Digital Lifescapes

Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) are underutilized in many factories, warehouses, hospitals, and smart offices. Moreover, the typical systems offered by IT solution providers leverage standalone software deployments with proprietary hardware. However, IT hardware costs will drop as more customers abandon proprietary systems to reduce vendor lock-in, increase application interoperability, and reduce the initial deployment costs, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. As a result, the sector will diversify and complement hardware sales by monetizing deployments through service models augmented by additional software features -- such as analytics and device management. Real-Time Location Systems Market Development According to the latest ABI Research market forecast, RTLS service revenue will be worth $3.7 billion in 2022 and will rise to $24.9 billion by 2030, at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.8 percent. "As RTLS hardware, such as tags and anchors, beco...

CEOs are requiring their Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) to reimagine the HR charter to focus more on enabling the organization to achieve strategic business outcomes through superior talent development practices. As a result, 49 percent of HR leaders named "Innovating for Success" as one of their top three priorities for 2022, according to the latest survey findings from Gartner. Despite HR leaders prioritizing innovations, a Gartner survey of more than 3,500 employees found that only 46 percent of employees agree that their organization encourages creative thinking. HR Innovation Market Development "The survey results show that an organization’s actions directly impact the ability of employees to be creative by 25 percent," said Emily Rose McRae, senior director at Gartner . "In fact, an organization’s actions have more than double the impact of an individual's personality when it comes to driving employee creativity." According to the Gartner a...

Available Internet access at an affordable cost is essential for everyone to participate in the Global Networked Economy. The deployment of fifth-generation (5G) wireless communications infrastructure is enabling the introduction of lower-cost broadband services in some markets. Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) allows mobile network operators (MNO) to deliver high-speed Internet connections in areas that have either insufficient or no prior wireline broadband access services. It's also used in urban, suburban, and rural areas where fiber optic communication is considered too expensive to install and maintain. With this new technology, MNOs have the potential to provide broadband capability at similar levels to fiber optic networks. Fixed Wireless Access Market Development Therefore, FWA can be used to supplement existing wired broadband Internet service offerings, provide additional broadband capacity, or act as a backup service for home or business applications. Although FWA is well es...

Ongoing concerns about economic volatility and access to skilled digital transformation talent are top-of-mind for many CEOs and CFOs. And, business technology investment is being re-prioritized as more executive leadership teams focus on strategic business outcomes. Meanwhile, spending on artificial intelligence (AI) will reach nearly $118 billion in 2022 and surpass $300 billion in 2026, according to the latest worldwide market study by  International Data Corporation (IDC). The ongoing incorporation of AI into a wide range of products will drive a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.5 percent over the 2022-2026 forecast period. This is more than four times greater than the five-year CAGR of 6.3 percent for overall worldwide IT spending during the same period. Artificial Intelligence Market Development The past two years have accelerated the use of AI in IT systems, and organizations are now more willing to take advantage of the efficiency benefits and enhanced capabilities ...

Executive leaders of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) are seeking guidance on how to apply new business technology in their manufacturing operations. CIOs and CTOs are tasked with gaining insight into the best solutions for digital transformation. ABI Research evaluated the impact politics, regulation, the economy, supply chain, ESG, and technology are having on FMCG, pharma, producers of steel, chemicals, pulp and paper -- as well as the mining and oil & gas sectors. Digital Transformation Market Development "Our assessment found that the FMCG sector is under pressure from all sides," says Michael Larner, industrial & manufacturing research director at ABI Research . Securing raw materials is challenging considering lockdowns in China and limited grain supplies from Ukraine. Supply shocks are raising input costs, and operating costs are rising with higher energy costs coupled with the pressure to pay higher wages and work sustainably. "We all hoped that with th...

Business model evolution and growth are still top priorities for forward-thinking leadership. In fact, 70 percent of surveyed boards of directors will accelerate digital business initiatives, steering the organization to digitally-enabled growth. Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) also plan to protect their digital transformation investments as they cut costs elsewhere in their operations, according to the latest market study by Gartner. Among technology priorities, CFOs have particularly prioritized back-office business automation technology as a key to driving down costs in the face of ongoing inflation and supply chain challenges. Digital Applications Market Development A survey of CFOs found that digital business app acceleration was the top spending priority over the next 12 months, with 98 percent of respondents saying they will protect digital investments. Meanwhile, 66 percent of surveyed CFOs said they plan to increase their digital app investments. A separate survey of CEOs high...

