While nearly half of all U.S. consumers believe nontraditional providers will drive innovation in the financial services industry, only 38 percent said they would consider a nontraditional provider for future financial services needs, according to a survey (www.theraddonreport.com) from Raddon Financial Group, a provider of financial industry research and trends data.

However, likelihood to use a nontraditional provider such as PayPal, Amazon, Apple or Google broke down sharply along generational lines, with younger consumers much more likely to consider doing so.

"U.S. consumers continue to trust that banks and credit unions will provide them with the highest quality and most secure financial services available, and they believe that the emergence of nontraditional financial service providers has the potential to drive innovation in the industry," asys Bill Handel, vice president of...

Voice-based user interface technologies are becoming an increasingly important part of the user experience for smartphones, tablets, and smart watches.  According to a recent report from Tractica (www.tractica.com), this growth is being driven by a variety of use cases that include not only traditional applications like hands-free calling, but also high-growth areas like virtual digital assistants (VDAs), always-on interfaces, and voiceprint identification of individual speakers.

The market intelligence firm anticipates that these use cases will drive significant growth in attach rates for speech and voice recognition technologies in mobile devices during the next several years. Tractica forecasts that native speech recognition will grow from 45 percent of all mobile devices in 2014 to 82 percent by 2020. Meanwhile, voice recognition, which identifies individual voiceprints and may be utilized for various...

Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com) says that 3D printing (3DP) technology has progressed rapidly in recent years, and that medical applications are leading to some of the most significant deployments of 3DP technology.

New data from the research group reveals that 3DP of medical devices has reached the Peak of Inflated Expectations, but certain specialist applications are already becoming the norm in medical care.

"In the healthcare industry, 3DP is already in mainstream use to produce medical items that need to be tailored to individuals, such as hearing aids and dental devices," says Pete Basiliere, research director at Gartner. "All of the major hearing aid manufacturers now offer devices that are personalized to the shape of the customer's ear. This is evidence that using 3DP for mass customization of consumer goods is now viable, especially given that the transition from traditional manufacturing in this...

The worldwide production print market enjoyed 9.4% year-over-year growth in unit shipments in the second quarter of 2015 (2Q15), according to new data from IDC.

According to the research group, shipments grew to approximately 9,279 units (printers and MFPs) and shipment value increased 6.0% to nearly US$1.1 billion in the same time period. All of IDC's regional markets saw positive year-over-year unit growth in the production print space. Key contributors to the worldwide growth were Latin America (32.7%), Middle East & Africa (30.7%), and Western Europe (19.7%).

All categories in the production print market recorded year-over-year gains. Mid-Production shipments grew 5.8% year over year while Production shipments increased 25.8% and Label & Packaging was up 18.3%. Color laser shipments grew 24.8% year over year in 2Q15. The Xerox Versant 2100 Press and Konica Minolta bizhub Press C1100/C1085 have each made strong gains in this segment and contributed...

Spending on mobile services will grow 4% to reach US$21.4 billion in 2015, according to Gartner Inc. (www.gartner.com).

Spending on mobile services will be driven by data services, which is expected to grow 15% to reach $6.5 million in 2015, says the research group. A large chunk of this growth will be driven by the increasing use of cellular services on data-centric devices, such as tablets and notebooks, through either embedded cellular modems or USB sticks.

"In India, the rise in spending on data-only connections will be driven by two user scenarios – first, to complement their fixed broadband connectivity, so they can use their larger-screen data-centric devices on the go. In other use cases, data-only connections will be the way for consumers to access broadband connectivity because of a lack of fixed networks," says Neha Gupta, senior research analyst at Gartner.

Newer and faster networks, a...

According to the latest market data findings from ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com), total system shipments for portable computing are predicted to reach 165 million units for full-year 2015, which is essentially flat compared to 2014 levels.

Assuming that the free upgrade promotion to Windows 10 OS offered by Microsoft is successful, much of the Windows installed base are likely to use their current computer hardware for at least a while longer. (The portable notebook PC category consists of four segments: netbooks, laptops, Chromebooks, and ultraportable PCs.)

