Wearable technology is evolving beyond wrist-worn devices to include shirts, tattoos, hats, shoes and more but what makes these devices useful is the actionable collected data.

A new report from Argus Insights (www.argusinsights.com) shows that consumers are much happier with their wearable devices than the apps they use to interpret the data they collect. Jawbone Up is leading delight as a great “all in one app,” but at the same time users express discontent with the Jawbone bands. Based on an analysis of over 136,000 consumer reviews of Wearables devices and applications from November 2015-February 2016, Argus Insights finds that users report higher delight for devices than brands’ associated apps.

“Clearly the app experience is affecting the long term efficacy of the wearables market,” said John Feland, CEO, Argus Insights. “Without interpretation of the data to inspire action and promote...

As consumer awareness of mobile wallets has risen dramatically, financial institutions have a perfect opportunity to stake a claim in this market. As the barriers to wallet adoption drop, and issues with merchant adoption and consumer hesitation lessen, FI-branded wallets stand ready to reap the benefits.

The JAVELIN (www.javelinstrategy.com) research group has released a report and introduced JAVELIN’s S.C.O.R.E. wallet analysis model for assessing and comparing competing wallet providers. For the past two years, the consumer’s primary bank has topped the charts, as the wallet consumers would be most likely to adopt. However, as the vast majority of FIs sat on the sidelines, consumer preference has shifted. Now, PayPal (63%) and Visa (56%) have both surpassed the primary bank (51%) as the mobile wallet providers of choice.

“The customer relationship is the trump card that issuers have to...

New data from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) shows that 70% of U.S. households with smart energy devices report saving money due to reduced energy consumption. However, the report also notes the difficulty of selling smart energy devices based on cost savings as 83% of U.S. broadband households do not know the price they are paying for electricity.

"Residential customers today see energy as a necessary expense, and while 62% of U.S. broadband households strongly believe that saving energy and lowering utility bills are important, getting them to pay for these benefits has proven difficult," said Eddie Accomando, research analyst, Parks Associates. "Electricity does not currently drive customer action, but as the process of energy production changes through DR, solar, and storage innovations, energy management will become a much more significant value-added service within the connected...

Eighty-one percent of all U.S. smartphone users now stream video on their devices, according to recently released data from The NPD Group. This usage is being driven primarily by users who are 25 and younger, who spend twice as much time watching video content on YouTube and Netflix mobile apps compared to users who are over the age of 25.

As a result of this uptick in video consumption, users who are 25 and younger outperform older age groups in terms of cellular and Wi-Fi data consumption levels generated by video applications. These users consume, on average, 6.2 GB of data (cellular and Wi-Fi combined) for video streaming purposes each month, versus older smartphone users who use an average of 4.9 GB of data for video streaming monthly.
 
And while the majority of video streaming occurs over Wi-Fi networks, smartphone users now rely on cellular data more than ever. According to the NPD Smartmeter, an opt-in metering application that tracks live smartphone and...

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperrsearch.com) has found that hat the annual transaction value of online, mobile and contactless payments will reach $3.6 trillion this year, up from $3 trillion on 2015, resulting in a 20% increase.

The new research argues that the recent surge in contactless payments would continue, fueled by further scaling up of infrastructure rollout and increased card payment limits in key markets. The research group also anticipates that while cards will account for 90% of contactless payments over the next five years, the deployment of NFC (Near Field Communications) payments by high-profile players such as Apple and Samsung will increase consumer awareness and usage of smartphones to fulfill transactions.

Meanwhile, the research highlighted the growing presence of social media companies in the eRetail space. It pointed out that several leading companies,...

New study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has estimated that the adoption of health monitoring devices will nearly treble by 2020, exceeding 70 million worldwide, up from an estimated 26 million this year.

The new research forecasts that the use of monitoring devices is set to witness a swift rise as new entrants gain FDA (Food & Drug Administration) approval. However, it highlights the need for new entrants to prove that their hardware is able to measure health indicators with the same accuracy as standard medical devices, according to the research.

Juniper argues that greater consumer affinity with connected monitoring devices will in turn be accompanied by an upsurge in the adoption of mobile and cloud health platforms such as Apple Health and Google Fit. What’s more, it claims that the “big data” collected by such monitoring devices presents a significant medium term...

