A new report from Juniper Research (www.juniperesearch.com) forecasts that smart toy sales will reach $15.5 billion in hardware and app content revenues by 2022, up from an estimated $4.9 billion in 2017.

This increase will primarily be driven by the growing popularity of smartphone-based connected toys and the enduring appeal of console-connected “toys to life,” action figures that interact with a video game via a reader device, adds the research group. The new research identified the Lego Group as being particularly well positioned in this category, with their successful “toys to life” range, Lego Dimension. Juniper forecasts that 224 million smart toys will be shipped worldwide in 2017.

The study found that many players in the smart toy segment are not only appealing to children, but also to ‘“kidults” and collectors, as demonstrated by Sphero’s BB8 app-enabled droid and Lego Dimension’s A-...

A new study by ID Analytics (www.idanalytics.com), which specializes in consumer risk management, finds that using alternative credit scores for safe lending can dramatically increase the number of individuals that are considered eligible for credit.

Through the use of alternative scores, lenders are able to see a more complete picture of an applicant’s credit worthiness. This enables more marginal, subprime or unscoreable individuals to take advantage of mainstream financial services.

While a significant number of U.S. consumers rely on credit for financial stability, many have difficulty gaining access to credit due to no or poor traditional credit scores. Millennials, immigrants and individuals with lower incomes are groups that are most likely to be seen by lenders and bureaus as “unscoreable.”

Traditional credit scores take into account data from credit card, mortgage, student and auto...

The combined consumer and enterprise worldwide wireless local area network (WLAN) market segments decreased 0.8% year over year in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17), finishing at $2.15 billion, according to IDC.


The enterprise segment grew 4.4% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17) to reach $1.24 billion, notes the research group. Enterprise WLAN growth moderated in 1Q17 compared to 1Q16, when year-over-year growth registered a stronger 8.6%. However, demand for network refreshes, digital transformation (DX) initiatives, and the continued maturation of Wave 2 802.11ac are positive indicators for stronger growth going forward in 2017.

The 802.11ac standard now accounts for 70.9% of dependent access point unit shipments and 84.7% of dependent access point revenues. This points to a continued trend of 802.11n obsolescence, which is expected to be nearly complete by the end of 2018, says IDC.

Meanwhile, consumer WLAN market revenue decreased 7.0% on a...

Cloud computing is no longer a decision made solely for tactical reasons like cost savings or ease of implementation, according to InSight (https://www.insight.com/en_US/home.html). Key strategic business demands—the need for greater business agility, data capabilities, and better customer and user experiences—are compelling companies to embrace cloud systems, according to the research group.

Respondents to an InSight survey are nearly split when it comes to hybrid and private cloud adoption, while total public cloud usage captures only a fraction of the market:

° Hybrid approach with systems hosted in both the public and private clouds (42%);

° Host most of their systems in a private cloud (40%);

° Host most in the public cloud (13%).

The types of systems most likely to reside in the cloud, include:

° Email and communication tools (54%);...

The Gartner research group (www.gartner.com) reports that half of all enterprise content will be machine authored, as well as managed on hybrid cloud systems by 2018.

File synchronization and sharing also are expected be a standard embedded Enterprise Content Management (ECM) business function, while over one-fifth of all businesses will be managing content from multiple organizations. These realities emphasize the urgent need for businesses to update and future-proof processes by investing in systems that allow content to be smoothly integrated and easily accessed online, in order to remain competitive, says Gartner.

Across financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, legal and retail industries, the demand for ECM and Business Process Management (BPM) systems ) to be personalized and hyper-connected is rapidly increasing - magnified by the continuous rise in e-commerce and an increasingly agile...

Compuware Corp. (www.compuware.com), a mainframe-dedicated software company, has released a survey of large company CIOs showing that while most (78%) say their mainframe is more secure than other systems, the majority (84 percent) say they are still exposed to a significant risk of insider threats due to blind-spots in internal data access and controls.

The survey was conducted by independent research company Vanson Bourne, and administered in April to 400 CIOs at large companies covering a cross-section of vertical markets in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the U.S. Key findings include:

° Sixty-four percent of organizations use the mainframe as a core repository of their most sensitive data, storing either more or equal amounts of customers’ Personally Identifiable Information (PII) there as they do on other systems.