"Segment growth is occurring in Chromebooks, much in part due to purchases by schools," says Research Director Jeff Orr. "Growth for 2015 is also in ultraportable PCs where thin and light designs are looking to tackle more mobile use cases by reversing the display panel flat like a tablet or having the screen separate entirely."

ABI...

While the overall tablet market contracts in 2015, 2-in-1 detachable tablets have become a bright spot, according to Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com).

Traditional PC vendors like Asus, Acer, and HP have found a niche in which they can credibly compete against mobile device heavyweights, as the segment is forecast to grow 91% over the next five years due to lower prices and better designs, according to the research group.

By 2019, 2-in-1 tablet growth will show a five-year compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 57% while slate tablet growth will amount to a 2% five-year CAGR, says Strategy Analytics. The overall tablet market is set to decline 4% in 2015, with modest growth returning in 2016 due to more innovative designs and enabling technology in 2-in-1 and slate tablets alike.

A new IDC Financial Insights (www.idc.com)study builds on recent IDC analysis of the Bitcoin ecosystem by considering the potential of Ripple, an offshoot of Bitcoin which purports to be an open source, real-time payment settlement infrastructure, and the impact it could have on the financial services industry.

Crucially, Ripple concentrates on providing a payments infrastructure, rather than a new currency, in its attempt to overhaul the international payments landscape.
IDC expects payments through Ripple or similar protocols to grow exponentially in the years ahead. As such protocols supersede Bitcoin, the distinction between cryptocurrencies and new payment protocols will become clearer, and the banking industry will embrace the protocols. With the support of Ripple Labs and other interested parties, Ripple is currently best placed to take this market share, according to IDC.

In the short term, more...

The hype surrounding the Internet of Things (IoT) in the home is growing rapidly, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com), as the battle for the IoT gateway in the connected home gets underway. 

"The numerous IoT applications for the home include smart stoves, which tell you how to cook a meal and provide recipes; and smart washers and dryers, which help you determine the optimum time to run a load of laundry," says Paul O'Donovan, principal research analyst at Gartner. "Add to that smart lighting, which can be operated remotely and programed to dim or turn on or off at specific times; thermostats, which can have your living space at the desired temperature when you walk in the door; and entertainment devices, which can stream programming to your display whenever you want to watch it." 

As home appliances have increased in smartness, cellular and cable connections improved, and pricing declined, the...

The system on chip (SoC) market will see a compound annual growth rate of 11% between now and 2019, according to Sandler Research (SandlerResearch.org).

The need to differentiate so as to compete in the increasingly competitive printer market has led to the innovation of 3D printers. 3D printers are increasingly being adopted in key technology-driven markets such as aerospace, automotive, educational, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors, according to the research group. With the increase in the number of functions per IC, ICs have become denser, which helps manufacturers to add more functionality.

Miniaturization also helps reduce the overall cost of a SoC. Miniaturization of electronics is a major trend, as can be seen in the ever-increasing number of sleek smartphones, smart watches and wearables popping up at trade shows. Almost all industry segments, including automotive, healthcare, and industrial vendors are following the trend, which has led to a high...

The "personal cloud" is growing in importance as it shapes how employees operate across their digital lives, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com) End-user computing (EUC) and digital workplace managers responsible for building the digital workplace will be increasingly challenged as the personal cloud continues to evolve and intersect with IT initiatives, says the research group.

"The personal cloud is the collection of content, services and tools that users assemble to fulfill their personal digital lifestyle needs across any device. Each user's personal cloud is unique and evolving, as the user's daily needs change and as vendors and products come and go," says Stephen Kleynhans, research vice president at Gartner. "Looking forward, we see continued upheaval and challenges from the blending of personal and corporate digital tools and information within each user's life."

The next wave of the...

The early excitement surrounding AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) has prompted some substantial bets from major players, including Google, Samsung, Microsoft, and Facebook. ABI Research (www.abirsearch.com) says Microsoft’s Hololens will likely be a major driver of consumer AR devices, while Google Cardboard will continue to be the first choice for an inexpensive VR experience (estimated to ship around 1.5 million units by then end of 2015), and will join Samsung’s Gear VR in driving mobile-reliant device growth.

