Digital Lifescapes

Nearly half of Human Resource (HR) leaders polled cited technology as their top investment priority. Gartner's latest survey revealed the other top investment areas for HR leaders in 2023 are staffing and recruiting, employee total rewards, plus learning and development. HR leaders reported intense competition for skilled talent, and global candidate supply constraints. Instead of opting for simple cost-cutting measures, leading organizations are focusing on growth and determining which investments will drive competitive advantage in the year ahead. To optimize costs and drive growth, HR leaders will act on a few key investment imperatives. HR technology can trigger cost savings in HR administration, which has seen a drastic uptick in cost due to pandemic-related tasks, and Remote or Hybrid work arrangements. HR Technology Market Development Gartner's research shows yearly spending on HR administration increased from $155 per employee in 2021 to $194 per employee in 2022. Howev...

Although the rise of electronic commerce has slowed somewhat since the initial explosive growth, the overall volume and value of eCommerce transactions continue to climb. There are several drivers supporting this growth. A key driver is the international adoption of a Global Networked Economy. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the value of international cross-border eCommerce is forecast to exceed $2.1 trillion in 2023 -- that's up from $1.9 trillion in 2022. International eCommerce Market Development This growth of over 13 percent in a single year reflects the increasing success of online marketplaces that offer goods across borders, as well as the rising viability of cross-border sales as an eCommerce model.  The new research study found that as eCommerce models diversify -- including models such as buy now pay later and click and collect -- cross-border options must also keep pace, by enabling local distribution and payment partnerships. Juniper...

If you answer the phone and hear a recorded message instead of a live person, it's likely a robocall. A robocall is a phone call that uses a computerized autodialer to deliver a pre-recorded message. In 2020, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received 2.8 million consumer complaints about robocalls. Offering solutions to robocalling and associated fraudulent business practices, computerized mitigation platforms are an integral part of the solution. Platforms that are focused on actionable systems to disrupt unsolicited and potentially criminal phone calls help telecom service providers and industry regulators. Issues of whether one-size-fits-all developments are sufficient to be effective across the spectrum need to be addressed, and whether a single telecom network operator working unilaterally with a third-party platform could compromise desired or mandatory industry-wide standards. Robocall Mitigation Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Jun...

When you consider all the industries most impacted by the economic disruption in 2020, telecom service providers likely do not come to mind. However, global mobile communications revenue was significantly impacted last year. Moreover, within the United Kingdom, the situation for incumbent mobile service providers will become even more complex and challenging during 2021, and beyond. All because of Brexit. International Mobile Roaming Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the number of international mobile roaming subscribers dropped by 73 percent to 243 million globally in 2020 -- caused by travel restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Juniper analysts predict that an improvement in mobile roaming subscriber numbers will take until 2024 to exceed 2019 levels; reaching 918 million by 2024, as the international travel industry embarks on a prolonged recovery from the long-term impacts of the pandemic. The new market study finding...

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...

How companies pay each other is important. All enterprises need access to effective B2B (Business to Business) payment systems in order to compete effectively. So, what's changed, given the current economic environment? The payments market has been the target of disruption. That said, despite the introduction of new innovations, traditional payment methods are still dominant in the B2B marketplace. It's a highly challenging financial system for many businesses, with a lack of transparency causing difficulties for decision-makers. Traditional commercial bank transfers are not fast enough to make B2B payments management a streamlined process. In the cross-border arena, these challenges are magnified due to high costs. Furthermore, the slow digital transformation of B2B payments means that established systems are unable to cope with the current global pandemic. Therefore, the B2B payments ecosystem must evolve. B2B Payments Market Development According to the latest wo...

The World Bank estimates that remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries reached $529 billion in 2018, an increase of 9.6 percent over the previous record high of $483 billion in 2017. All global remittances -- including money transfer flows to high-income countries -- reached $689 billion in 2018. Mobile and online (digital) money transfer offerings will continue to transform the market. New technologies, such as blockchain, will further accelerate the trend. Money Transfer Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, international digital remittances will reach $525 billion by 2024 -- that's up from an estimated $332 in 2019. The mobile channel will become increasingly popular; accounting for 41 percent of international digital money transfers by volume in 2024 -- that's up from 33 percent in 2019. Meanwhile, blockchain-based payments have the potential to increase digital payments further, as the technology has a ...

