Digital Lifescapes

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...

Google Android smartphone original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are taking advantage of a solid presence among all mobile network service users to drive more smartphone purchases by businesses -- and thereby expand on the growing number of mobility applications within the enterprise. ABI Research predicts that shipment revenues from Android smartphones used by mobile business customers will grow from $54 billion in 2013 to over $92 billion globally by the end of 2018. They have analyzed Android OEM enterprise features and market presence to provide mobile business customer adoption forecasts for six OEMs -- including HTC, Huawei, LG, Motorola Mobility, Samsung, and ZTE. "Despite a significant presence among employees in the workplace, businesses have not allowed or have limited the access of Android devices to enterprise applications and systems," said Jason McNicol, senior analyst at ABI Research . Fearing the potential loss of this large, high-margin market segmen...

Most traditional wireline data services spending by U.S. businesses has been consistently falling in 2009, according to the latest market study by In-Stat . However, there are a few exceptions to this trend. Overall, In-Stat expects a nearly 2 percent decline in U.S. business spending on wireline data services -- which represents the first time this market has declined in the 10 plus years In-Stat has been tracking it. Wireline data services include expenditures on wide area network (WAN) data transport services, as well as, dedicated Internet access (which includes cable and DSL), network-based IP VPN, private line, frame relay, ATM, and Ethernet services. Note, the category does not include managed services, such as, hosted IP telephony, LAN infrastructure, security, and other managed service solutions, which are tracked separately by In-Stat. "Ethernet Services and IP VPN services are among the lone bright spots in the market," says David Lemelin, In-Stat analyst. Spending...

Demand for high-quality, high-performance network connectivity will drive U.S. SMBs to spend heavily on IP VPN managed services over the next five years. Related annual revenues will rise from less than $2 billion last year to more than $6.5 billion in 2012, according to the latest study by Light Reading. "The SMB market is the next great networking frontier," says Charles Carr, research analyst for Light Reading. Presently, the total U.S. managed IP services market is split between two networking solution types. "Within the IP VPN market, the SMB sector is clearly a sweet spot for service providers and is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 28 percent, versus only 12 percent in the large-enterprise space through 2012." SMBs that have relied on legacy Frame Relay services need more robust and flexible connections to remain competitive, Carr notes. SMBs need the flexibility and scaleability of a more robust networking solution, such as the MPLS/IP virtual...