As tablets continue to become more established workplace tools, the pressure on IT departments to enable the practice of BYOD and to ensure the enterprise has the infrastructure and policies in place to secure corporate data and systems, continues to grow. According to the Strategy Analytics Mobile Workforce Strategies (MWS) latest report, "Global Business Tablet Forecast Update Q4 2015", Strategy Analytics forecasts global business (personal and corporate liable) tablet shipments will grow at a 6% CAGR between 2015 and 2020, reaching 110.2 million units in 2020.

“While the tablet market overall has become somewhat saturated resulting in slowed growth, business tablet shipments are expected to be a bright spot and ramp up in the next several years as businesses shift computing models from PCs or laptops to 2-in-1 tablets. Partnerships forged by vendors such as Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, and HP demonstrate how these players see the tablet potential in the Enterprise," said...

One of the hottest trends in tech right now is the Internet of Things, or IoT. Morgan Stanley projects that within the next five years, as many as 75 billion smart connected devices will be communicating with each other via IoT. Research from Gartner (www.gartner.com)predicts that IoT will generate nearly $2 trillion in global economic value by 2020.

Companies are scrambling to take advantage of the power of IoT, but are held back by aging systems that may no longer suited to the needs of modern consumers. In fact, another research report from Gartner suggests that as the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes more ubiquitous, traditional operating systems like Windows will become obsolete, placing greater value on speed and accessibility.

While IoT has been talked about for many years, it has only just started to gather momentum, as a series of new technologies reach sufficient maturity to make it cost-effective...

New digital media research from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) finds 65% of U.S. broadband households engage in at least one second-second screen activity on at least a monthly basis. The report finds the most common activity is to search for information about the program being watched.

"Most consumers favor a passive second-screen experience that complements the already immersive first-screen experience versus the highly interactive apps that typified the first phase of second-screen solutions," says Glenn Hower, research analyst, Parks Associates. "Second-screen users are more likely to engage in supplemental activities, like looking up information while they watch TV, as opposed to social media activities. These types of apps open new partnership opportunities among content providers, data aggregators, advertisers, and service providers.”

Nineteen percent of pay-TV subscribers...

New data from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that app advertising, using context and location targeting, will exceed $44 billion by 2020, up from an estimated $13 billion last year.

As the mobile advertising landscape matures, the simple geofence is being usurped by contextual data such as a user’s interests, real-time location and even political leanings, according to the research group. The new data found that social applications are providing a highly accessible pool of rich user data for advertisers. Indeed, Facebook’s recent earnings call highlighted the tremendous growth opportunity of this sector, with North American ad revenues per user rising by 60% over the last 12 months.

Meanwhile, players such as Pinterest are developing tools that serve to reduce the intrusiveness of adverts, with user-friendly approaches seen as crucial in avoiding a rising tide of ad-...

Mobile payments made via NFC-enabled handsets will approach $240 billion in total value by 2021, according to a new Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com) forecast.

Increasing competition between mobile wallets from device vendors Apple and Samsung, payment card issuers, and mobile operators, combined with a maturing contactless payment infrastructure across most regions, will finally catalyze in-store handset-based NFC purchases, according to the research group. Furthermore, Strategy Analytics expects consumer readiness to adopt mobile payments to improve as providers of mobile wallets increasingly support coupons and loyalty cards.

The research group is encouraged by rising use of contactless payments over the past 12 months, particularly in cities like London where the acceptance of contactless payments has become nearly ubiquitous. Nitesh Patel, director, Strategy Analytics'...

Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) has released new research showing connected health device ownership (including digital fitness trackers, networked weight scales, connected treadmills, and blood pressure meters) has risen from 24% to 33% of U.S. broadband households between 2013 and 2015 The research group also notes that 13% of U.S. broadband households own two or more connected health devices.

Adoption of wearables and connected health devices is growing, evidenced by the stellar growth achieved by Fitbit in 2015, according to Harry Wang, director, Health and Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates. The health and wellness industry is also speeding up its pace of innovation. For example, at the 2016 HIMSS Annual Conference & Exhibition this week, AT&T announced partnerships with health and wearable players including Becton Dickinson, WellNest, and OneMedia.

"While...

