Jan 2008

The Emerging Non-Voice Applications in Wireless Telecom Services.
The wireless telecom services sector is in the threshold of a rapid increase in non-voice segments. This growth is likely to be driven by a proliferation of new applications and services (rather than the SMS-led growth of the past). Industry participants are highlighting GPS, Mobile Payment and Social Networking as some of the key growth applications.

The Growth of Mobile Data Applications: Select Trends.
The installed base of GPS-embedded handsets is expected to treble from its current levels (mostly in high-end handsets) to over 550 million in the next 4 years. The growth is likely to be most pronounced in Europe where the installed base is expected to jump about 20x to 90 million during this time. MORE DETAILS

Mobile payment, though a relatively untested service, is likely to take off in the emerging markets of Asia given the lower penetration of conventional payment infrastructure (credit card, bank accounts) for payment and remittances in these markets, relative to developed markets of North America and West Europe. MORE DETAILS

Corporate Social Networking is likely to be another key growth driver, notably in the smartphone segment given its tight security infrastructure. MORE DETAILS

Feb 2008

Emerging Markets Shake Up the Old Order in Telecoms.
The super-charged growth of wireless telecom services sectors in emerging markets is transforming the global sector landscape with emergence of regional powerhouse in India (Bharti), China (China Telecom) and MENA region (Orascom, MTN) that co-exist with select operators from developed world (Vodafone, Telefonica and AT&T) that are aggressively investing to participate in the emerging markets growth.. MORE DETAILS

Impact on Mobile Handset Manufacturing Sector.
The changing sector landscape is directly impacting the OEM segments – notably handset suppliers. Their recent growth have been contingent significantly on their ability to deliver ultra-low cost handsets to help drive rapid penetration growth in emerging markets. MORE DETAILS. This has significantly impacted the Average Selling Price levels and has further accentuated the importance of scale in this business (only Nokia has been able to preserve their margins). However, the economics of developing mass-market handsets is expected to be significantly affected with the launch of Google’s Android platform. MORE DETAILS

Some OEMs, notably Nokia, are also transforming their business model to adapt to the changing industry landscape. Nokia has unveiled a series of initiatives during the last 2 years to leverage its brand-equity and installed device base to enter the services business and maintain and ongoing engagement with end-users. However, such integrated hardware-services business model suffers from several implementation issues, notably the management of effective vendor relationships with mobile operators. MORE DETAILS

Mar 2008

Rapid Growth of Mobile Broadband.
Mobile broadband uptake is hitting the “critical mass” threshold. Preliminary indicators suggest a rapid adoption of rich-data services on the mobile platform during 2008-09. MORE DETAILS. This growth has been significantly driven by a rationalisation of operator pricing structures. MORE DETAILS

Apr 2008

Internet to hit full capacity by 2010.
Bandwidth capacity constraints could significantly dampen the rapid growth trajectory of web services. Although several large operators (Verizon, BT, etc.) are continuing their multi-billion dollar investments programme in upgrading their network assets, the proliferation of bandwidth-hungry applications and interactions models (notably Web 2.0 era) could potentially drive bandwidth demand to catch up with supply in the next 3-5 years. MORE DETAILS

Key Growth Trends in the Telecom Sector.
A recent article in Telephony Online offers a comprehensive snapshot of the rapidly evolving $ 3.5 trillion Telecom services sector. It summarises key segment dynamics, including i) overall sector growth with wireless revenue growth more than offsetting wireline revenue decline; ii) strong growth in wireless revenues driven primarily by rapid adoption of wireless data services and; iii) the projected significant investments in new services (IPTV) and infrastructure (data centres) http://telephonyonline.com/software/news/.