Globalization has removed several barriers for companies to conduct business abroad. However, exposure to foreign exchanges remains a challenge. The fees involved in international money transactions can make the process onerous, particularly to small organizations that lack financial expertise. Meanwhile, incumbent banks have typically been resistant to re-invest in new technologies within the business-to-business (B2B) payment sector. However, they now face new competition from non-bank start-ups that offer less-expensive services by using automated processes, reducing the need for intermediaries. Digital Payments Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research , B2B transactions processed by pureplay digital payment operators will reach $14 trillion by 2023 -- that's up from $6.7 trillion in 2018. Juniper analysts found that traditional banks can struggle to quantify a return-on-investment from the implementation of digital technologi...

Netflix has global mind-share, even though it's officially available in only a handful of countries. The consumer awareness of the subscriber benefits are a testament to the apparent pent-up demand for affordable over-the-top (OTT) streaming video entertainment services. Growing interest in the Netflix video entertainment offering also demonstrates how the legacy pay-TV business model is equally vulnerable to disruption in other nations -- as it has already proven to be in the U.S. market. Netflix is expected to achieve 17 million paying subscribers to its international operations by the end of 2014, following its official announcement of 14.4 million international subscribers in September. Launches in six European countries during September will help to boost the total, according to the findings from the latest worldwide market study by Digital TV Research. "We have made several adjustments to our previous estimates, based on the June results -- subscriber numbers are...

Juniper Research has valued network operator worldwide revenues generated from mobile roaming at nearly $90 billion by 2018 -- that's compared to $57 billion this year. This growth will represent over 8 percent of the global operator billed revenues by 2018. Juniper notes that these revenues will largely be driven by increasing data usage, primarily from a reduction in roaming charges. Data roaming represented an estimated 36 percent of the global mobile roaming revenues in 2013. Silent Roamer Upside Opportunity However, the findings from the latest Juniper market study revealed that with increasing global travel, there is an increasing prevalence of silent roamers. Silent roamers exercise caution, or do not use voice and data services at all while roaming, and represent a non-user segment -- essentially a lost opportunity. This behavior presents a huge challenge to mobile network operators both in terms of customer satisfaction and revenue expansion. "This is...

The mobile communication channel has proven to enable the development of financial services in a way that is not dependent upon the existing traditional commercial infrastructure in a country. Key benefits are all associated with the ability to provide new services while avoiding the usual investment in establishing physical banking facilities -- particularly in emerging markets and developing nations. As a result, international remittances via mobile phones will exceed $10 billion for the first time this year, according to the latest global market study by Juniper Research. However, their comprehensive assessment found that the cost and complexity of regulating cash transfers had led many mobile network service providers to focus exclusively on airtime top-ups. According to Juniper, only a handful of players -- such as eServGlobal HomeSend, along with established money transfer organizations Western Union and Moneygram -- were seeing significant traction on mobile devices. I...

Voice over IP (VoIP) now has over 120 million subscribers worldwide, and its growth looks set to accelerate as predictions indicate a $40 billion annual VoIP market by 2015, according to the latest market study by Point Topic . Point Topic's data revealed a global growth in VoIP of 12.6 percent during 2010 and shows that there is plenty of headroom left for VoIP around the world. "The growth of VoIP has been bumpy but shows signs of acceleration," said John Bosnell, senior analyst at Point Topic. "VoIP has all the hallmarks of a classic substitution commodity." Referring to the above, for example, consumers are switching from the standard telephone system to an end-to-end IP service that provides voice services at a very attractive cost and adds other usage possibilities. "France has been something of a test-bed for VoIP. Driven by an active supplier base that has made VoIP available to a large percentage of the population over the last decade, the ...