° Seventy-eight percent of organizations said their mainframe is...

Most of us rely on popular social media platforms for our social connectivity and well-being.

These platforms do a great job in connecting us with our friends, relatives, and acquaintances. In fact, the level of connectivity they provide is so high that many of us unknowingly attain a level of hyper-connectivity that blinds us from interacting with everyone else who's not already in our social network.

People in our immediate surroundings share common experiences with us. Whether its those that are waiting for the same train as you, the thousands of fellow spectators that are watching the same football game at a stadium with you, or everyone staying in the same hotel as you — you have more in common, and thus more reasons to interact, with people in your immediate vicinity than you realize. Unfortunately, most of these people are not already in your social network and therefore, opportunities to interact with them are usually lost.

Social media platforms must...

Worldwide shipments of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets continued to soar with a total of 2.3 million units shipped in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17), according to IDC (www.idc.com). With a long list of new products scheduled to ship in the second half of 2017, the research group is forecasting triple-digit growth for the full year.

VR represented the vast majority (more than 98%) of headsets shipped during the first quarter. Within VR, about two-thirds of all headset shipments were screenless viewers, such as Samsung's Gear VR and Google's Daydream View. Meanwhile, tethered VR headsets, such as the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Sony's PSVR, accounted for one third of the market.

"The VR market is still very young and consumers seem to be taking a cautious approach," said Jitesh Ubrani senior research analyst for IDC's Mobile Device Trackers. "With plenty of headset options already in the...

New data from Markets and Markets (www.marketsandmarkets.com) says the flexible display market will grow from $2.67 billion in 2016 to $15.14 billion by 2022, at a compound annual growth rate [CAGR] of 34.42% between 2017 and 2022.

The growth of this market is majorly driven by a technological shift to and development of energy-efficient, attractive, and high-specification products and the rising demand for smartphones, smartwatches, wearables, televisions, PC monitors, and laptops, according to the research group.

The smartphones and tablets segment was the largest market segment in 2016. The use of flexible displays in smartphones and tablets makes these more durable, as they offer stylish designs and better ergonomics to operate the devices, notes Markets and Market.

The OLED technology segment is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period, adds the...

New research from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) shows that three-fourths of U.S. broadband households use Wi-Fi for in-home connectivity. The research group eamined the demand for smart home products and services and the impact across multiple verticals, including home energy and security, connected entertainment, smart home, and other IoT [Internet of Things] solutions.

"Consumers already use lots of data on their mobile, smart home, and entertainment devices, and Wi-Fi is doing most of the work in the home, accounting for more than 70% of data used per month in U.S. broadband households," said Harry Wang, senior director of Research, Parks Associates. "Consumer data needs will continue to increase, both in and outside the home, as between 2015 and 2020, U.S. households will acquire more than 2.3 billion connected devices. Providers and manufacturers must ensure their offerings can...

MachNation (www.machnation.com), an insight services firm, has released an in-depth evaluation and rating of 18 Internet of Things device management vendors.

According to survey data collected from participating vendors in the scorecard, Internet of Things (IoT) device management revenue will grow 107% in 2017 with only 33% of the revenue coming from North America. MachNation forecasts that 2017 worldwide IoT platform revenue will reach $2 billion as enterprise buyers invest in the underlying technology to power their IoT solutions. The firm’s survey data show that sectors including energy/utilities, transportation, industrial, manufacturing and smart cities generate the most revenue for device management vendors.

"MachNation, the industry's most knowledgeable researchers for IoT middleware and platforms, has coordinated the publication of our scorecard with the product launch of our new IoT Device...

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) forecasts that users of digital commerce services will reach three billion by 2021, or 40% of the global population, up from just 32% this year.

The new research found that two core sectors will dominate the global digital commerce industry, in terms of transaction values: Remote payments for digital & physical goods, and digital banking via bill payment services.

These segments together will account for over half of global transaction values by 2021, according to Juniper. Significant opportunity for businesses exists, with remote payments for digital and physical goods forecast to account for over 10% of the $20 trillion global retail market in 2017, notes the research group.

Juniper’s study found that businesses will gain advantage through use of automated customer experiences. With product search and discovery a key...

