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Jul 03
The Northern Spy: gone phishing

By Rick Sutcliffe

This month's column will be short but not entirely sweet. Following much ado about something in the two columns filed here from WWDC, the Spy has less to say this month, but that is not to suggest it has been a slow time.

WWDC

Upon reflection, the Spy remains convinced that the Swift programming language is a major step forward in developer tools. The language has a slight air of being unfinished, as a few spots (the role of modules, for instance) need a little work. However, he believes developers will be using it and its descendants for a long, long time. Of the other announcements for developers, the Home and Health Kits probably represent the greatest opportunities for making new products, and expanding the Apple ecosystem. These will be very big. You heard it here first.

Hacked

Far too much of the Spy's time afterwards was taken up by fixing vandalism. Under another hat he...

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Jul 03
Annual digital payments to reach $4.7 trillion by 2019

A new report from Juniper Research (http://www.juniperresearch.com) finds that the annual transaction value of online, mobile and contactless payments will reach US$4.7 trillion by 2019, up from just over $2.5 trillion this year.



The report says that the largest net increase in spend would occur through remote physical goods purchases. However, while there was organic growth in the overall transaction levels due to increased purchasing on tablets and mobile, a significant proportion of tablet usage represented migration from desktop activity, according to Juniper Research. Combined transactions on mobile handsets and tablets will exceed those on desktops and laptops for the first time this year.



The report also notes that there's accelerating migration from physical format (DVD, CD) to digital (stream, download) across all core content sectors. These included a marked trend...

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Jul 02
Newlyweds, new parents most likely victims of identity...

LifeLock (http://www.lifelock.com), provider of proactive identity theft protection services for consumers and fraud and risk solutions for enterprises. has announced newly commissioned research conducted by Forrester Consulting about consumer attitudes, behaviors, and exposures related to identity theft.

The February 2014 survey revealed that individuals who experience life milestones related to "new beginnings," including getting married, becoming new parents, buying a home or entering the dating scene, are more likely than the average population to become victims of identity theft.

"Life milestones in this day and age are often accompanied by significant sharing of personal data. Whether you’re getting married or buying a new home, you’re filling out many different forms both digitally and on paper – and you may have very little control over where your highly personal information goes," says...

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Jul 01
Enterprise mobility solutions to shift from device to...

Mobile application management (MAM) is seeing increased adoption levels as enterprises seek solutions more flexible than traditional mobile device management (MDM)., according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

Currently, MDM solutions comprise over 60% of enterprise mobility management solution users; however, by the end of 2019, MDM share will drop to a bit more than 30% and MAM will command the lion’s share at over 60%. Thanks to large growth in the Asia-Pacific region, MAM will supplant MDM as the preferred enterprise choice, notes the research group.

"MDM is a tool being reserved more for corporate-liable devices, while MAM is a mobility solution for the masses, or employee-owned devices associated with BYOD," says ABI Research Senior Analyst Jason McNicol. "For employees to embrace enterprise mobility initiatives and more importantly policies, more flexible yet secure solutions are...

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Jun 30
New materials, better processes spur touch sensor...

Both glass-based and film-based sensors are evolving to improve performance, while at the same time becoming thinner and lighter, and increasing optical quality, according to new data from NPD DisplaySearch (www.displaysearch.com).

The research group forecasts that the total touch sensor area yield of projective capacitive, in-cell, on-cell, and resistive sensors, will reach 23.3 million square meters in 2015, up from 18 million square meters in 2014. Capacity for sensors for film substrates will be higher than for glass substrate, due to expected area growth of each type of film structure.

"Metal mesh, sliver nanowires, and other new materials will be used in the production of larger displays with better sheet resistance at affordable prices, and these new materials might be used for curved or flexible-touch sensors soon," says Shoko Oi, deputy director of touch panel and emerging display...

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Jun 27
Third generation of LBS to capitalize on location...

The LBS [location based services] market continues to grow strongly and with the arrival of always-on ubiquitous location, ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) believes that the market is ready to truly support location based advertising efforts.

In Western Markets, a third generation of location based services is now underway. It has forecast retail/shopping, ambient intelligence, hyperlocal social and personal asset tracking/BLE beacon applications to emerge as the next wave of important location based services over the next five years, with ABI Research forecasting a four-fold increase in revenues by 2019. In emerging regions the value of location is not lost with strong local deals/offers markets already emerging.

"In Asia, ABI Research sees LBS downloads breaking 4 Billion in 2019. In China, major Internet companies can see the necessity of location and are acquiring/integrating as they move to...

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Jun 26
Worldwide monitor market undergoes a slight decline

Worldwide PC monitor shipments totaled nearly 33.7 million units in the first quarter of 2014 (1Q14), a year-over-year decline of -0.4%, according to the IDC (www.idc.com) research group. IDC expects worldwide shipments to continue on their current trajectory, slipping to 106 million units for the full year 2018.

