The recent quarter result was a new kind of a record quarter for Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) as the company recorded its biggest quarterly loss ever. While Microsoft continues to make several advances in the cloud technology, it is still being bogged down by its acquisition of Nokia. But its recent results were a clear indicator of how the company is continuing to shift its focus from the consumer to the enterprise business.
According to a research report by MarketsandMarkets, the global Video on Demand market is expected to grow 19% annually over the period 2014 through 2019 to $61.40 billion. The report reveals that while the American markets will be the largest revenue contributors for the industry, the emerging markets of Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa will see the highest growth.
Last quarter, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) added a new CFO to their management cadre. Ruth Porat, alumnus of Morgan Stanley, has been known for being fiscally conscious. The recent results announced under her guidance spell that sentiment. Google delivered better than expected results and instilled confidence in the market by ensuring that costs, revenue, and accounting systems are reviewed with much rigor. >>>
Last week, eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) announced their last quarterly results with PayPal by their side. Today PayPal began trading independent of eBay, leaving eBay to compete with the likes of Amazon who are posting a stiff competition. Last year, the global e-commerce market grew 22% over the year. eBay announced a comparatively modest 6.4% growth while Amazon reported a stellar 19% growth. >>>
IBISWorld published an HR & Payroll Software market research report for the US markets earlier this year. The report estimated the industry to be worth $7 billion in revenues in the country, having grown 7% annually over the period 2010 through 2015. Cloud computing player Zenefits is a two-year-old startup that threatens the industry with a peculiar business model.
According to a recent IBISWorld report, the US interior design market is estimated to have grown 4% annually over the period 2010 through 2015. The market is expected to be worth $12 billion this year. As economic conditions improve, growth rates are expected to improve in the coming five years. Billion Dollar Unicorn club member Houzz is helping this industry leverage the benefits of the web.
When it comes to online real estate companies, there are very few big names in the industry. The industry continues to be consolidated under the leadership of Zillow. But none of these really cater to the commercial real estate segment, which is estimated to be a $1.6 trillion market opportunity. The big name within online commercial real estate is that of a bootstrapped venture and a potential Billion Dollar Unicorn club member Auction.com.
According to a recent report published by the IFPI, global music industry revenues fell 0.4% over the year to $14.97 billion in 2014. Within the industry, digital revenues improved 6.9% to $6.9 billion and accounted for 46% of all global music sales. The report reveals that during the year, there was an increase in digital subscription revenues which grew 39% over the year to offset the 8% decline in download sales. Globally, paying users of subscription services improved 46% to nearly 41 million. Billion Dollar Unicorn club member Spotify is reaping benefits from this growth.
According to a report by TrustRadius published last fall, when it comes to web analytics, Google Analytics is the most widely used tool across all business sizes. The research reveals that while Adobe’s analytical tool has more power, Google Analytics is able to attract a wide market share due to its freemium option. Within small businesses though, there is a big range of new companies that are targeting the web and mobile analytics market. One of them is a Billion Dollar Unicorn club contender Mixpanel.
According to an IDC research report, public cloud spending is projected to grow 25% this year to be worth $21 billion and the private cloud IT spending is estimated to grow 16% this year to be worth more than $12 billion. Enterprise services provider Workday is benefiting from this projected growth and interest in the market.