The US VR market formed 40% of the global market in the first quarter (Q1) of 2017, keeping its place as the largest market for VR in terms of volumes shipped worldwide, according to the Canalys research group (www.canalys.com).

Sony PlayStation VR dominated the US market with just over 60% share. It capitalized on its installed base of gaming devices, as well as its lower-cost headsets. Demand in the Japanese VR market meant that a total of 81,000 VR headsets were shipped in Japan. This was largely contributed by Sony, which conquered its home market with 90% market share.

As a result, China dropped to third place in terms of volumes of VR units shipped in the first quarter of 2017.  HTC continues to lead in China, with 15,000 Vive headsets shipped in Q1 2017, taking up a quarter of the market. Sony experienced strong demand for its PlayStation VR in Japan, with the company still trying to fill demand...

Software—particularly cloud-based technology—is now creating roughly $1.4 trillion in economic value in the U.S. and is poised to grow even more, particularly as non-tech companies transform themselves into software businesses, according to a new report released y by global investment firm Battery Ventures (www.battery.com). The figure represents nearly 8% of U.S. GDP (gross domestic product).

The report was delivered by Battery General Partner Neeraj Agrawal at the inaugural CloudNY conference in New York. Based on earlier research by the BSA | The Software Alliance, as well as new research by Battery, the report traces the history of today’s software renaissance from the mainframe era in the 1970s through the client-server era, then into desktop “software-as-a-service” (SaaS) applications and, finally, to today’s cloud-first offerings delivered over the web.

“People don’t realize how big this industry...

Interior design app Planner 5D (www.planner5D.com) will be incorporating AI into its apps in order to help users create their dream home design with a click of a button.
 
According to a new report from Tractica, AI software application will grow from $1.4 billion in 2016 to $60 billion by 2025. AI is currently taking over various professions, often proving that artificial mind can be more powerful, precise and creative than human. While AI has dominated chess for a long time, it has recently triumphed over humans in poker. Expanding the realm of traditional AI challenges, AI has just introduced an entirely new way of creating products by producing the famous Elbo chair, which combined aerospace engineering software with artisanal craftsmanship tool.
  
Planner 5D is currently creating machine learning algorithms that will train on over 40 million real user projects. All these projects offer an...

Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $343.5 billion in 2016, a 2.6% increase from 2015 revenue of $334.9 billion, according to final results by Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com).

The top 25 semiconductor vendors' combined revenue increased 10.5 percent, a significantly better performance than the overall industry's growth. However, most of this growth resulted from merger and acquisition (M&A) activity.

"The semiconductor industry rebounded in 2016, with a weak start to the year, characterized by inventory correction, giving way to strengthening demand and an improving pricing environment in the second half," said James Hines research director at Gartner. "Worldwide semiconductor revenue growth was supported by increasing production in many electronic equipment segments, improving NAND flash memory pricing and relatively benign currency movements.”

Intel retained its number one position as the...

New data from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) forecasts that the global value of contactless transactions made via payment cards, mobile and wearables, will reach $1.3 trillion by 2019, more than doubling from an estimated $590 billion in 2017.

According to the research group, contactless card levels will continue to dominate transaction values, accounting for 80% of total contactless transactions in 2019. The research forecasts that contactless transactions via debit/credit cards will exceed $2 trillion globally by 2021.

Juniper’s research found that many markets with a relatively well established contactless infrastructure have been seeded by the card providers, albeit with varying degrees of success. The research group found that in 2016, while cards accounted for well over 90% of transactions by value in many European markets (for example, rising to 99% in Spain), in the U.S....

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has released “The Changing TV Experience: 2017,” a study revealing that most U.S. adults (56%) own a streaming enabled TV, a 56% rise from just two years ago, a fundamental shift in the way that Americans watch television.

Almost all Americans (92%) own a TV. However, today the majority of time spent (54%) watching TV is dedicated to something other than traditional linear programming (46%). The largest share of that non-linear time is spent streaming digital video (20%), which can include network TV shows, subscription service original shows, or original digital video content. The remaining viewing time is devoted to: watching programming via DVR recording (15%), Video on Demand (6%), and downloaded video (5%), in addition to another 8%t that is uncategorized.

Among the 56% of U.S. Adults who own streaming enabled TVs, watching digital video on them became an entrenched habit in 2017, with nearly half (46%) saying they do so...