Medium and large enterprises in the US have mixed feelings about cloud infrastructure security, according to a new survey conducted by Clutch (clutch.co), a B2B research firm. While 22% of enterprises ranked security the number one cloud computing benefit, 31% also identified security as the most prevalent challenge.

When compared to older legacy systems, the majority of enterprises (64%) agree that cloud infrastructure is more secure. They cite cloud infrastructure's sophisticated monitoring systems, multi-layered security safeguards, and central management as the main reasons they consider it a more secure option.

"Using the Cloud is like putting your money in the bank versus under your mattress," said David Linthicum, senior vice president of Cloud Technology Partners. "Even though your money, or data, is not on-premise, the bank will do a much better job protecting it because it has vaults and security cameras – more than what a single enterprise company can do...

New research from the IHS research group (www.ihs.com) shows (not surprisingly) that spending on movies, TV shows declines when Netflix is available.

Before Netflix launched its streaming service in the USA in 2007, spending on buying and renting movies and TV series on disc was falling by an average of 1.2% a year. Since 2010, the year in which Netflix access became ubiquitous across the US consumer electronics sector, spending has fallen by an average of 10.3 percent a year.

“The data shows that Netflix’s entry into a market has a noticeable effect on consumer behavior, even in countries where they already had access to other streaming video services,” said Helen Davis Jayalath, senior researcher at IHS Technology. “Movies and TV shows are not only the biggest draw for Netflix subscribers, they are also the backbone of the home entertainment industry, generating 80% to 90% of the business in most countries.”

IDC (www.idc.com) has identified robotics as one of six innovation accelerators that will drive digital transformation by opening new revenue streams and changing the way work is performed.

In a new report, the research group forecasts global spending on robotics and related services to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17% from more than $71 billion in 2015 to $135.4 billion in 2019. The new spending guide measures purchases of robotic systems, system hardware, software, robotics-related services, and after-market robotics hardware on a regional level across thirteen key industries and fifty-two use cases.

"Robotics is one of the core technologies that is enabling significant change in manufacturing through factory of the future initiatives. While traditionally used in the automotive industry, there is an increasing adoption of robotics in sectors like electronics, retail, healthcare, logistics,...

This column is being (metaphorically) penned on Leap Day, a day similar to Sadie Hawkins Day (November 13) in which historically the ladies may ask the men without violating polite norms--hardly an issue in our day, though originally somewhat sexist.

It's also sprang in the middle of the great American ask/catch--candidates trolling for primary votes, while the rest of the world watches a system seemingly self-destruct in vitriol, venom, slander, and name calling. Ahem. wasn't democracy supposed to be about the respectful examination of ideas? Alas, the Spy himself knows better, having himself attended a High School--so long ago it seems like another age--where debating was one a blood sport.

So, he knows all the tricks--ad hominem attacks, redefine the topic, use ridicule and mockery, call out grammatical and word use errors as though fatal--anything to win, because in debating, winning is everything. Truth? Are you kidding? What has truth got to do with it? You...

A new report from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) shows that that almost 70% of U.S. broadband households express interest in Wi-Fi-based mobile service plans if such plans can save them money. Among those having no interest, 38% perceive that Wi-Fi connections are unsafe and their data would be vulnerable to hacking. Nearly 40% aren't interested because they are satisfied with their current mobile phone plan.

"Mobile consumers are always looking for reliable service coverage, faster data speeds, and a service plan with the best value," said Harry Wang, director, Health & Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates. "Wi-Fi-based mobile service plans provide consumers with alternatives to 3G/4G services, and mobile operators need to look out for disruptors."

Despite substantial consumer interest, Wi-Fi-based mobile phone services need to overcome significant hurdles, specifically...

Worldwide IT spending is expected to post a major slowdown in 2016, as economic weakness in emerging markets and saturation of the smartphone market combine to result in a significantly slower pace of tech spending growth compared to the past six years, according to the IDC research group (www.idc.com).

Having posted annual growth of 5-6% in constant currency terms since recovery from the financial crisis in 2010, the global IT market is expected to increase by just 2% this year (in constant currency). Total IT spending on hardware, software and services will reach $2.3 trillion in 2016. Including telecom services, total ICT spending will increase by 2% to $3.8 trillion, according to the latest data from IDC.

IT spending was relatively stable in 2015, in spite of the volatile economy, propelled by another strong year for smartphone shipments, which compensated for a weakening PC market throughout the year....

