Page 14 - index

RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS

Frost & Sullivan: 2015 is

the year of software

defined everything!

Frost & Sullivan predicts digital disruption to be the 2015 is seen to be the year of software-defined every-
norm across industries as they look to transform to thing as the software defined revolution spreads be-
keep their business relevant amidst the ever-changing yond the boundaries of the data centers. Programma-
technological landscape. The analysts expects that en- ble networks will enable the creation of new business
abling technologies such as low cost sensors, cloud applications and services, which will drive efficiencies
computing, advanced data analytics and mobility will and new service models.
drive this revolution.
However, the adoption of the Internet of Things is chal-
Key examples of industries expected to undergo IT driv- lenging as there are several obstacles that could pre-
en transformations include Energy (Smart Grids), Media vent rapid growth. Security and information privacy are
(Content Streaming) and Manufacturing (3D Printing), some of the largest hurdles to the adoption of IoT. With
all of which will be influenced by the Internet of Things, smart and connected devices, embedded in business
Frost & Sullivan revealed. processes and tied to critical functions, the ability to
negatively affect enterprises and individuals is signifi-
“By 2017, the Internet of Things (IoT) market will be one cantly increased.
of the fastest growing segments in the Asia Pacific tech-
nology industry. The total Asia Pacific spending on IoT Mobile Outlook 2015
spending is forecasted to be US$59 billion by 2020.
This offers real opportunities, especially in areas of Traditional mobile communications revenue, compris-
manufacturing and consumer technology, which are ing of voice and non-voice (mobile data and SMS ser-
expected to be two of the fastest growing segments vices), was estimated to be US$567 billion in 2014. The
over the next two years”, opined Mr. Andrew Milroy, market will continue to grow, albeit at a modest rate of
Senior Vice President, ICT Practice, Asia Pacific at 2.7% over a 5-year CAGR to reach US$627 billion by
Frost & Sullivan. 2018, Frost & Sullivan states. To buffer the decline in
voice and SMS, data consumption is expected to drive
The analyst believes that the level of digitization in the revenue growth across most of Asia, with key factors
manufacturing industry has not kept up with the pace of including LTE services, smartphone proliferation and
other industries such as telecoms, but the onset of In- an increase in the consumption of multimedia content
dustry 4.0 is set to change that. Various initiatives by such as real time gaming and video entertainment; all
organizations such as the Smart Manufacturing Leader- of which are bandwidth intensive especially for larger
ship Coalition (SMLC), aim to bring together stakehold- screen devices.
ers to develop the measures needed to facilitate the
broad adoption of manufacturing intelligence. In particular, Mr. Ajay Sunder, Vice President of Tele-
coms, Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific pointed out, that
Besides manufacturing, the wearables market is also data driven devices, rise of the digital consumer and
experiencing strong growth. Frost & Sullivan estimates declining revenue per unit of data are key trends that
the global wearable technology market at US$8.58 bil- service providers should take note in devising their
lion in 2014 to reach US$38 billion in 2017 with a CAGR strategy in the digital era.
of 34% from 2014 to 2018. According to Mr. Milroy, the
Asia Pacific region accounts for just over 4% of the “Whilst falling smartphone prices, generous telecom
global market and will lag behind other mature markets plans and a high smartphone penetration rate of 72% in
in North America and Europe in the uptake of weara- Singapore, provide growth opportunities, service pro-
bles, which are currently dominated by standalone de- viders must be mindful of the exponential data surge
vices such as activity trackers and wearable recordings. and resulting network congestion which will compro-
mise the quality of experience that is expected in a ma-
“It is expected that wearables such as smart watches ture market like Singapore,” Mr. Sunder noted.
and smart glasses with a wider range of functions will
eventually overtake all other wearable devices to adopt 2015: Data Driven Devices
a premium position in the market. Notably, the smart
glasses are anticipated to do extremely well, with many Smartphone penetration across the region is steadily
promising application opportunities across industries rising, along with a growing number of smart devices.
such as healthcare and manufacturing,” Mr. Milroy not- These data driven devices are accelerating the shift

ed. from voice to data usage transition.
14 Asian eMarketing January 2015 - Digital Marketing Trends & Predictions