The business case for an Application to Person (A2P) messaging market is starting to evolve, with enterprise use cases being developed based on the requirements of informed CIOs and CTOs across industry sectors. Notably, the commercial requirements of these organizations will emerge in response to marketplace demand and will vary depending on the application and associated use case. To date, traditional one-way notifications represent the common A2P messaging use case. Looking to the future, that could change as adoption increases exponentially. A2P Messaging Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the total value of the mobile business messaging market will increase from $48 billion in 2022 to $78 billion by 2027. Juniper analysts found that this 63 percent growth will be driven by enterprise adoption of Rich Communication Services (RCS), with more organizations harnessing the end-to-end encryption and verified sender identities RCS provi...

Some leaders reject the notion that "wait and see" is the best response to disruptive change. Savvy senior executives are already driving digital business transformation throughout their organization in an effort to gain a bold strategic advantage. According to the latest market study by International Data Corp (IDC), Digital-First CEOs plan to drive at least half of their income from digital business products, services, and experiences by 2027 -- that's ahead of the market average of 39 percent. Driven by their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, these business leaders have changed how they think about the relationship between business and technology, and how they approach the next digital transformation era -- from scaling digital technology to guiding a viable digital business. Digital Business Market Development IDC defines digital business as value creation based on technology, which entails: 1) Automated customer-facing processes and internal operations; 2) Provision...

Forward-thinking retailers now have a bright future. In contrast, those that failed to enhance their business model via digital transformation have struggled, declined, and their assets were eventually liquidated. The key difference between these two business outcomes is applied strategic foresight. Even as the world continues to emerge from a global pandemic, retail is growing at levels not seen in the last two decades. Retail sales grew by 7 percent in 2020 and by over 14 percent in 2021, which is in stark contrast to the 3.7 percent annual growth between 2010 and 2019. The increased demand for retail has put a strain on supply chains and retail operations worldwide. As a result, retailers and stakeholders are turning to automation solutions such as mobile robotics for operational ease. Retail Transformation Market Development According to the latest market study by ABI Research, worldwide commercial robot revenue in retail stores will have a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of o...

Senior executive demand for digital transformation that incorporates business process and workflow automation has motivated leading organizations to double their investment in artificial intelligence (AI) projects. According to the latest market study by Gartner, 80 percent of executives think automation can be applied to any business decision. As automation becomes embedded in digital business, a recent survey revealed how organizations are evolving their use of AI apps. "The survey has shown that enterprises are shifting away from a purely tactical approach to AI and beginning to apply AI more strategically," said Erick Brethenoux, VP analyst at Gartner . Business Process Automation Market Development For example, a third of organizations are applying AI across several business units, creating a stronger competitive differentiator by supporting decisions across business processes. The Gartner survey was conducted online in the U.S. market, in Germany, and in the UK, within ...

Across the globe, many enterprise CIOs and CTOs have already deployed several use cases that deliver effective customer care applications through cloud-based contact center solutions. Today's contact centers allow customers to interact online with service representatives within an organization. Historically, customers were only able to reach organizations via voice telephone calls. However, after legacy call centers developed into modern 'contact centers', this enabled customers to communicate via their preferred method online. As companies continue to develop contact centers and invest in prominent technologies such as cloud services, contact centers began to adapt their architecture from on-premises to cloud-based solutions due to their increased flexibility, reliability, scalability, and security. CCaaS Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the global Contact Center-as-a-Service (CCaaS) market revenue will reach $15.6 bill...

Across the globe, business leaders and government policymakers are exploring applications for human augmentation. These enhancements are described as the natural, artificial, or technological alteration of the human body in order to improve physical or mental capabilities. The European human augmentation market -- including augmented and virtual reality, biometrics, exoskeletons, wearables, affective computing, and other human augmentation technologies -- will reach over $62 billion by the end of 2022 and more than $100 billion by 2026. According to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), businesses are increasing their investments in these technologies, and the overall human augmentation market will grow 37 percent in Europe by the end of 2022. Human Augmentation Market Development Companies are adopting a digital-first model and adapting to new realities and work policies that require support for use cases such as remote work collaboration, virtualized presen...

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...

More organizations across the globe are investing in business technology that streamlines enterprise workflow. The quest for business process automation is gaining new momentum, due in part to the increased demand for digital transformation. Global robotic process automation (RPA) software end-user spending is projected to reach $2.9 billion in 2022 -- that's an increase of 19.5 percent from 2021, according to the latest market study by Gartner. "By achieving a growth rate of 31 percent in 2021, the RPA market grew well above the average worldwide software market growth rate of 16 percent,” said Cathy Tornbohm, VP analyst at Gartner .  Robotic Process Automation Market Development Organizations are leveraging RPA to accelerate business process automation initiatives and digital transformation plans, with the anticipated intent to improve their operational efficiency. Although growing at a slower pace than in previous years, the worldwide RPA software market is projected to con...