NowSecure (www.nowsecure.com), which specializes in mobile-focused security solutions, has revealed the results of its highly anticipated 2016 NowSecure Mobile Security Report – offering a detailed look into the current state of mobile security.

Statistics from the report included that a quarter of all mobile apps have at least one high risk security flaw, 35% of communications sent by mobile devices are unencrypted, and the average mobile device connects to 160 unique servers each day.

The report featured findings from five popular app categories: Business, Finance, Games, Shopping, and Social. NowSecure found that Business apps are three times more likely to leak login credentials than the average app, while Game apps are one-and-a-half times more likely to include a high-risk vulnerability than the average app.

“Leaky apps are the number one security problem facing mobile users today. They...

New consumer research from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) shows that in the next 12 months, over 40% of U.K. broadband consumers are likely to adopt new connected devices, including smart door locks, sensors, and security cameras, as part of a home security or control system that can be monitored or controlled by a smartphone, tablet, or computer.

The research firm’s report also found that ownership of home control systems is 10% of broadband households in France and Spain, 8% in Germany, and 11% in the U.K.

"Consumer intention to purchase devices and integrate them into home systems continues to be a growing trend across Western Europe," said Jason Paris, director, Business Development, Parks Associates. "Mass-market smart home products and services are now available through numerous channels, including security dealers, telecoms, and retail stores, and both mass-market and...

A new study by Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) found that more than three billion loyalty cards will operate as mobile-only or be integrated into mobile apps by 2020, up from 1.4 billion last year.

The new research found that brands and retailers are increasingly responding to consumer demand for mobile integration, with many now offering customers the opportunity to store their loyalty cards within a dedicated digital wallet. Crucially, the research argued that the improved targeting and personalization made possible by digital coupons was leading to greater activity rates, thereby resolving a key failing of traditional schemes where the lack of relevant offers had resulted in a downturn in usage.

However, the data from Juniper Research found wide variations among retailers and other reward card providers with regard to the extent of digital loyalty integration. In the UK, the...

A new report by Allied Market Research (www.alliedmarketresearch.com) says the world Internet security market is expected to garner $46.5 billion by 2021, registering a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 8.4% from 2016 to 2021.

The market is driven by the huge demand for Internet security software solutions due to the increasing number of cyber-attacks and the adoption of cloud-based Internet security systems, according to the research firm. Increasing use of Internet-based applications across various sectors, such as education, government, retail, IT & telecommunications, BFSI and others, make them prone to virus and spam attacks.

According to McAfee, in 2014, cybercrimes, such as unethical hacking, botnets, distributed denial of services (DDoS), malware, spyware, spams, viruses, and other threats, caused a loss of $400 billion, worldwide. Increasing incidence of security...

Retailers are failing to meet consumer demand for increased convenience while shopping with mobile devices, according to new research from Accenture, which conducted two pieces of research: the Accenture Adaptive Retail report, which surveyed more than 10,000 consumers across 13 countries; and a separate benchmarking study that evaluated a global sample of 162 retailers in 10 countries across multiple industries. 

Taken together, the research findings highlight the need for retailers to become more adaptive in order to embrace and achieve the connected and integrated shopping experience that consumers seek. The consumer survey found that the number of consumers shopping “on the go,” with mobile devices, grew 10% in the past year, from 36% of consumers in 2014 to 40% in 2015. 

Not surprisingly, the number of shoppers who want more retail services via mobile devices, particularly real-time in-store promotions, also grew this past year, to 47%, up from 40% in last year’s...

A new report from IDC (www.idc.com) examining the results of the “2015–2016 Healthcare Provider Technology Spend Survey” reveals that while 40% of providers reported their IT budgets are still growing, only 25% of providers with growing budgets attribute the growth to electronic health records (EHR), providing evidence that the post-EHR era is upon us as providers turn to optimizing the business for accountable care, adding analytics and care management, and away from massive enterprise EHR projects.

The new survey specifically examines technology spending and planned technology spending by U.S. acute care hospitals with more than 200 beds. The results indicate that we are at the beginning of the post-EHR/post–meaningful use era in healthcare IT. The hospitals responding to the survey overwhelmingly reported confidence in their ability to manage meaningful use. Hospitals were somewhat less confident in their ability to...