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HOT TOPICS
- The Accelerator Conundrum
- The Startup Velocity Question
- Platform as a Service
- Man and Superman
- Web 3.0 = (4C + P + VS)
- The Future: End of Capitalism
- Capitalism 2.0
Technology Stocks
Globoforce Delays Their IPO Plans
According to a Gartner research report, an organization spends nearly 2% of its payroll cost on traditional employee recognition expenses. A study conducted by IDC in 2012 estimated that the North America employee recognition market will grow 8% annually over the period 2011 through 2016. The market was worth $22 billion in 2011 and was projected to reach $32 billion in 2016.
Paylocity Addressing the Growing HCM Market
According to an IDC research report, the US market for Human Capital Management (HCM) applications and payroll outsourcing services is expected to be worth $22.5 billion this year. Another research report by Aberdeen Group published in 2012 estimated that nearly 38% of HCM related investment was being made in cloud computing initiatives. It is not just the big organizations that are wanting to deploy cloud based offerings, but the smaller organizations are also realizing the benefits of a cloud-based HCM offering.
Rubicon Project’s Latest IPO
According to a research report by ZenithOptimedia, global ad spend was estimated to grow 3.5% last year to $503 billion. Digital advertising is becoming an increasingly bigger component of the advertising market. US digital advertising is estimated to account for 21.8% of the overall ad spend of $109.7 billion, compared with 19% market share a year ago.
Nokia Finally Moves to Android
According to a recent Gartner report, worldwide mobile phone sales excluding the smartphone segment grew 3.5% last year to 1.8 billion units. During the fourth quarter of 2013, mobile phone sales grew 3.9% to 490.3 million units. Samsung remains the market leader with a 24.6% market share and 444.4 million units in 2013 compared with 384.6 million units a year ago. Nokia is a distant second player with 250.8 million units sold in 2013. However, Nokia’s phone sales have fallen significantly from 333.9 million units reported in 2012.
BlackBerry’s Struggles See No End
According to an IDC research report, smartphones powered by Android OS grew from 69% in 2012 to 78.6% in 2013, eating into the share of iOS devices. iOS-based phone sales fell from 18.7% to 15.2% and BlackBerry phones fell from 4.5% a year ago to 1.9% in 2013.
Mobile Messaging Apps: Kik Interactive
Besides Asia-based mobile messaging apps like WeChat and LINE, there are a few other players in the North American market as well who have managed to amass a substantial user base along with a sizeable revenue model. One such player is Canada-based Kik Interactive.
Mobile Messaging Apps: KakaoTalk
As I mentioned earlier, the preferred mobile messaging app varies across geographies. Facebook and WhatsApp are universal leaders in the Western markets, but the Orient is still dominated by home grown players. Here is a quick review of KakaoTalk, another Asian company making it big in the market. After capturing the South Korean market, KakaoTalk is working on expanding their market presence and is said to be preparing for an IPO.
Mobile Messaging Apps: LINE App
An OnDevice research conducted in November last year noted that the preference for mobile messaging app market is split across geographies. While Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp may be clear leaders in the American and EMEA markets, the Asian market is a different story. Asia is dominated mostly by home grown apps who are now planning to make it big in the international markets as well. China is led by Tencent’s Weixin, also known as WeChat and the Japanese market is headed by South Korean Naver’s LINE App.