Protecting online payment data is integral to the security of the digital payments ecosystem. In an increasingly interconnected world, with a growing number of payment options, the need for strong security solutions is paramount. Payments currently fall under four main categories: card present transactions, eCommerce payments, mobile payments, and Internet of Things (IoT) payments. With so many digital payment methods now in use, the need to ensure that consumer data is protected across all channels is growing rapidly. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research , the total number of tokenized payment transactions will exceed one trillion globally by 2026 -- that's rising from 680 billion in 2022. Tokenized Payment Market Development This trend represents a growth of 58 percent over the next 4 years. Juniper attributed this growth to the rise of ‘one-click’ solutions -- such as Click-to-Pay -- that use card-on-file tokenization to store a customer’s payment c...

In uncertain times, such as the post-pandemic economy, smart business leaders will consistently invest the time and effort to gain a competitive edge. Moreover, these savvy leaders have a keen sense of the need for ongoing digital transformation. The worldwide artificial intelligence (AI) market -- including software, hardware, and services -- will post a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.6 percent in the 2022-2026 forecast period to reach $900 billion in 2026, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). "The COVID-19 pandemic quickly revealed that our current systems are not as resilient as we thought they were," says Martin Nuska, AI analyst at IDC . Artificial Intelligence Market Development The quest for substantive digital transformation became an urgent necessity, due to disrupted supply chains, and a critical need for fast and accurate insight to support key decision-making processes. This is expected to lead to huge opportuniti...

Business technology investment no longer follows a predictable path to growth. The global venture capital (VC) investment in artificial intelligence (AI) was close to its peak in 2021 reaching $22.3 billion, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. This is just $400 million shy of the historical high of $22.7 billion recorded in 2019. Compared to the $15 billion recorded in 2020, the market made a remarkable recovery, with a 48.5 percent year-on-year growth. Will the future AI marketplace return to stable growth, or will it remain volatile? Artificial Intelligence Market Development "COVID-19 greatly accelerated the speed of digital transformation within the enterprise. Businesses are looking for solutions to work processes automation, customer care, due diligence, transcription and translation, and sales and marketing enablement tools," said Lian Jye Su, research director at ABI Research . At the same time, COVID-19 led to the Great Resignation of 2021...

Looking ahead, many Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) continue to selectively invest in new strategic digital transformation projects that enable a significant competitive advantage. Some additional investments may go towards improving existing IT infrastructure and operations.  Worldwide IT spending is now projected to total $4.5 trillion in 2022 -- that's an increase of 3 percent from 2021, according to the latest updated estimate by Gartner. For now, most CIOs will be relieved that their budget is safe from major cuts. While IT spending is expected to grow in 2022, it will be at a slower pace than in 2021 -- partly due to a 5 percent cutback on spending for personal computers, media tablets, and printers. Digital Transformation Market Development "Central banks around the world are focusing on fighting inflation, with overall inflation rates expected to be reduced through the end of 2023. However, the current levels of volatility being seen in both inflation and currency exch...

Fact: online payments are a prime target of cyber-criminals. There are millions of potential loopholes to exploit as payment card details are stored while processing routine online eCommerce transactions. The Dark Web is where criminals interact without being traced. This is where fraudsters buy and sell payment card details and share information on how to steal funds, and the best tools to use. From market data, it's clear that online retail payments are convenient. However, they've also created a playground for people intent on defeating the structures on which online payments rely. Trust, it seems, is breaking down. Plus, the security threats continue to evolve and test anti-fraud measures. Online Payment Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the cumulative merchant losses to online payment fraud between 2023 and 2027 are forecast to exceed $343 billion. As a comparison, this equates to over 350 percent of Apple’s reported net...

Across European nations, more CIOs and CTOs are investing in public cloud services that become the essential foundation for the design and delivery of innovative digital transformation projects. Public cloud computing spending in Europe will reach $113 billion in 2022 and will double to $239 billion by 2026, growing at a 22 percent 5-year CAGR, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Investments in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) will continue to lead most of the spending in Public Cloud in Europe in 2022, but Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) will be the fastest-growing segment. In fact, PaaS enables digital business deployment via the quick testing and production of new software applications. Public Cloud Market Development Professional services, banking, and discrete manufacturing will be among the top spenders in public cloud services, absorbing almost 60 percent of the overall public cloud services spend in 2022.  Human-centric industries are adju...