The Oculus Rift, along with similar devices like the HTC Vive or Sony’s Project Morpheus, will be dominant among tethered devices and will drive early growth, with their successors likely continuing that lead in the space, according to the research group. These tethered VR devices are forecast for the highest growth among VR device types — 128% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) 2014...

New data from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) says that the number of IoT (Internet of Things) connected devices will number 38.5 billion in 2020, up from 13.4 billion in 2015: a rise of over 285%.

While IoT "smart home" based applications grab media headlines, it is the industrial and public services sector – such as retail, agriculture, smart buildings and smart grid applications – that will form the majority of the device base, notes the research group. This is due in no small part to a much stronger business case for these types of applications.

Michelin and John Deere, for example, have successfully transitioned their businesses towards being service based companies through the use of IoT, as opposed to their previous incarnations as product vendors. Juniper's new research found that while the number of connected devices already exceeds the number of humans on the planet by...

Biometric technologies are developed constantly, strengthening their position in both existing markets like law enforcement and government applications, but also in emerging high-value segments like the consumer and banking markets.

Near-infrared iris recognition technology is a promising up-and-comer for both smartphone applications and enterprise access control, while ultrasound fingerprint and vein recognition companies are looking to establish their dominance in banking and finance applications, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

Shortcomings on facial recognition, solid-state, and optical fingerprint technology are being revisited with companies unveiling new commercial deployments to secure their position in the market but some technical issues keep them from delivering to their full potential, according to the research group. Different end-user markets, however, have specific...

By Rick Sutcliffe

In these last three months the Spy has introduced the fully modern dialect of an existing notation he and Telecom engineer Benjamin Kowarsch have developed to address serious software engineering issues of safety, security, reliability, and extensibility. This month he shows how to leverage Blueprints to enforce the rigour involved in planning code before executing it.

Modula-2 R10 allows the programmer to develop Abstract Data Type (ADT) libraries that include binding to language features such as operations (+ - * and /), various reserved words such as FOR, and syntax such as the accessor [] commonly used in programming notations for random access to array elements.

Each such library must conform to a blueprint In the definition module for each of the separate types and IO libraries that contained bindings, the syntax [Proto..] appears immediately after the name of the module, for instance:

DEFINITION MODULE CARD128...

Cloud, as one of the substantial transformative forces, is impacting all areas of IT supply, composition, and consumption and provides the basis for many of the big data, mobile, and social solutions. In fact, the IDC (www.idc.com) research group predicts the number of new cloud-based solutions will triple in the next four to five years. 

Industry-specific applications will be a driving force as businesses look for solutions that can be easily configured to their unique business and vertical requirements, says IDC. With the huge increase in the number and diversity of services available in the market, organizations across the industries will shift steadily toward cloud-first strategies to enable digital transformation.

The IDC study provides a vertical forecast by 20 industries for the United States and worldwide for 3 public cloud computing technologies — software as a service, platform as a service, and...

Driven by an explosion of smartphones and tablets, the landscape for printing, scanning, and document management is in the midst of profound and significant change.

According to new global research covering six countries across three major regions from International Data Corporation (IDC), the mobile opportunity for document solutions continues to grow as organizations adopt mobile devices at a fevered pace. Large and medium companies are leading the charge, accounting for 54% of smartphone and/or tablet users, notes the research group. Additionally, six vertical markets stand out as having a statistically higher percentage of smartphone and tablet users: Information Technology, Wholesale Trade, Banking, Life Sciences, Resource Industries, and Securities.

"The business value for smartphone/tablet printing is enormously clear, and yet support for this is shockingly lacking in 2015. This is a huge missed productivity opportunity for both businesses and print providers...

Consumers are motivated to play video games because they relieve boredom, provide a challenge, create a more social atmosphere and help to escape reality. A recent study by Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanaltyics.com) has found that mobile gaming continues to primarily be for quick entertainment in downtime; in an average week, more time is spent playing mobile games outside of the home.
 
The Media and Services UX (MSX) group at Strategy Analytics investigated mobile gaming behaviors and identified four motivators that are making the mobile gaming experience more compelling. These include daily incentives for accessing and playing the game, game incentives for viewing advertisements, daily timeouts for game play and frequent game updates.