The projected investment growth remains consistent with preliminary evidence of a acceleration in BSS/ OSS and data centre investments by telecom operators http://telephonyonline.com/software/news/ and http://www.datacentres.com/news/

Future Growth Scenarios for Enterprise Applications Sector.
The Enterprise Applications Software giants are pursuing he SME customer segments for future growth given the saturation of Enterprise sector (>80% penetration) and recent round of industry consolidation (integration of BI specialists like Business Objects, Hyperion and Cognos into end-to-end Enterprise Applications giants SAP, Oracle and IBM). However, the emergence of Enterprise 2.0 could potentially open up new opportunities for future growth with the likely need for integrating traditional customer/ supplier/ resource management tools with the new breed of collaboration tools and technologies. A recent article examines the growth prospects of the Enterprise 2.0 segment http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/

Google’s growth strategy & options.
The Google juggernaut remains unstoppable despite recent concerns about weakness in online/ search advertising market as well as the potential fallout from a Microsoft/ Yahoo consolidation. The Financial Times article examines Google’s long-term strategy and growth options by drawing parallels with Microsoft; 1) Google’s 70% - and growing – share of its core search advertising market makes it a dominant (and potentially feared) force; 2) Google investing a significant share of its huge profits – derived entirely from the core search business – in search for the next growth engine (like Microsoft which still derives its profits almost entirely from the core Windows/ Office business while its online, gaming and media businesses continue to lose money). Industry observers, therefore, a closely watching out for early signs of success in Google’s key investment programmes in new business areas (notably the one in its Android mobile platform).

The Emerging Competitive Dynamics in the Smart Device Market:
Apple’s recent entry– and Nokia’s renewed incursion – into the smartphone segment of the mobile device industry is likely to challenge RIM/ Blackberry’s long-held dominance of the market. Furthermore, suggests a recent FT article, RIM’s strong exposure to the enterprise segment (relative to Nokia and Apple’s consumer franchise) as well as its significant reliance on the North American market (relative to Nokia and Apple’s geographically diversified sales) makes it more vulnerable in the current economic scenario.

Index research suggests a likely “de-consolidation” of the market during the next 12-24 months with the emergence of distinct user segments, defined primarily by the relative usage intensity of different non-voice applications (e.g. emails, multi-media, gaming, etc.).

The Battle for Mobile OS Leadership:
The competitive landscape in the mobile OS space has significantly transformed with the recent series of significant initiatives/ announcements. Google’s entry in the domain (with open-source based Android), Apple’s successful launch of iPhone and finally Nokia’s decision to embrace open source by (fully acquiring and then) throwing open its Symbian platform has shifted the battlefield to the application space and left Microsoft as the last remaining significant player with a license-fee model. (see details)

Feb 2007

Mobile operators are continuing to experiment with innovative applications in their effort to shift growth focus from penetration to ARPU. Two major initiatives were launched recently to introduce specialised "retail" services and media applications in both developed and emerging markets, as outlined in these articles.

Mar 2007

In a landmark judgment, US federal regulators recently ruled that local loop operators must carry VoIP calls from independent providers. This is likely to have industry-wide repurcussions as specialised VoIP service providers - without legacy constraints - are rapidly growing on the back of increasing broadband penetration in most major markets.

Apr 2007

The Hype Around Web-2.0
Online social networking "services" are enjoying a significant surge in investor and consumer interest. The sector is still in its infancy with revenue models and service platforms still evolving and far from stabilisation. The article examines if this is a precursor to another hype cycle on the net.

Apr 2007

Consolidation in the Business Intelligence Sector.
Business Intelligence ("BI") has been the youngest "segment" within the Enterprise Application ("EA") sector with independent specialist firms still dominating the market. However, Oracle's acquisition of Hyperion is likely to mark the beginning of a consolidation phase that will integrate BI into the growing portfolio of mainstream EA offerings (a la the CRM consolidation cycle of the last18 months). This article examines the sector implications of Oracle's acquisition of Hyperion.

Jul 2007

Outsourcing Trends.
CNET examines the five key trends in Outsourcing. These trends suggest the likely continuation of consolidation in the sector as customers move larger sections of their activities to specialist suppliers with a diversified footprint of multi-locational delivery assets.