"Despite the overall decline, the shipment totals were stronger than the forecast of 31 million units," says Phuong Hang, program director, Worldwide Trackers at IDC. "Geographically, Japan and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) regions delivered the largest gains during the first quarter while Dell and HP both experienced solid shipment growth."

LED backlight technology adoption continues to increase with a new high of 92% market share in 1Q14. This represents a year-over-year increase of 16.4%. Screen size of 21.x-inches wide has held the largest worldwide share for the last six quarters, with 20.5% share...

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Jun 25
The Internet of Things to drive changes in the auto...

For the automotive industry the emergence of the IoT ("Internet of Things") constitutes a disruptive and transformative environment characterized by value chain and business model upheaval and a "collaborate or die" ecosystem friction reality prompting it to redefine and reinvent itself in order to capitalize on the huge opportunities in the new IoT economy, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

The absorption of the automotive industry in the wider IoT is driven by new connected car use cases such as EVs as a mobile grid and vehicles used as delivery locations, says the research group.

"As this IoT revolution unfolds, automotive innovation and value creation will be shifting to the boundaries with other verticals such as home automation, smart grids, smart cities, healthcare and retail,” says ABI Research vice president and practice director Dominique Bonte.

Vehicle-to-...

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Jun 24
Mobile game revenue will near $29 billion by 2016

A new report from Juniper Research (http://www.juniperresearch.com) says that 2016 total revenues from mobile games will reach US$28.9 billion, a growth of over 38% on the 2014 figure of $20.9 billion.

The report found that with the domination of casual gamers playing free-to-play games, developers’ approach has shifted from bulk acquisition of unique players. Under the new strategy, which brings mobile analytics to the fore, developers are increasing lifetime value through analyzing, (re)engaging and monetizing users, allowing for higher overall returns on investment.

The Juniper report finds that tablet users will spend more on in-game purchases and generate more revenues per device than smartphone users. The research group argues that in turn, the enhanced performance and graphical capabilities of tablet games is resulting in accelerated migration from traditional portable gaming...

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Jun 23
Enterprises drive demand for more seamless mobile...

As the smartphone and tablet markets continue to explode, and bring your own device (BYOD) becomes more prevalent within the enterprise, mobile print subsystems are being integrated within mobile operating systems (OS). According to new research from IDC (www.idc.com), mobile OSs are increasingly geared toward the enterprise and this focus is driving demand for more robust print capabilities.

"Integration of print subsystem in mobile OS architecture vastly simplifies the print workflow and print experience for users," says Dinesh Srirangpatna, research manager, IDC. "The print landscape is experiencing dramatic change and the tighter integration of mobile print capabilities is a positive sign for the entire print industry."

The mobile print subsystem offers users a uniform print experience across the mobile OS platform and will ultimately drive print volume. For example, all Android users (post KitKat) will...

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Jun 20
Mobile apps to have significant impact on information...

With digital business blurring the line between the physical and the digital worlds, consumer-centric mobile apps are playing an important role, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com)

The research group predicts that, by 2015, most mobile apps will sync, collect and analyze deep data about users and their social graphs, but most IT leaders are failing to consider the deep impact that mobile apps have on their information infrastructure. Gartner also predicts that, by 2017, wearable devices will drive 50% of total app interactions. This includes desktop-based app interactions and mobile apps, with mobile apps making up the majority of these interactions. 

"IT leaders should ensure they have infrastructure in place that takes into account data collected, not only via mobile apps, but also from apps running on wearable devices," says Roxane Edjlali, research director at Gartner. 

To date, most...

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Jun 19
Competition, new apps, innovation to drive smart home...

Smart home automation controllers in the form of control panels, gateways and bridges are at the center of the smart home ecosystem delivering automation in single point and whole home solutions. Smart home automation controller shipments will witness strong growth driven by ongoing mass market interest, lower cost and an expanding supplier base, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

Home broadband service providers such as Comcast and AT&T seeking to expand beyond access and entertainment services are adding home automation connectivity and features to their gateways and routers. CPE suppliers are also getting into the game to replace slimmer margins from their traditional broadband access equipment sales. Cisco, Netgear, Belkin, Technicolor have been quick to deliver smart home automation solutions for service providers. Pushing both groups are new entrants such as smartThings, Revolv, and...

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Jun 18
Organizations must prepare for security implications...

Increasing adoption of a more mobile, social, data-driven and consumer-like workplace is causing the breakdown of traditional security models and strategies, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com).


The research group predicts that by 2018, 25% of large organizations will have an explicit strategy to make their corporate computing environments similar to a consumer computing experience. Security organizations and leaders that fail to alter strategies to accommodate a more consumerized workforce will be sidelined by engaged organizations.

"Significant changes that impact an organization's approach to security are underway," says Tom Scholtz, vice president and Gartner Fellow. "Employee digital literacy has led to a growing consumerization movement within most enterprises, with employees using a wide variety of consumer-oriented apps for business purposes. Other workplace trends — such as out-tasking,...

