Type of Article: MacTech Blog

Flexera (www.flexera.com), the company that’s “reimagining how software is bought, sold, managed and secured, has announced an IDG Research/Flexera CIO QuickPulse poll revealing that IT execs remain extremely concerned about the visibility of applications deployed in the cloud – specifically Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) implementations.  

New data from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) shows that 49% of U.S. broadband households use a personal assistant through an app or dedicated device, which is a key use case for a voice-based user experience. Currently 10% of U.S. broadband households own a smart speaker with a personal assistant, such as an Amazon Echo or Google Home, notes the research group.

International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts that the worldwide managed cloud services market will grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 18% with spending reaching $62.8 billion in 2021.

Virtual reality headset shipments are showing no signs of slowing, as the quarterly total exceeded one million units for the first time in quarter three (Q3) of 2017, according to the Canalys (www.canalys.com) research group.

Sony took the lead, shipping more than 490,000 PlayStation VR (PS VR) sets in Q3. It was followed by Oculus, which shipped 210,000 of its Rift headsets. HTC took third place, shipping 160,000 Vive VR units. Collectively, Sony, Oculus and HTC made up 86% of the total market in Q3 2017.

The global smart TV market is expected to reach $292.55 billion by 2025, according to Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com). The introduction of 4K resolution-equipped televisions, coupled with the shifting preference toward OLED and QLED displays, is expected to emerge as a major trend in the smart TV industry, according to the research group.