Digital Lifescapes

The evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the sales profession in ways that few could have imagined even a few years ago. Gartner’s recent prediction -- that by 2028, 10 percent of sales associates will use Generative AI (GenAI) tools to covertly manage multiple jobs -- highlights the profound workforce disruption unleashed by this technological revolution. As an independent advisory consultant in the business technology sector, I see this as a pivotal moment for vendor leaders to rethink their sales strategies and the very nature of work, productivity, and employee trust. The AI-Driven Sales Role Transformation The integration of GenAI into sales workflow is already a present-day reality. According to recent market studies, 81 percent of sales teams are either experimenting with or have fully implemented GenAI tools, with some reporting up to a 15 percent revenue uplift and a 10–20 percent increase in sales ROI. The rapidly emerging technology is now considered essen...

Commercial interest in Generative AI (GenAI) tools has reached a fever pitch, and the latest forecast from Gartner amplifies this emerging trend. Gartner predicts $644 billion in worldwide spending on GenAI in 2025, marking a dramatic 76.4 percent increase from the previous year. This surge underscores the impact GenAI will have across industries. It also requires a closer examination of the underlying dynamics of future potential. Generative AI Market Development This growth is fueled by the GenAI foundational model providers who invest billions into enhancing the size, performance, and reliability of their models.  Hardware also accounts for a significant portion of this spending, with ~80 percent allocated to servers, smartphones, and PCs equipped with artificial intelligence capabilities. This highlights the critical need for computational power to support the demanding workloads of GenAI. However, Gartner also injects a dose of reality into the GenAI hype cycle. There's a dec...

In an era where AI is considered an asset for superior leadership, why are over a quarter of marketing organizations still hesitant to use Generative AI ( GenAI ) in their workflows? Recent findings from a Gartner survey reveal a nuanced picture of GenAI adoption in marketing. They highlight its potential and the challenges organizations encounter. The Current State of GenAI Adoption The Gartner survey provides a snapshot of GenAI's integration into marketing strategies. Surprisingly, 27 percent of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) report limited or no adoption of GenAI in their marketing campaigns. This statistic is particularly striking given the interest surrounding AI in the typical C-suite, suggesting a significant gap between executive desire and marketing implementation. Despite this, the survey also reveals encouraging signs of GenAI's impact: 47 percent of forward-thinking organizations report substantial benefits from adopting GenAI for evaluation and reporting in their...

As we approach 2025, the global Artificial Intelligence (AI) market is poised for significant growth. Traditional AI spending is rising, while Generative AI (GenAI) struggles to meet lofty expectations. This apparent dichotomy presents challenges and opportunities for vendors and business leaders navigating the complex world of AI implementation. Let's explore the overall situation. Traditional AI: A Pragmatic Approach In the coming year, we expect to see a surge in traditional AI spending as enterprises seek pragmatic, ROI-driven solutions. This trend is driven by a growing recognition of the limitations and risks associated with GenAI projects, which have shown alarmingly high failure rates of 80 to 90 percent in proof-of-concept stages. The trend towards traditional AI is further supported by data from Amazon Web Services (AWS), which revealed that over 85 percent of AI projects in 2024 were not based on GenAI.  This insightful statistic underscores the continued relevance and ...

Legacy search engine marketing best practices are vulnerable. Why now? Generative AI (GenAI) capabilities are being rapidly adopted for technology sector marketing efficiency gains. To prepare for more shifts beyond their direct control, tech product marketers must address disruptions in key marketing channels, engagement approaches, and required investments. The savvy business-to-business (B2B) CMOs are already piloting and deploying GenAI tools. GenAI Tools B2B Market Development By 2026, traditional search engine volume will drop by 25 percent, with search marketing losing market share to AI chatbots and other virtual agents, according to the latest market study by Gartner.  "Organic and Paid Search are vital channels for tech marketers seeking to reach awareness and demand generation goals," said Alan Antin, vice president at Gartner . Now GenAI solutions are becoming substitute answer engines, replacing user queries that previously may have been executed in traditional ...

The global marketing and sales landscape is evolving rapidly. New business technology is a game-changer, promising to automate tedious tasks and unlock new levels of optimization. But is the market truly ready to embrace this technology? IDC predicts that by 2026, half of medium-sized businesses in the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan (APEJ) will be using Generative AI (GenAI) based applications to automate and optimize marketing and sales processes. According to their latest worldwide market study, 47 percent of the midmarket segment in APEJ is already either exploring potential use cases or investing in GenAI tools. SMB Generative AI Market Development Also, 43 percent of companies in the midmarket segment anticipate that the technology will have the most impact on commercial marketing applications. Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs) and midmarket segments in APEJ have taken notice of the GenAI potential to revolutionize workflow in various industries. However, companies ar...