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Jun 17
The Internet of Things moves beyond the buzz

While the interest and buzz around the Internet of Things (IoT) has grown steadily in recent years, the seemingly endless market promise continues to become reality.

According to new research from International Data Corporation (IDC), a transformation is underway that will see the worldwide market for IoT solutions grow from US$1.9 trillion in 2013 to $7.1 trillion in 2020. IDC (www.idc.coom) defines the Internet of Things as a network of networks of uniquely identifiable endpoints (or "things") that communicate without human interaction using IP connectivity – be it "locally" or globally.

Consumers continue to experience and embrace IoT in their homes, cars, and in many other aspects of their daily life. Globally, individuals are developing a high affinity for full-time connectivity, which makes consumer IoT a compelling proposition. Businesses are intrigued by the efficiencies, business process implications,...

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Jun 13
Mobile tariffs bundled with music drive mobile music...

Mobile phone Users with access to music bundled into their phone tariffs listen to music on their phones more actively than users without music bundles, according to the Strategy Analytics report "Listening to the Listeners: Mobile Music Survey Results" (http://sa-link.cc/zW).

The study – conducted across the US, China, France, Germany, Spain and the UK — revealed that 72% of mobile phone owners listen to music on their phone actively, or at least once a week, when music is bundled into their tariff compared to 46% for users without music bundled mobile plans.

"Mobile operators and handset manufacturers have a significant role to play in enabling the music industry to grow revenue through access to music that is bundled into customers' phone tariffs, or into the price of the phone," says Nitesh Patel, Director of Wireless Media Strategies, at Strategy Analytics. "Fast growing streaming digital music...

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Jun 12
Expanding LTE coverage priming VoLTE adoption

By the end of 2013, global LTE-related cellular subscriptions surpassed 230.9 million, 3.3% of mobile subs, and will continue to grow at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 36.6% between 2014 and 2019, to exceed two billion, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

The extensive presence of LTE networks is also stimulating the deployment of VoLTE. By the end of 2014, there are expected to be 59.6 million VoLTE subscriptions in place, and it is expected that nearly 56% of LTE-related cellular subscriptions will be using VoLTE services by the end of 2019.

"For VoLTE to be a success, there needs to be widespread adoption of the technology by handset vendors and not just the operators. There are some promising signs, though — it is anticipated that Apple will incorporate VoLTE into iPhone 6," says Marina Lu, research analyst at ABI Research.

The strong subscriber adoption in 2013 has...

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Jun 11
75% of mobile security breaches due to mobile app...

Nearly 2.2 billion smartphones and tablets will be sold to end users in 2014 according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com) While security incidents originating from mobile devices are rare, the research group says that by 2017, 75% of mobile security breaches will be the result of mobile application misconfiguration.

"Mobile security breaches are — and will continue to be — the result of misconfiguration and misuse on an app level, rather than the outcome of deeply technical attacks on mobile devices," says Dionisio Zumerle, principal research analyst at Gartner. "A classic example of misconfiguration is the misuse of personal cloud services through apps residing on smartphones and tablets. When used to convey enterprise data, these apps lead to data leaks that the organization remains unaware of for the majority of devices."

With the number of smartphones and tablets on the increase, and a decrease in...

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Jun 10
SMBs with 11+ employees spend $3,000 annual on tech...

Parks Associates (www.ParksAssociates.com) has announced a new report that reveals U.S. small businesses (SMBs) with more than 10 employees spend on average more than US$3,000 per year on tech support. The research firm notes only 28% of these SMBs report having a support subscription but tech support spending among all SMBs will increase over the next several years as they adopt more devices and cloud services and deal with an increasingly virtual workforce.

"Small businesses are traditionally conservative with their tech support spending, but new technology products and services are increasingly complex and promise increased functional capabilities," says Patrice Samuels, research analyst,Parks Associates. "This year, SMBs will spend nearly $400 million for computer and network setup and installation services. Their need for support will continue to increase as new devices enter the workplace and...

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Jun 06
First quarter consumer spending on video games at $4.6...

Spending on video game hardware grew 47% to US$983 million during the first quarter of 2014, but overall total industry consumer spending on video gaming fell 1 percent to $4.6 billion compared to the same period in 2013, according the NPD research group (www.npd.com).

The dramatic increase in hardware sales can be attributed to the new Xbox One and PlayStation 4 and these strong year-over-year trends are likely to continue through most of 2014, according to NPD Analyst Liam Callahan. Overall content was down 8% due to a decline in new physical format spending of 27% or $372 million. In contrast to the physical declines, digital format spending collectively increased by 4%, driven by full game downloads and DLC for consoles and portables.

"For the first quarter of 2014, content spending increased for used games, digital full games, DLC, and mobile with a modest increase in subscription revenue." Callahan said. "This...

