Type of Article: MacTech Blog

ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) says that the installed base of mobile devices (smartphones, basic mobile phones, wearables, tablets, and notebooks) will reach 8 billion by 2019, providing a huge installed base for rechargeable batteries and charging solutions.

The worldwide Wi-Fi customer premises equipment (CPE) market is expected to grow 11% in 2014, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com). The research group says total shipments of Wi-Fi access points, routers, and residential gateways are set to surpass 176 million units by the end of 2014.

“Growth is expected in all regions, driven by increased broadband penetration and more connected devices in homes,” says Jake Saunders, vice president and practice director, ABI Research.

While mobile devices are an integral part of the workplace, the cyber security practices and budgets in most organizations are not keeping pace with the growing number of devices that must be managed and kept secure. According to a new survey issued by Raytheon Company (http://www.raytheon.com), 52% of organizations and employees frequently sacrifice security practices to realize the efficiency benefits of mobile connectivity.

Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) says the importance of interoperability for consumers increases with each smart home device purchased. Currently 13% of U.S. broadband households own at least one smart home device, and 60% of those who have purchased three devices feel it is very important for the devices to work together as part of a system, says the research group.