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- The Accelerator Conundrum
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Technology Stocks
OpenX’s Growth Story
Research firm Informa Telecoms and Media estimates that the worldwide mobile advertising market was worth $8 billion last year, and it is projected to grow to $12.8 billion during the current year. This rapid growth represents a major opportunity for platform providers as well. Here is a quick glance into the performance of one such company, OpenX.
Viadeo Is Acting Local, Thinking Global
According to an eMarketer report published earlier last year, the number of social network users globally was projected to grow 19.2% over the year to 1.43 billion in 2012. Growth in social network use is estimated to be driven by the increasing adoption of Facebook worldwide. But besides personal use, social media is also gaining popularity in professional networks. LinkedIn remains synonymous with professional social networks. Another lesser known professional network, Viadeo, has also built a strong base.
Infusionsoft Growing Steadily
According to a TechNavio report, the worldwide marketing automation market is projected to grow at an annual rate of 8.2% from 2011 through 2015. Growth is driven by the increasing availability and adoption of SaaS-based marketing tools that help companies, both big and small, to automate their marketing solutions. While the market is dominated by offerings from giants such as Salesforce.com, there are also plenty of smaller vendors that are focusing on providing access to the SMB segment and seeing rapid expansion themselves.
AppGratis’s Inventive Offering
A research conducted by MarketsandMarkets estimates the global mobile applications market to be worth $25 billion by 2015, compared with $6.8 billion in 2010. The app market is dominated by North America, which contributes 42% of the market share. But European markets are projected to grow more rapidly than North America to $8.4 billion, making Europe the biggest market by 2015.
FireEye Prepares for IPO
According to market reports, the global cyber security market is projected to grow annually at 11.3% to $120 billion by 2017. Growth is projected to be driven by the emerging markets of Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Cyber security startup FireEye is counting on these market opportunities for growth.
Indian IT Outsourcers Continue to Grow, Way Past $100 Billion
According to the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), the Indian IT industry is expected to grow 11%-14% over the year during the current year after surpassing the $100 billion mark last year. Recent results announcement by leading IT players in India saw more mixed results. Players are looking at global expansion of operations and talent pool while focusing on product growth to capture the high-growth market.
Vantiv’s High Growth Rate
According to The Nilson Report, personal consumption expenditures in the U.S. using credit and debit cards and other electronic payments amounted to $4.48 trillion in 2009. Consumption is projected to grow annually at 8% over the year to $7.23 trillion in 2015. Payment processing firms are intermediaries that help complete electronic transactions between the merchant and the financial institution in return for a transaction fee.
Angie’s List’s Woes
Local business reviews have a significant influence on a consumer’s decision about a local service provider. A survey conducted by UK firm BrightLocal found that 55% of consumers in the U.S. rely more on a local business if they read a positive online review of it. In fact, 67% of users trusted online reviews as much as a word-of-mouth recommendation for a local business. But while consumers may be willing to trust online reviews, firms such as Angie’s List (Nasdaq:ANGI) are still struggling to turn the concept of a reviews engine into a profitable business.