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Jun 05
ABI Research: DIY is re-defining the home market

A new generation of smart-looking as well as connected smart home products is drawing a growing swathe of consumers into smart home device spending. Shipments of these devices will grow at a close to 30% CAGR [compound annual growth rate] between 2013 and 2019, however their impact will extend far beyond individual device sales, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

DIY is one of the stalwart segments of the smart home automation market. There have long been home automation enthusiasts with the technical ability and enthusiasm to build out home systems themselves; however, increasingly, devices like Nest’s Smart thermostats and Dropcam’s streaming video cameras are bringing simple-to-install, smart–home-DIY to a far wider audience.The popularity of these devices, that can be accessed and controlled by smartphone apps as well as the web, helps spawn wider evolution in the home automation market...

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Jun 04
IDC: Inkjet tech continues to dominate continuous-feed...

The worldwide continuous-feed, digital production print market is experiencing significant opportunity thanks to a major technology shift. According to new research from IDC (www.idc.com), the much anticipated shift from electrophotography (EP) to high-speed inkjet (HSIJ) came to fruition in 2013, and will continue through the 2014-2018 forecast period.

Placements of both monochrome and color EP equipment declined in the past year, while HSIJ installations continue on their growth path. IDC expects HSIJ to reach US$1 billion in equipment sales by 2018 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.8%.

Not only was HSIJ the only growth technology segment in the continuous feed production print market, but for the closely watched high-volume segments of 150+ ipm monochrome and HSIJ, HSIJ became the overall market share leader, achieving 54% of the placements. While the cross over in placements occurred in 2013, HSIJ...

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Jun 03
NPD: 34 million core players spend 22 hours per week...

There are 34 million core gamers in the U.S. spending an average of 22 hours per week playing video games, according to Core Gaming 2014, the latest report from global information company, The NPD Group (www.npd.com).

These 34 million core gamers, defined for this report as those individuals who play video games five or more hours a week on a PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, or Mac, and who play Action, Adventure, Fighting, Flight, Massively Multi-Player, Racing, Real Time Strategy, Role-Playing, Shooter, or Sport genres on any of those devices.

"Core gamers are really the lifeblood of the industry, spending tremendous amounts of time on their hobby of choice," says analyst Liam Callahan. "With the new console generation off to a great start, we can expect the amount of time spent gaming to increase as more core gamers adopt them."

While core gamers are most likely to play on consoles and...

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Jun 02
The Northern Spy: WWDC

By Rick Sutcliffe

Queue theory is something every programmer needs to know--especially if attending WWDC. First we entered our names in a request queue. After a wait of some weeks, The Spy and 6000 other fortunate ones received an invite to purchase a ticket to WWDC for $1700.

That taken care of, it was time to request accommodation from the convention management folk. Wait more weeks and the task became getting there. Since his wife needed a diversion, he decided to drive, abandon her to her own devices in downtown San Francisco for the five days, then holiday up the California and Oregon coasts on the way home. The arrangements for six more hotels took about the same amount of time as finding churches for the two Lord's Days involved, and in the end the tabbed paperwork filled a small looseleaf binder.

The three day drive from Abbotsford to San Francisco provided more exercises in queues--around and through Seattle, near Portland, and the...

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Jun 02
Gartner: U.S. consumers not concerned about BYOD...

Despite the rise in the use of personal devices for business use, U.S. consumers are showing scant concern for security when it comes to bring your own device (BOYD). According to a recent survey by Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com) a quarter of business users admitted to having had a security issue with their private device in 2013, but only 27%of those respondents felt obliged to report this to their employer.

The survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2013 with 995 full or part time workers in the U.S., all of whom use a private device for work purposes.
In a blog post, Meike Escherich, principal research analyst at Gartner, said that employee use of private mobile devices to access corporate information and services is exploding and with this trend comes a series of potential drawbacks.

"The threat of cyber attacks on mobile devices is increasing and can result in data loss, security breaches...

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May 30
Survey: 47% of consumers who’ve heard of the...

In light of the recent Heartbleed bug that left user credentials and sensitive information potentially susceptible to hackers and identity thieves, LifeLock (www.lifelock.com), a provider of identity theft protection services, has announced survey results that reveal consumers’ behavior and attitudes surrounding the security flaw.

The recent survey, conducted online April 28-30 by Harris Poll on behalf of LifeLock among over 2,000 U.S. adults who are online, demonstrated that, despite the potentially increased exposure due to Heartbleed, nearly half (47%) of consumers who have heard of Heartbleed had not taken measures to protect their personal information by changing online account passwords.

According to earlier LifeLock research conducted by Forrester, 70% of people believe they are using strong passwords. In the recent LifeLock study conducted by Harris Poll, less than half (42%) of those who use...