The cost of legacy Marketing Technology (Martech) automation is rising. The number of isolated systems is growing, and the benefits are questionable. Marketers are now struggling to justify the expense, when they cannot demonstrate a compelling ROI. Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are under pressure from their C-suite to reassess their investment in legacy automation and consider alternative solutions that will deliver net-new digital growth results. Marketing Automation Market Development Sixty-three percent of marketing leaders are already planning to invest in Generative AI solutions in the next 24 months, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Slightly more than half of Gartner survey respondents (56 percent) see greater reward than risk in the adoption of modern Generative AI systems. The Gartner survey of 405 marketing leaders revealed the user utilization of their organization's overall current Martech stack’s capability has dropped to just 33 percent on ...

The integration of emerging technologies into the hospitality industry is driving new growth opportunities and changing the way guests experience properties. Smart home technology is beginning to transform the global hospitality sector. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, the smart home and connected equipment market across smart hospitality and coworking spaces will see connected shipments rise from 6.8 million devices in 2023 to 19.7 million in 2027 -- that's a CAGR of 23.5 percent. "Service flexibility, cost savings, and meeting changing customer expectations is driving investment in connected technology," said Jonathan Collins, research director at ABI Research . Some dedicated offerings address just one segment of the market. But now, new offerings are increasingly being adopted that address the broader smart homes and smart building markets.  Smart Building Market Development Smart technology is revolutionizing the way hotels operate and ...

Urban dwellers have seen shared bikes and scooters popping up around their city. Initially, there was untapped demand. As traffic congestion increased, legacy public transportation couldn't keep up with the needs of a growing population. Micro-mobility operators were eager to expand, paying minimal attention to developing a sustainable business model. However, now they're forced to evolve from 'growth at any cost' strategies. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, by reformulating business models, operations, and strategic goals, shared micro-mobility companies can unleash the potential of a market worth $9 billion in ride revenues by 2030. Micro-Mobility Service Market Development Most service providers have high idle rates and low profitability in several markets, due to a mismatch between vehicle supply and demand. To thrive in the shared micro-mobility market, operators must now optimally relocate or expand operations based on data-driven insights and...

Enterprise demand for data analytics insight and IT optimization continue to drive applications for business intelligence solutions. Meanwhile, CIOs consider new use cases for neural networks, machine learning, and natural language processing. Overall spending on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the United States will grow to $120 billion by 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26 percent over the 2021-2025 forecast period. Moreover, all 19 U.S. industries in the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC) are forecast to deliver AI spending growth of 20 percent or more. The U.S. also accounts for more than half of all AI spending worldwide. Artificial Intelligence Market Development Retail will remain the largest U.S. industry for AI spending throughout the forecast, while Banking will be the second-largest industry. Together, these two industries will represent nearly 28 percent of all AI spending in the United States in 2025 and will ac...

Mobile communication channels are important for many enterprises that connect with customers, and new service providers have emerged that offer a comprehensive platform to enable the management of this ongoing interaction. These are the Communication Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) providers. Industry analysts define a CPaaS platform as a solution that enables an organization to communicate with clients via multiple outbound online and mobile channels via a singular platform. There are a number of services that can be considered part of CPaaS platforms, including messaging technologies such as Short Message Service (SMS), Rich Communication Service (RCS) and Over the Top (OTT) messaging applications. Also offered are push notifications, voice services, and email. CPaaS Platform Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the global value of the CPaaS market will exceed $10 billion for the first time in 2022 -- that's rising from $8.6 billion...

Within the business-to-business (B2B) realm, large enterprise corporate events are often a major component of the marketing organization's operating budget. These events are frequently held at resort hotels or conference centers in popular destinations, such as Las Vegas. They're very expensive to produce. What are the typical event goals? How does this investment deliver results? In many cases, these events are funded as 'sales progression' activities. Meaning, the company invites key contacts from their existing customers that they know are already likely to purchase products and services. In reality, there's very little 'selling' that takes place. More often than not, the event execution actually revolves around scheduled hospitality (meals, cocktails, and entertainment) rather than a definitive business objective. Keynote sessions set the tone for the remainder of the event. Education and certification opportunities are sometimes offered to attende...

As more digital technology innovations reside in software apps, and part of those software functions reside in a public cloud, the value of device-centric innovation has been eclipsed. Chances are, the device that you already have in your possession is 'good enough' to access those software-defined services. Worldwide shipments of devices -- personal computers (PCs), media tablets and mobile phones -- will decline by 3.7 percent in 2019, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Personal Device Market Development Gartner estimates there are more than 5 billion mobile phones used around the world. After years of growth, the worldwide smartphone market has reached a tipping point. Sales of smartphones will decline by 3.2 percent in 2019, which would be the worst decline the category has seen. "This is due to consumers holding onto their phones longer, given the limited attraction of new technology," said Ranjit Atwal, senior research director at...

