million units by 2025. This will translate to $298 billion in industrial automation device revenue by 2025, with $45 billion attributed alone to robotics. Industrial robot shipments -- a subset of in...

Wearables have gained some momentum with fitness bands and smart watches for consumers. Fitbit and Apple are the key category leaders in these markets, with others providing alternative ecosystems around similar functionality. Early adopters and the fitness conscious embraced these devices, but there's been little growth beyond this market segment. Now that's about to change, with commercial applications for smart glasses and the development of compelling new use cases. Smart Glasses Market Development Smart Glasses are the highest growth sector of the consumer wearables segment over the next five years, reaching 11 percent of the overall wearables market by 2021, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research. Revenues are forecast to grow from $327 million in 2017, to $9 billion in 2021 as the new generation of smart glasses emerges. The new study also found that the dominant wearables categories of smart watches and fitness wearables, have begun to slow. ...

In a world of growing IT data that must be interpreted as meaningful business insights, enterprise organizations demand better tools to enable them to achieve their commercial goals. Cognitive computing can help to tackle this huge challenge, by augmenting human analysis. More than 40 percent of data science tasks will be automated by 2020, resulting in increased productivity and broader usage of data and analytics by citizen data scientists, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. What's a 'citizen data scientist' role in this equation? It's a person who generates models that use advanced diagnostic analytics, or predictive and prescriptive capabilities, but whose primary job function is outside the field of statistics and complex analytics. Data Scientist Tools Market Development Citizen data scientists can bridge the gap between mainstream self-service analytics, by business users and the advanced analytics techniques of data scientists. Th...

The progress in technologies such as artificial intelligence, internet of things, cloud computing, robotics and intelligent mobility have set the stage for cognitive or sentient tools to emerge onto the global market. These tools are aware of and can learn from their surroundings and users, and mark the next step in the evolution of computational systems, according to the latest worldwide market study by Frost & Sullivan. As smart machines that can communicate and interact with their environment, instead of simply being performers of rote tasks, sentient tools can bring about a sea change in labor-intensive industries. Smart Machines Market Development The sectors that will be most affected by this disruptive technology include travel, transport, defense, manufacturing, medical, construction, agriculture, customer service, finance, communication, and smart cities. "Stakeholders looking to integrate automated technology into their value chain are most likely to invest...

According to a U.S. government study, advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have opened up new markets and new opportunities for progress in critical areas of the American economy. In recent years, robots have surpassed humans in the performance of certain tasks related to intelligence. Although it is unlikely that robots will exhibit superior intelligence to that of humans in the next 20 years, it is to be expected that they will continue to reach and exceed human performance on certain types of tasks. It's inevitable, more robots will enter the workplace. Robotics Sector Market Development Worldwide spending on robotics and related services will more than double by 2020, growing from $91.5 billion in 2016 to more than $188 billion in 2020, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). "The market for robotics continues to experience tremendous growth," said John Santagate, research manager at IDC . "This growth is really f...

By 2025, just about 15 percent of new passenger car sales worldwide will be autonomous vehicles, with either conditional or full autonomy (level 3 or level 4) capabilities, according to the latest market study by Canalys. Canalys also estimates that only 1.3 percent of cars sold in 2016 will offer partial autonomy (level 2) and the only cars with conditional or full autonomy in 2016 are for research and development purposes or being used in small public trials. The few cars available in 2016 with level 2 autonomy come from premium car brands, and the functionality is an optional feature. Autopilot from Tesla, Pilot Assist from Volvo, Intelligent Drive from Mercedes-Benz, and Traffic Jam Assist from Audi and BMW are the leading examples of level 2 autonomy solutions. Autonomous Vehicle Market Development The functionality has taken a long time to reach the market in volume, reflecting the slow pace of innovation and the high level of conservatism in the regulation-bound automoti...

When smartphones are combined with cloud services, the converged capabilities are truly remarkable. And, cognitive computing and machine learning are enabling a new era of communication. By 2019, 20 percent of all user interactions with a smartphone will take place via virtual personal assistants (VPAs), according to the latest market study by Gartner. Gartner's annual mobile applications survey found that 42 percent of respondents in the U.S. and 32 percent in the UK used VPAs on their smartphones in the last three months. More than 37 percent of respondents (average across U.S. and UK) used a VPA at least one or more times a day. "The role of interactions will intensify through the growing popularity of VPAs among smartphone users and conversations made with smart machines," said Annette Zimmermann, research director at Gartner . Personal Assistant Market Development Apple 'Siri' and Google 'Now' are currently the most widely used VPAs on smartph...

The automotive technology market will continue to evolve as cognitive computing enhances the transportation sector. Self-learning artificial intelligence (AI) in automobiles is the key to unlocking the capabilities of autonomous cars and enhancing value to end users through virtual assistance. This nascent technology offers original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) access to new revenue streams through licensing, partnerships and mobility services. Simultaneously, the use-case scenarios of self-learning AI in cars are drawing several IT vendors, Internet of Things (IoT) technology companies and mobile network service providers to the automotive industry. The combined technologies have also attracted attention and investments from governments, due to its potential to improve urban lifestyles and add national and local economic development value. Automotive AI Market Development Frost & Sullivan -- which already offers market insights into power-trains, car-sharing and smart mo...