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May 28
Global Wi-Fi hotspots to grow to 7.1 million in 2015

Worldwide Wi-Fi deployments reached a total of 4.2 million hotspots in 2013, and will continue to grow at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 15.0% between 2013 and 2018, to exceed 10.5 million, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

Among the global Wi-Fi hotspots, 68.6% of Wi-Fi is in Asia-Pacific, followed by 12.3% in Latin America, 9.0% in Europe, 8.7% in North America, and 1.4% in Middle East and Africa. The number includes Wi-Fi hotspots deployed by mobile and fixed-line carriers as well as third party operators.

"The mobile data growth has boosted the build-out of Wi-Fi hotspots, as it is expected that the global mobile data traffic will grow to 190,000 petabytes in 2018, from 23,000 petabytes in 2013," says Marina Lu, research analyst at ABI Research. "Wi-Fi helps to offload 3G/4G mobile Internet users to Wi-Fi networks, which is a more cost-effective method for both mobile...

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May 23
Market for Bluetooth chipsets set to boom

Bluetooth shipments broke an annual two billion shipments in 2012 and are set to surpass three billion shipped during 2015 and four billion during 2018, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

"Cumulatively, over 19 billion chipsets will ship over the next five years," says research director Philip Solis. "Of various integration levels, standalone Bluetooth chipsets will be the largest group in 2019 followed by combo chipsets with Bluetooth and then integrated platforms with Bluetooth."

The market for Bluetooth chipsets has evolved greatly over the past decade, expanding from phones and headsets to a multitude of personal devices, accessories, and home automation devices. Of the 10 different combo chipset combinations ABI Research forecasts that include Bluetooth,

"Bluetooth + Wi-Fi + FM” chipsets will be the highest shipping combo type in 2014 as well as 2019. In 2014 this combo...

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May 22
Organizations say security is their top concern

Good Technology (www.good.com), which specializes in mobile security, announced key findings from the "Q1 2014 Good Mobility Index Report." This quarter, as organizations declared security as a top IT concern in 2014, the data shows a monumental increase in activations of more complex secure enterprise apps, most notably secure browsing. 
 
The data reported in this quarter's "Mobility Index Report" shows that the organizations across Good's diverse customer base are taking steps to mitigate security risks by leveraging secure mobile enterprise apps. Overall, secure enterprise app activations continued to see an impressive growth rate at 57% quarter over quarter, up from 54% and 43% growth from the last two quarters, respectively.

This is not surprising given recent data from the "2014 State of Endpoint Risk" report published by The Ponemon Institute, which highlights that within the IT environment, mobility...

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May 21
Worldwide fiber optic broadband subscriptions to...

The worldwide cable, DSL and fiber-optic fixed-line broadband subscriber base grew 6% in 2013 surpassing 665.4 million subscribers, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

The fiber-optic broadband segment grew at a robust rate, 29% from 2012 to 126.6 million subscribers in 2013. By 2019, fiber-optic broadband subscriptions will grow to 265 million subscribers, with a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 11.7%, according to the research group.

The global cable broadband market grew nearly 7% to 161 million subscribers while the DSL broadband market contracted around 1% to 378 million subscribers in 2013. An increasing number of customers opting for high-speed fiber-optic broadband service contributed to a decline in DSL broadband subscriptions in Asia-Pacific and North America.

"Global DSL broadband service revenue dropped nearly 2% in 2013, mainly due to a declining subscriber...

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May 20
CRM software market grew 13.7% in 2013

Worldwide customer relationship management (CRM) software totaled $20.4 billion in 2013, up 13.7 percent from $18 billion in 2012, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com).

"High levels of end-user investment in digital marketing and customer experience initiatives were the primary growth drivers of the market in 2013," said Joanne Correia, research vice president at the research group. "CRM will be at the heart of digital initiatives in coming years. This is one technology area that will get funding because digital business is critical for companies to remain competitive." 

Strong demand for software as a service (SaaS), which represented more than 4% of CRM total software revenue in 2013, was driven from organizations of all sizes seeking easier-to-deploy alternatives to replace legacy systems, implement net-new applications or provide alternative complementary functionality. 

Competition...

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May 19
Wi-Fi chipset shipments will near 18 billion chipsets...

With over 2.6 billion chipsets expected to ship during 2014, Wi-Fi is currently the most ubiquitous wireless connectivity technology for Internet access. As the technology continues to adapt and expand with new protocols such as 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11ad (WiGig), and Wi-Fi Direct, nearly 18 billion more chips will ship cumulatively from 2015 to 2019, according to ABI Research (www.abirsearch.com).

"There will be a roughly even split in 2019 for Wi-Fi chipsets of different integration levels," says research director Philip Solis of ABI Research. "Standalone, or discrete, Wi-Fi chipsets — increasingly targeting the Internet of Things – will be the largest group, followed by integrated platforms with Wi-Fi targeting mobile devices, followed by Wi-Fi combo chipsets."

Wi-Fi protocols will continue evolving as well. By the end of the forecast period, dual-band 802.11n/802.11ac will comprise the vast...

