Gartner may have reported pessimistic growth projections for worldwide IT spending this year. Compared with the past three years, the researcher believes that 2012 will see the slowest growth in IT spending at 4.6%. But that has neither dampened growth for the bigger IT players in India nor limited aspiration for the mid-tier players in the country. MindTree and Persistent Systems are among the bigger mid-tier IT companies in the market, and their results remain impressive.
According to a recent report by iSuppli, the mobile handset semiconductor market is projected to grow to $58.6 billion by the year 2014. The researcher estimates the smartphone and tablet semiconductor markets to be worth $77 billion by 2014. Reports estimate that media tablets will be the world’s fourth-largest semiconductor consumer in the next years. In 2010, media tablets were the 35th-largest semiconductor consumer. In 2010, semiconductor sales to tablet manufacturers accounted for $2.6 billion. That number is projected to grow to more than $18.4 billion by 2014. >>>
According to recent reports, the Internet population in China is more than 500 million – that is nearly twice the Internet population of the United States. Analysts believe that China’s online market is a big growth opportunity, especially considering that the country has a total population of over 1.4 billion. Chinese Internet players have been reaping these benefits.
According to Gartner, the firewall/VPN market is estimated to be worth $5.9 billion in 2010, reporting 10% growth over the previous year’s $4.4 billion in revenues. Gartner estimates revenues for 2011 at $6.3 billion. In their recent Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls, Gartner identified Palo Alto Networks as a leading player.
The first technology IPO that came this year belonged to San Mateo–based Guidewire Software. Founded in 2001, Guidewire is an insurance industry focused SaaS player. They offer property, casualty, and workers compensation insurance companies Web-based tools to handle claims, receivables management systems, and underwriting and policy administration. Besides software solutions, Guidewire offers implementation and assessment services for property and casualty companies in North America.
It is not just the recently listed online review site Yelp that is finding it hard to turn profitable. In 16 years of operations, the subscriber model–based review site Angie’s List (Nasdaq:ANGI) has not yet managed to turn in a profit. Some analysts believe that it may be among the worst tech IPOs to list in 2011.
According to Gartner, worldwide spending on information technology is projected to grow 4.6% this year. This is the slowest rate at which IT spending has grown over the past three years. The depressed market conditions are driven largely by the debt crisis in Europe. Western Europe’s IT spending is projected to fall 0.7% over the year compared with growth of 3.4% anticipated earlier. Leaders of India’s $76 billion IT outsourcing industry believe that Europe will also impact their growth in the near future. However, despite their concern, these players continue to invest in partnerships, delivery center expansion, and product offerings.
Competition in the $10.3 billion enterprise social networking market is intensifying as leading players raise funds to fuel growth. At the end of 2011, Jive Software successfully tested IPO waters. But if the market was waiting for another player, Yammer, to go public, it may be waiting for a long time.
According to eMarketer, online ad spending by healthcare and pharmaceutical companies is projected to grow from $1.03 billion in 2010 to $1.86 billion in 2015. The pharma industry accounted for 4% of overall online ad spending in the U.S., with a total of $25.8 billion spent. The industry’s share is projected to rise to 4.2% by 2015. Growth in advertising spending will help medical information providers increase revenues.
According to industry research, within North America, of the 300,000 full-service restaurants, there are nearly 55,000 that accept reservations. However, not all of them have signed up with a reservation services provider like OpenTable. Analysts believe that North America accounts for a quarter of the global restaurant industry, making international markets an even bigger opportunity.