"Daily incentives for accessing and playing a game give users a progressive series of incentives," says Christopher Dodge, report author and...

High resolution premium video, including 4K and UHD content, is a fast-growing market and therefore content protection services must follow suit with adaptability and preparedness for the expanding space, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

"UHD TV penetration is expected to reach 61% in North America by 2020, which is higher than expected," says Eric Abbruzzese, analyst with the research group. "Along with TVs, browser and application based streaming services will continue to roll out 4K content at a quickening rate, creating an expanding marketplace filled with premium content from studios that demand strong content protection.”

Guidelines for proper 4K content protection rely on deep hardware-level integration of security measures in combination with software security, creating an end-to-end secure system from publishing to consumption. This involves dedicated space on a SoC; Hardware...

New data from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) finds that OTT [over-the-top] video service credential sharing will cost the industry US$500 million in direct revenues worldwide in 2015. The report shows 6% of U.S. broadband households use an OTT video service that is paid by a person living outside of the household.

"Live-streaming usage has garnered media attention recently, but credential sharing is also a popular form of piracy in the connected world, one that has received varying responses from service providers and content owners," says Glenn Hower, research analyst, Parks Associates. "Credential sharing has a measurable impact on video services, particularly in the OTT video service area, where young subscribers are active. The impact on OTT video revenues is especially troublesome as OTT providers are investing large sums of money to boost their original content offerings."

...

New data from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) finds smart thermostats taking a larger portion of the market this year, accounting for over 40% of the nearly 10 million thermostats sold in the U.S. The research group estimates smart thermostats will account for over 50% of the total market by 2017.

"Smart thermostats already account for more than one-half of the smart home devices in U.S. broadband households," says Tom Kerber, director, Research, Home Controls & Energy, Parks Associates. "Many utilities have promoted smart thermostats as part of their home energy management initiatives; however, the retail channel accounts for the most units sold last year, nearly 45% of the total market, so opening utility programs to include the variety of different types and brands of devices is an important consideration."

Retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Best Buy are working to...

The Internet Society today released its 2015 Global Internet Report (http://tinyurl.com/oq8zx9c) , the organization’s second annual report on the global state of the Internet. Focused on the impact of the mobile Internet, this year’s report shows that mobile has fundamentally transformed Internet access and use, and holds the key to fulfilling the promise of Internet connectivity for the next billion people.

People are increasingly accessing the Internet through mobile devices. Today there are more than 3 billion people online and the mobile Internet offers hundreds of millions around the world their primary, if not only, means of accessing the Internet. In addition to providing access, benefits of the mobile Internet arise from using all the features embedded into smart devices, which are typically accessed via convenient apps.

"We applaud this global shift in the Internet dynamic, with...

According to International Data Corporation (IDC), total cloud IT infrastructure spending (server, storage, and Ethernet switch) will grow by 26.4% in 2015 and will reach US$33.4 billion, accounting for a third of all IT infrastructure spending, up from 28.1% in 2014.

Private cloud IT infrastructure spending will grow by 16.8% year over year to $11.7 billion, while public cloud IT infrastructure spending will grow by 32.2% in 2015 to $21.7 billion, says the research group. In comparison, spending on non-cloud IT infrastructure will remain flat at $67 billion.

IDC expects that spending on cloud IT infrastructure will grow across all regions and all technologies. In most regions, growth in public cloud IT infrastructure spending will exceed growth in spending on private cloud IT infrastructure as public cloud service providers will continue to invest in expansion of their datacenters and service offerings.

For the five-year forecast period, IDC expects that...

In a survey of smart home use cases, the Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) research group found that over 40% of U.S. broadband households are interested in the ability to receive medical alerts via a smartphone or other connected platform. And about 10% have some type of smart home product, service, or both.

"By 2019 the number of U.S. homes with a smart home controller will exceed 26 million," says Harry Wang, director, Mobile and Health Products Research, Parks Associates. "The smart home industry is looking for new growth opportunities, and the Supreme Court's decision in King v. Burwell has provided stability to the healthcare industry, making it an attractive market for smart home players. The smart home could enable new value propositions in home-based health and wellness solutions and independent living products and services."

He notes that the Supreme Court ruling, which...