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May 15
Small businesses to spend $3.3 billion on content...

The Canalys research group (www.canalys.com) has announced its forecasts for small business investment worldwide in content security, highlighting an expected compound annual growth rate of 7.8% between 2014 and 2017. The global market grew 5.0% in 2013, reaching US$2.4 billion in value. This represented 28% of all content security market spend during the year.

"In 2013, IT security became more important to small businesses, driving overall security budgets upwards,’ says Canalys Senior Analyst, Nushin Vaiani. "Small businesses are beginning to understand the need to demonstrate to customers that their information is being handled securely, especially in light of numerous data breaches and the NSA scandal."

Vendors have also concentrated more on providing tailored products to suit small businesses.

"These solutions focus on simple deployment, a combination of data protection features and ease of...

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May 14
Cloud security market worth $8.71 billion by 2019

The MarketsandMarkets (www.marketsandmarkets.com) research group says that the cloud security market will be worth US$8.71 billion by 2019.

The increase in adoption of cloud computing, and growing demand for managed security services are playing a major role in shaping the future of cloud-based security services market. Even though there are various on-premise solutions available for all types of security, cloud security has become the prime importance for business who want to reduce CAPEX and support growing number of remote work force, according to MarketsandMarkets.

Cloud vendors provide better security solutions and are compatible with the complex cloud processing. It also enables the companies to become cost-efficient, scalable and increase the business agility. The biggest players in this market which contribute to the major market share are CA Technologies, IBM, Symantec,...

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May 12
Global pay TV market surpassed 900 million subscribers...

The global pay-TV subscriber base increased over 5% in 2013, raising the total to 901.1 million, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com). However the average revenue per user (ARPU) dropped slightly to $23.80 in 2013 from $24.10 in 2012, according to the research group

"In general, the pay-TV market grew both in terms of subscribers and service revenue across all pay-TV platforms. Overall pay-TV service revenue reached almost $250 billion in 2013," says Jake Saunders, vice president and practice director of core forecasting, ABI Research.

Pay-TV ARPU in North America increased around 4% to $76.00 in 2013. According to major pay-TV operators in North America, the growth in ARPU is due to a growth in the proportion of customers with advanced pay-TV set-top boxes and upgraded High Definition programming packages. Unfavorable currency exchange rates in Latin American countries have contributed to...

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May 09
Locations analytics market worth US$11.84 by 2019

Location analytics is the next revolution of business intelligence, according to MarketsandMarkets (www.marketsandmarkets.com). Enterprises now focus on marketing effectiveness for competitive and market intelligence. Innovative technologies help them to achieve such goals, according to the research group.

Maps and location analytics provide a whole new concept to organizations, which they incorporate into their operations to achieve high sales and operational profitability. Location analytics helps in creating a profitable distribution channel by gaining insights through tracking and monitoring routes.

The high demand of location analytics has led to the invention of new technologies and solutions. Deploying location analytics by analyzing data using a Geographical Information System (GIS) within business is becoming an important core strategy for success, says MarketsandMarkets....

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May 08
Gartner: digital marketing budgets will increase by 10...

Digital marketing budgets will rise by 10% in 2014, following a double-digit percentage increase in 2013, according to a survey of marketing executives by Gartner, Inc. The survey found that, on average, companies spent 10.7% of their annual 2013 revenue on overall marketing activities, with digital marketing spending averaging 3.1 percent of revenue.

These findings are included in Gartner's "Digital Marketing Spending" report that's based on a survey of 285 individuals located in the U.S., but answering mainly for their entire organization (only 21% reported U.S.-only data). Respondents represent organizations with more than $500 million in annual revenue (average revenue $4.4 billion) across eight industries: financial services and insurance, high-tech, communications, manufacturing, media, retail, government and healthcare. The survey took place from July through September 2013.

"Marketing leaders are securing bigger budgets to define markets, develop offerings,...

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May 07
Digital influences more than $1 trillion in retail...

Digital interactions influence 36 cents of every dollar spent in the retail store, or approximately US$1.1 trillion, according to the latest study from Deloitte Digital.  By the end of 2014, that number will climb to 50%, or $1.5 trillion of total store sales.

"Mobile and online transactions represent only a sliver of total retail revenue potential," says Kasey Lobaugh, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and Deloitte Digital's chief retail innovation officer.  "Retailers that narrowly focus on digital commerce – rather than the full journey that leads to a purchase – often fail to recognize how their customers shop and make decisions in the store.  The result is a digital divide between what consumers do and what retailers deliver.  This gap not only threatens overall revenue, but requires retailers to reset the way they measure and invest in digital efforts."

Looking solely at smartphones, industry estimates put mobile commerce sales at roughly $40 billion today.  By...

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May 06
Femtocells markets to reach $4.8 million by 2019

According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research (http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com), the global femtocells market was US$420 million in 2012 and is expected to reach $4,706 million in 2019; growing at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 37.1% from 2013 to 2019.