Aug 07 - Oct 07

Application Giants Move Downstream.
Apple entry into the convergent device sector was designed to pre-empt potential "de-verticalisation" of its profitable digital music download business. However, the entry of Microsoft and Google into wireless networks and services business is likely to have a more far-reaching impact on both the application services and mobile services sectors. These articles ("Ballmer: Calling on Mobile" and "Google versus the Telecoms") discusses the strategic import of these moves.

Sep 07 - Nov 07

The "Greening" of the Technology Business.
Energy efficiency has been a key theme in innovation across several technology segments, including storage equipments, servers, mobile base stations and even handsets. These articles examine some of the relevant issues - a) Bob Worrall (CIO, Sun Microsystems) discusses how the emphasis on energy efficiency makes strong business and financial sense for customer segments; b) Butler Group (an independent research firm) argues how virutalisation (the latest "hot" tech domain) aligns strongly to the green business case.

Dec 2007

Enterprise software gets smarter.
During 2007, the industry witnessed a further consolidation cycle with integration of Business Intelligence segment (specialists) into mainstream Enterprise Application platforms (horizontal suites). In addition, the sector continued its aggressive pursuit of SME client base as well as a relatively serious entry of “on-demand” models by mainstream players.

Jan 2006

Although Mobile TV is projected to be a growth sector, several key issues (notably, business models and technology standards) remain unclear

Feb 2006

The anticipated growth in Mobile TV has triggered a battle for standards and platforms among leading vendors

Feb 2006

The increasing emphasis on business case for IT projects is forcing IT services firm to acquire domain expertise

Mar 2006

The battle for domination of the mid-market Enterprise Application sector has ensued with a consolidation of the fragmented sector .

Mar 2006

Telecom equipment vendors are actively developing Managed Services business as a new of source of growth and predictable revenue streams

Apr 2006

The challenge in sustaining compatibility between different content and device formats is growing, as the evolution path of the two sectors diverge

Jun 2006

Enterprises are embracing Web-2.0 platform to revive efficient and effective workplace collaboration

Aug 2006

Infrastructure Managed Services business is growing rapidly driven by increasing technology complexity, shortening technology life-cycle, deepening shortage of IT skill-sets, enhanced reliability of communication networks and growing customer openness to outsource non-core processes

Sep 2006

Wireless operators are gradually embracing WiFi as a “complementary” access technology by offering integrated service propositions to customers

Nov 2006

This article examines the status of IPTV rollout in select key markets and the key issues impacting its rollout and adoption

Dec 2006

This article examines the distinctive propositions and relative success of incumbent "aggregators" and upstart "specialised niche operators" in the interent space. It contends that the Web 2.0 growth is being driven - to a large extent - by compelling innovations in niche domains and the subsequent rapid adoption of the "proven" models by the incumbent aggregators.

Feb 2005

Companies are increasingly emphasising the connect between strategy and M&A. This is reflected in the valuation of businesses transacted says the BusinessWeek article

April 2005

A new consolidation wave is emerging in the European telecom sector as players shift focus from financial restoration to business growth, suggests this Business Week article

May 2005

Competitive and technological trends are accelerating consolidation activities in the IT services sector, says this Business Week article

June 2005

An article from The Times captures the pricing and growth issues facing the broadband access industry as it enters mass-market stage in the UK

Aug 2005

A new industry research forecasts dramatic shifts in the advertising landscape with revenues rapidly migrating from traditional media to online domain.

Sep 2005

The rapid rise of VoIP up the adoption curve is likely to be accelerated with the entry of giants from the internet (Google, eBay and MSN) and cable TV worlds (Comcast, Cox, Time Warner and Cablevision). This is likely to further accentuate the decline of incumbent’s voice business model.

Oct 2005

The convergence of communications, media and broadcast is being accelerated by the launch of “versatile terminals” or handsets capable of delivering multiple digital services from several communication network platforms. This is likely to redefine the industry structure for delivering information and entertainment to consumers.

Nov 2005

Free newspapers are grabbing an increasing share of circulation in key markets suggests a recent research report. This trend is likely to significantly redefine the economics of newspaper business and advertising.

Dec 2005

The decoupling of content and delivery in the internet business is driving a rethink of network business models.