The ongoing commitment to spend more on advertising is primarily driven by legacy marketers. The majority of CMOs in these organizations have difficulty embracing progressive methods of market development, such as digital content marketing. They continue to explore new media but stay within their comfort zone. As traditional advertisers witnessed the growth in smartphone use, they've shifted their digital ad spend -- such as display and search advertising -- to focus more on mobile devices. Most types of online advertising growth are now due to mobile internet use, which will overtake online desktop use. Digital Advertising Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the total spend on digital advertising is forecast to reach $520 billion by 2023 -- that's rising from $294 billion in 2019. That's a CAGR of 15 percent over the next 5 years; driven by the adoption of AI-based programmatic advertising to deliver highly targete...

Once upon a time, a few years ago, technology industry analysts reported on global market growth for new devices -- where personal computers, media tablets and smartphones were in demand by both consumers and businesses. However, then came widespread market saturation, and declines in demand. Worldwide tablet and PC shipments will fall by 2.1 percent to 398 million units in 2018, according to the latest market study by Canalys. But this represents the smallest decline of the past four years and sets the tone for an era of stability. So, when does the market trend return to growth? That remains a mystery. Personal Computing Device Market Development Consumer refresh cycles have started to stabilize, and the legacy PC vendors have focused on new categories, such as gaming PCs, Chromebooks and convertibles. On the commercial side, Microsoft Windows 10 migration is a driver for hardware refresh, as some businesses are forced to move from Intel Skylake-generation architectures to newe...

Since the first online banner advert in 1993, advertising on digital platforms has seen significant developments. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, in 2013 digital advertising revenues overtook cable TV advertising within the U.S. market. The process by which advertisements reach their target audiences has advanced from being the advertiser and publisher, and now includes a plethora of ecosystem stakeholders in between. That said, it's not an easy task to fully understand the workings behind current digital advertising value networks. There's a significant degree of ongoing consolidation, as operations begin to become siloed. Digital Advertising Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, digital advertising spend will grow by an 18 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years -- rising from $184 billion in 2017 to $420 billion in 2022. This include advertising spend across mobile, desktop,...

When implemented correctly, the potential benefits that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can bring to the digital advertising industry are significant. Enhancing a digital advertising platform's ability to efficiently target the correct audience, while detecting fraudulent publisher activities, would be a huge advantage. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the use of AI for advertising purposes overlaps with the development of other applications. For instance, as bots and digital assistants are mechanisms for human to machine communications, the opposite may also be true -- where the AI machine, aware of the user's interests, can be used as a tool for brand advertising. However, the applications of AI in advertising extends beyond this use case. AI for Advertising Market Development That said, what's primarily driving the demand for AI apps in advertising? The Juniper Research study found that advertisers will lose an estimated $19 billio...

Digital entertainment will continue to evolve in 2017. In the mobile space, online video gaming has changed, with a move away from longer form Role Playing Games (RPG), to shorter games which allow greater interaction with other players. That said, casual games maintain their dominance in this industry. However, there's a significant rise in popularity of titles such as 'Clash Royale' which are competitive, short-form games that also integrate the idea of clans or teams of players. Aided by the adoption of popular franchises onto mobile devices, 2016 has seen strong growth in the number of games accessed on smartphones. Both new, optimized titles -- in terms of engagement and revenue generation -- and reworked classics have proved to be a hit with consumers. Video Game Market Development A new study from Juniper Research has found that revenues from the global digital games market are set to reach the $100 billion milestone by the end of this year. That's an ama...

Enterprise-wide implementations of audience engagement software and services for advertising, marketing, sales and services continue to increase by 5 to 6 percent every six months, reaching nearly 20 percent according to the latest market study by Technology Business Research (TBR). Over 50 percent of enterprises are either in proof of concept or scaling up their digital technology deployments. According to the TBR assessment, digital technology is mainstream and it's already changing the way that businesses interact with their online stakeholders. Digital Media Market Development Traditional media continues the move to digital formats, driving a significant shift in spending. Digital native service providers -- such as Google -- are capturing billions in advertising spend as organizations pivot from traditional print and television formats into more effective online engagement. Newspapers everywhere have suffered greatly from the shift to the digital economy. Meanwhile, T...

Video entertainment demand has been evolving rapidly. Yet traditional pay-TV service providers are still challenged to address the needs of more progressive consumers. Case in point: subscriber awareness of their "TV Everywhere" offerings -- the ability to watch programming from their pay-TV provider on devices other than a TV -- remains low at 36 percent, which is unchanged since 2013. Meanwhile, pay-TV marketers are attempting to capitalize on another growing trend. Skinny bundles, TV subscription packages composed of selected channels targeting specific customer segments, have the potential to attract elusive younger consumers to pay-TV, according to the latest market study by Altman Vilandrie & Company. However, their survey also finds that two-thirds of older consumers, typically the most loyal subscribers of legacy pay-TV, say they are wasting money for channels they don’t use -- so, skinny bundles could cannibalize the service provider's existing subscriber...