A femtocell is a small, low-power cellular base station. In recent years, increasing femtocell deployments by a large number of mobile operators such as Sprint, Verizon and AT&T in North America, helped North America to dominate the market in 2012. Europe was the second largest market for femtocells as a large number of operators including Vodafone and Telefonica Group have rolled out femtocell services in this region.

The femtocell market is primarily driven by technological advancements and decreasing cost of femtocell devices. In addition, its increasing...

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May 05
Mobile location-based advertising will be worth € 10.7...

According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight (www.berginsight.com), the total value of the global real-time mobile location-based advertising and marketing (LBA) market will grow from € 1.2 billion in 2013 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 54% to € 10.7 billion in 2018.

This will then correspond to 38.6% of all mobile advertising and marketing. Location-based advertising and marketing will thus represent around 7% of digital advertising, or 2% of the total global ad spend for all media, according to the research group.
 
The past year has seen a number of significant developments in the real-time mobile LBA space. One example is the concept of beacons based on Bluetooth low energy (BLE).

"The concept of Bluetooth marketing has been reinvigorated following Apple’s introduction of iBeacon in 2013,"says Rickard Andersson, senior analyst, Berg Insight....

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May 02
The Northern Spy: much ado about something

By Rick Sutcliffe

… but, what are those somethings?

Rumours continue to swirl about Apple and its certain/probable/possible/mythical/impossible product introductions for 2014 (some may be all five at once). Given Apple's recent history, and that we've made it this far into the year without any major introductions, the Spy is convinced (has managed to convince himself—Nellie) that WWDC will be the venue for some significant product announcements.

Our reader may recall that by delaying two minutes after 0900 on ticket sale day in 2013, he missed by nearly half a minute the "sold-out" state for the 5000 tickets. This year, he put in his name on receiving Apple's kind invitation to do so, and was astonished to receive approval to buy after a random draw a few days later, so is one of the favoured ones--his first WWDC in several years. He anticipates interesting days in early June San Francisco. In what respect?

By all appearances Apple is...

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May 02
Almost three-fourths of app users don't want/...

Following OTT and content licensing announcements at NAB and the Aereo, Inc. case before the Supreme Court, Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) says that pay-TV penetration remains fairly steady at around 85% of U.S. broadband households but over-the-top (OTT) video use is increasing on multiple devices, particularly with younger viewers.

"Pay-TV subscriptions remain high among Millennials, but at the same time, nearly 40% in this age group consider online video the most important source for video content," says Glenn Hower, research analyst, Parks Associates. "As consumers diversify their viewing resources, the licensing process becomes more complex. Additionally, the Supreme Court case in ABC v. Aereo could drastically reshape the licensing environment for retransmission. A win by Aereo may set legal precedent for a method to rebroadcast without compensation."

Parks Associates...

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May 01
Operators should deploy carrier grade Wi-Fi

As worldwide Mobile Broadband Traffic heads toward 200 Exabytes per year, operators deploy 4G LTE, LTE-A, plead for spectrum, and try to manage usage through policy and pricing. The physics of mobile broadband radio do not follow Moore’s Law of digital scaling, so leading-edge operators are ready to address the physical realities of small cells. Nevertheless, the question remains; why not deploy carrier grade Wi-Fi with the small cells?

Industry advocates and operators are calling for more spectrum, and with HotSpot 2.0 gaining traction, operators should consider unlicensed Wi-Fi spectrum and Small Cells with Carrier Grade Wi-Fi as part of their portfolio.

“Wi-Fi is an integral part of the smartphone and tablet experience, and operators will do well to make Carrier Wi-Fi a part of that experience," says Joe Hoffman, practice director, mobile networks, ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

...

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Apr 30
Major cloud service providers threaten smaller players...

In the last week of March, major Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) in Asia dropped their prices for core services dramatically and IDC (www.idc.com) believes that this will make it very difficult for smaller CSPs to remain in business if they continue to rely on provision of basic, undifferentiated services.

"If the smaller CSPs are strong enough with decent customer bases, they will be acquired by larger providers. If not, then they're road-kill. In any case, both of the above will drive consolidation amongst the cloud vendors," says Chris Morris, AVP, Services Asia Pacific, and Lead Analyst, Cloud Services & Technologies, IDC Asia/Pacific.

Morris explains that Cisco's announcement of its InterCloud partnerships with several major SPs is based on differentiated Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) - differentiated by way of linkage of the Cisco technology layers (hardware and software) to provide a network service...

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Apr 29
ABI Research: smartphone chipsets in wearables...

ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) reports that smartphone components are being used in smartwatches in lieu of optimized smartwatch components, even when claimed otherwise. Teardowns of a number of devices found that nobody has an optimal wearable peripheral solution yet.