Smart machine technologies learn on their own and can produce unanticipated results. That said, by working together, smart machines and people can make each other smarter -- and protect each other from their inherent weaknesses. Smart machines will enter mainstream adoption by 2021, with 30 percent adoption by large companies, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. New and evolving technologies such as cognitive computing, artificial intelligence (AI), intelligent automation, machine learning and deep learning are all considered to be part of the smart machines ecosystem. Smart Machine Market Development "The use of smart machines by enterprises can be transformative and disruptive. Smart machines will profoundly change the way work is done and how value is created. From dynamic pricing models and fraud detection, to predictive policing and robotics, smart machines have broad applicability in all industries," said Susan Tan, research vice president...

The drivers of fintech adoption in the developed world are different to those of the developing world. The last financial crisis resulted in a mistrust of legacy financial institutions, which has fueled the growing consumer appetite for products and services from innovative new providers. Fintech platform revenues derived from supporting the insurance industry (Insurtech) will reach almost $235 billion globally by 2021, that's up by 34 percent y-o-y from an estimated $175 billion this year, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research. Growth will be driven by a combination of factors, including: Machine Learning investments enabling insurance providers to personalise products; Insurers deploying mobile apps to improve their customer experience; Investments in blockchain technologies to underpin smart contracts. Fintech Market Development Trends The new worldwide market study uncovered that the value chain within the insurance market is transforming r...

As 2016 comes to a close, industry analysts start to share their outlook for next year, and beyond. International Data Corporation (IDC) has announced its worldwide information technology (IT) industry predictions. IDC foresees digital transformation (DX) attaining macroeconomic scale over the next three to four years, changing the way enterprises operate and reshaping global commerce. From their perspective, this is the dawn of the DX Economy. "We are at an inflection point as digital transformation efforts shift from 'project' or 'initiative' status to strategic business imperative," said Frank Gens, senior vice president at IDC . "Every growing enterprise, regardless of age or industry, must become 'digital native' in the way its executives and employees think, what they produce, and how they operate." Top Ten IDC Predictions for 2017 By 2020, 50 percent of the Global 2000 new growth will depend on their ability to create digitally...

Historically, computers had to be told what to do -- programmed by software developers -- before they could complete an assigned task. Now, computers will begin to learn how to perform various tasks that are based upon experience -- similar to the development of human cognitive skills attainment. However, unlike humans, these intelligent computing systems will retain and recall everything that they learn. That said, imagine the possibilities of every human worker having access to an informed assistant that will always be prepared to offer useful information and guidance. That's the essence of a cognitive computing era . It's forecast that the adoption of cognitive systems and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies across all industries will drive worldwide revenues from nearly $8.0 billion in 2016 to more than $47 billion in 2020. Cognitive and AI Solutions Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), the ...

Mobile internet applications are evolving rapidly. Cognitive computing technologies will inspire telecom service providers to profoundly change their business model in new creative ways. Deploying intelligent voice control apps on smartphones was just the beginning of this trend. As an example, mobile network operators are increasing their investment in big data analytics and machine learning technologies as they transform into digital application developers and cognitive service providers. With a long history of handling huge datasets, and with their path now led by the IT ecosystem, mobile operators will devote more than $50 billion to big data analytics and machine learning technologies through 2021, according to the latest global market study by ABI Research. Cognitive Technologies Market Development "Machine learning-based predictive analytics are applicable to all aspects of the telecom business," said Joe Hoffman, vice president at ABI Research . "It's...

The mobile phone already does so much more than enable person-to-person communication. It's being used to browse across the world wide web, capture digital photos, access social network apps, play games and get travel directions. The introduction of smartphones has been a game changer, impacting what we expect from a mobile handset. Now mobile device manufacturers have created new modes of voice control, utilizing cognitive computing capabilities in the cloud, that allow smartphone users to operate the device without touching it. A new study from Juniper Research concluded that increased use of Digital Voice Assistants -- such as Google Now, Siri and Cortana -- on smart devices will provide new paid search advertising opportunities within the coming years. Digital Assistant Market Development Juniper forecasts that over $12 billion of advertising spend per year will be made through this rapidly growing medium by 2021 -- that's an increase of over 3,000 percent on est...

The core goals of artificial intelligence (AI) in computing are problem solving and task completion. These capabilities are intended to replace, or complement human function. The application of AI in the emerging new cognitive technology era is driven by big data analytics, cloud computing and abundant Internet access. The confluence of these combined forces have enabled cloud-based Machine Learning concepts to be applied at a much lower cost than was previously possible. Moreover, the productivity advances made possible by cognitive computing are going to be truly remarkable. One of the most promising new use cases is within the media, advertising and smart programmatic marketing-related arena. Machine Learning Market Development Juniper Research has found that machine learning algorithms used to enable more efficient ad bids over real-time bidding (RTB) networks will generate an estimated $42 billion in annual advertising spend by 2021 -- that's up from an estimated $3.5 ...