Mobile Technologies are a critical driver of the world economy, generating global revenue of almost $3 trillion. The mobile revolution has accelerated innovation worldwide, boosting global GDP and creating new jobs across a vast array of industries. Mobile is directly responsible for 11 million jobs worldwide, and the indirect impact far exceeds this number. More than two-thirds of mobile industry jobs are high-value, knowledge-economy jobs, such as innovation research, component and device design, and app development.
Technology
Battle for Supremacy in Cloud – Apple Vs Google vs Microsoft
Empirical Data suggests that iPhone ASP premium of $300 / device is driven by consumer perception of superior hardware/aesthetic design (materials, industrial design, brand), given we believe Android and iOS software capabilities are converging, and Google is ahead in Cloud Services. Apple CEO Tim Cook has shared his belief that Google is Apple’s top competition in Cloud Services. What is Cloud Service Ecosystem ? The ecosystem includes, Cloud Services to Consumer, 2) Cloud Services to Enterprise, and 3) Portals to Cloud Services within third party apps and devices.
What Does Zomato’s Acquisition of UrbanSpoon Mean to InfoEdge ?
Zomato has finalized to acquire Urbanspoon, a local restaurant guide that provides reviews from experts in the US. Urbanspoon provides information on restaurants throughout the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and is an operating business of IAC. IAC is a leading media and Internet company that owns more than 20 operating businesses comprising over 150 brands and products. The acquisition size is estimated at ~US$60m and funding will be done through its recent fund raising.
Zomato has 331,000 restaurants listed in 19 countries and has a team of over 750 people. As per Zomato, Urbanspoon has been a dominant player in the US, Canada and Australia for years, and has rich local restaurant content. This acquisition provides an entry point into some key markets like US and Australia and establishes a presence to
Tencent Launches China’s First Online Only Bank – WeBank
At a time when Corrupt Congress led Government in India was planning a step backwards to launch Banks on the basis of Sex, Caste Creed and Color, our neighbor China swiftly moved to regulate Online Only banks. Tencent, for instance, launched China’s first online private bank (WeBank) in a ceremony in Shenzhen on 4 Jan 2015. WeBank, which is fully internet-based with no physical branches in China, offers small loans of less than RMB1m to small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Chinese premier Li Keqiang enabled WeBank’s first loan during the ceremony, extending RMB35,000 of credit to a truck driver. Full operations are expected to begin in April.
Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial also received one of five similar online private banking licenses issued in
How SingTel Plans to monetize Group Digital Life Startups / Companies ?
Asian Telecom Conglomerate, SingTel with investments in Service Providers to Apps Developers has established the Group Digital Life initiative. GDL is running at EBITDA losses in excess of SGD100mn pa. There are no explicit break-even targets, and it will largely depend on what else it buys, in our view. More acquisitions could mean more losses in the initial years. We’d like to see various options SingTel may weigh to monetize these investments.
The initial focus for most investments (apps) is to scale users. However, a successful investment should see revenue monetisation by around five years, beyond which its value proposition may have to be re-evaluated altogether – e.g. if something isn’t generating revenue within five years, then one has to question its value proposition altogether.
Arguably, the app is originally
Rise & Demand of Connected Intelligent Cars with Advanced Driving Assistance System
We believe we are at the inflection of the take-off of technology-assisted driving. The current penetration of Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) is only 3%. With the recent boom of ADAS and semi-automated auto model introductions, consumer awareness has been heightened.
What is ADAS?
ADAS broadly refers to a set of features which make use of internal software connected to sensors and cameras to alert drivers to potential hazards, or even temporarily take control of the car to avoid dangerous situations. Accomplished through radars, cameras, or laser sensors, these features include adaptive cruise control, parking assist, forward collision warning, predictive emergency braking systems, lane-keeping support, pedestrian and signage recognition, and traffic-jam assist.
ADAS will pave the way for semi-automated driving
Peek into Oracle’s Fusion & SaaS Business Performance
After outlining the Project Fusion in early 2005, Oracle Corp undertook what became a six-year effort to modernize its core business applications. It is clear that Oracle has made Fusion a focus for the company and continued investment in this area with a steady cadence of updates since its initial release.
With the new release of Fusion, applications share common middleware (easier to integrate) and embed analytics (something that was arguably ahead of its time) and customers have the option of running their applications either on premise or in the cloud via software as a service (SaaS). The initial success of Fusion is much debated and the product still has not driven a re-acceleration in Oracle’s applications
Can Google Retain as Default Search Engine on Apple Safari ?
In 2011 Google renewed its deal with Apple to be the default search engine for its mobile Safari browser and this agreement is set to expire sometime in 2015. Apple has recently switched its mobile search provider for Siri and Spotlight from Google to Bing. So Google could either lose the Safari business or that the terms could become less favorable to Google at renewal as Bing is likely to give Google a run for its money. With consistent shift from Browser based navigation to Apps, we estimate that Safari toolbar searches revenue in 2015 is likely to be $4 Bn in the United States and another $ 2 Bn outside the US [based on
The Rise of Internet of Things & Applications with Big Data
Internet of Things – IoT will be a multibillion-unit market by 2020, with applications ranging from wearables, gaming, fitness and medicine to industrials and transportation. However, unlike the current era of mobile devices, which has some standardization on the components side, IoT market evolution could be fragmented, with products / chips tailored to areas of usage.
The opening of software platforms over the past decade has enabled developers around the world to develop applications for mobile and other devices. The emergence of IoT
What are Digital Services [SMAC] and How is it Different from IT ?
Digital Services are the key focus for IT services vendors today with increased investments by vendors in building capabilities in this area. The term digital services or SMAC refers to a computing paradigm that is essentially a confluence of four different technology forces, namely a) Social Media, b) Mobility, c) Analytics and d) Cloud.
Social Media & IT
The ever increasing use of social networking platforms has opened up new avenues for customer engagement, marketing and brand building by organizations across the world. Social Media helps firms widen their reach across geographies and demographics; connect with customers and proactively seek real time feedback. For instance, most technology products have social networking sections