DFLabs (www.dflabs.com), which specializes in security automation and orchestration technology, has announced new research from Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), commissioned by DFLabs and other technology vendors, which shows that when it comes to the evolution of Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations, 71% of respondent organizations find it more difficult today than it was two years ago due to the changing threat landscape, followed by volume of alerts and increased regulatory changes.

“Despite businesses making it a priority, there is great confusion on how to make sense of and integrate security analytics and Operations. Most organizations are dealing with 10 to 25 technologies ranging from SIEMs, vulnerability assessment, endpoint detection, threat intelligence and user behavior to incident response. They are challenged with the total cost of operations and spending too much time on emergency issues,” said Jon...

The travel season is almost here. Free Wi-Fi at cafes, airports, restaurants and city streets is used by almost everyone who’s traveling – but how many people take an extra step to make sure their browsing is not only convenient, but also safe?
 
Last year, NordVPN (Virtual Private Network) released safety tips for public Wi-Fi, but the number of public Wi-Fi scams only seems to be increasing, showing that people still don’t treat their online security seriously. According to privatewifi.com study, 79% of respondents still don’t use a VPN when they go on public Wi-Fi. According to NordVPN’s recent survey (reikia linko be login credentials, geriausiai i webpage, o ne Exceli) almost half of respondents (reiktu procento) didn’t know that, for example, it was dangerous to shop online on a public network.
 
Here are some of the most common ways that a hacker can take advantage of someone’s device connected to a public Wi-Fi hotspot:
 
1. Fake Wi-Fi...

According to a new market research report by MarketsandMarkets (www.marketsandmarkets.com), the market size for the Internet of Things (IoT) operating system market will grow from $289.2 million in 2017 to $1,721.3 Million by 2022, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42.9%.

The major forces driving the operating system market include the increasing traction for emergence of technologies, such as cloud computing and mobility, adds the research group. What’s more, adoption by the small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) is populating the growth of the IoT operating systems. The reason being, SMEs always look for operating systems to focus on developing a systematic approach for organizations and becoming more proactive toward their business operations.

The client side architecture of IoT operating systems is designed to provide a consolidated view of the processed and analyzed data...

Organizations need to rethink traditional approaches to customer experience management according to a new study sponsored by Axway (www.axway.com), “a catalyst for transformation,” in partnership with IDC, a provider of global IT research and advice.

The study found that despite customer experience being the top digital initiative for organizations, 69% have yet to implement a single view of the customer.
The study surveyed more than 600 senior executives in IT, digital and customer experience roles at the largest global enterprises across the U.S., Europe and Asia.

It revealed that customer experience is now the most critical digital initiative for more than 70% of enterprises. The study also indicated that customer experience is now replacing product and price as a means to create brand value, distinctiveness and strategic differentiation.

Despite organizations investing in omni-channel...

The head of FCC (U.S. Federal Communications Commission), Ajit Pai, has announced that he will start the process of repealing FCC’s net neutrality rules that were approved by President Obama in 2015. The announcement starts a new battle over the future of the Internet, censorship and role of ISPs (Internet Service Providers) in what people can read or watch online.
 
Current net neutrality rules prohibit broadband providers from giving or selling access to a "fast lane" of Internet to certain Internet services over others. A neutral network gives equal transmission priority over all content moving across it, and no content is subjected to slow downs or blocking. The loss of net neutrality could mean that priority is given to the content of big providers.
 
Many websites worry that when the rules are repealed, they will lose access to clients and page views. Even larger websites – such as streaming service providers like Netflix or Hulu – can experience...

Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com) has announced the addition of the "Smartphone, Tablet & Modem Market 2017" report to their offering.

This report provides a detailed market analysis of all significant smartphones, wireless-connected tablets (cellular & Wi-Fi) and modems. Five-year forecasts are provided in considerable detail for each. In addition, smartphone and non-smart cellphones are forecast for all global regions.

The report also provides 2016 quarterly unit shipments and YOY market shares in revenue for the top smartphone, tablet and modem suppliers and discusses the 2017 market positioning of the primary vendors. Both revenue and unit shipments for 2016 are provided for major vendors of each category and five-year forecasts for all covered devices are included.

The 2016 smartphone shipments grew by 7% overall from 1.3 billion to 1.4 billion units...