The Samsung Galaxy Gear and Z-watch use application processors originally targeted for smartphone/tablets and the uWatch goes a step further by using a full blown GPRS SOC, MediaTek MT6260, but only uses the integrated BT. Other watches like the Sony series and Pebble use discrete solutions. The end result is less than optimal battery life and unnecessary cost/size that get passed on to the consumer, according to the research group.

"Our findings show the chipset suppliers are playing the 'wait and see' game before making investments into wearable peripherals," says Jim Mielke, ABI Research’s vice president of engineering. "Of the...

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Apr 29
Identify theft, virus fears driving new demands for...

New research from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) shows that over 50% of U.S. smartphone and tablet owners are interested in tech support services that provide protection against loss, theft, or virus/infection, despite less than 10% experiencing such problems.

The research also notes that over one-fourth of U.S. broadband households are likely to purchase Internet-capable home monitoring products.

"Even though consumers encounter a wide range of problems with smartphones and tablets, they show highest interest in receiving support services that protect and secure their devices," says Patrice Samuels, research analyst, Parks Associates. "For example, 55% of smartphone owners want a service that protects their device from viruses and identity theft, and approximately 50% want a service that repairs or replaces their device if accidentally damaged, even though short battery life and...

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Apr 28
NPD: active mobile broadband connections to double

By the end of 2015, active mobile broadband devices are forecast to reach 34 million, a nearly 50% increase from 2013, according to The NPD Group "Connected Intelligence Mobile Broadband Market Share and Forecast Report." Two-thirds (66 percent) of those devices will be tablets.

Driven primarily by enterprise demand, USB stick modems were the primary mobile broadband devices until the end of 2012, says The NPD Group (www.npd.com). Standalone mobile hotspots gained popularity in 2011 and 2012, but both devices have seen substantial declines over the year as more consumers are utilizing the hotspot features on their tablets and smartphones.

Tablets currently account for 40% of mobile broadband connections, and as USB sticks and mobile hotspots decline, carriers will need to boost adoption of the connected tablet.  As this shift occurs the price of embedded cellular tablet should rapidly decline.

"Tablets are...

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Apr 25
Research and Markets: Augmented reality market poised...

The news is full of stories concerning augmented reality; mostly in the context of the Google Glass project. Google glasses have been banned from bars, casinos, locker rooms, healthcare facilities and many government agencies.

The fear is that, armed with a forward facing camera, the devices will compromise peoples’ privacy and perhaps disclose confidential information. The dynamic is definitely one of concerned skepticism.

Nevertheless, augmented reality is entering the market, riding on the coattails of increasingly capable smartphones and a rich ecosystem of innovative software applications. Add in the new wave of wearable devices, such as smart watches, and the market is primed for explosive growth that will transform both mobility and consumer communication services, according to Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com).

Regarding smart watches, just about every...

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Apr 24
Indoor location installations could break 30,000 in...

2014 is shaping up to be a breakout year for indoor location technologies in retail environments, as early adopters enter the final year of the three-year technology adoption cycle, shifting from trials to full-scale deployments, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

Furthermore, BLE/iBeacons is creating a wave of second generation start-ups in this space that will help to drive new growth and use cases across all major verticals. Combined, this is expected to result in over 30,000 indoor location installations in 2014.

In the latest edition of ABI Research’s quarterly Market Data "Location Technologies," forecasts for the adoption and resulting revenues for all indoor location technologies are provided across over 11 major retail verticals.

"We can clearly see major grocery and pharmacy chains really pushing towards this technology," says Senior Analyst Patrick Connolly. "These...

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Apr 23
Gartner: digital businesses will sport opportunities...

The hallmark of a digital business will be the ability to spot opportunities that might span a matter of just seconds, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). The research group introduced the concept of a "business moment" — a transient opportunity that is exploited dynamically — in 2013 and expects these moments to occur more and more frequently as enterprises migrate from today's world to the digital business world. 

Digital business is the creation of new business designs by blurring the digital and physical worlds. It promises to usher in an unprecedented convergence of people, business and things that disrupts existing business models, even those born of the Internet and e-business eras. Gartner predicts that by 2020, more than seven billion people and businesses, and at least 30 billion devices, will be connected to the Internet. With people, businesses and things communicating, transacting and even...

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Apr 22
ABI Research: home network penetration to pass 33% of...

Worldwide home network penetration is expected to climb from 24.8% in 2013 to 33.2% by 2018, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com). Growth is driven by the continued spread of broadband services and demand for multiscreen video services, according to the research group.

What is seen as commonplace in mature markets, including server provided broadband routers with integrated Wi-Fi access points and leveraging fixed broadband connections to offload expensive mobile data packages while consuming large amounts of content, is slower to move to emerging markets. In some cases, this is driven primarily by low service ARPU while in others it is simply limited fixed broadband infrastructure.

"Wi-Fi remains the most important networking technology, but despite an ever growing number of connected devices in consumer households, the demand for next generation wireless technologies will likely occur...

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