The weekend review: retail technology, IT spending, and social video sharing
The cloud finally got knocked off its position at the top of the charts on GigaOM Research. This week a deep dive into the future of retail technologies was the most popular piece of content on the site, though it was closely followed by an industry forecast for the IT sector (and yes, the cloud plays an important role there). And finally, our analysts present their take on the Vine-Instagram mobile video war.
First, in “Retail’s reinvention: technology’s impact on today’s supply chain,” Bud Albers takes a look at how technology — especially the rise of mobile shopping and commerce — will inevitably effect all aspects of retail, including the supply chain. While online sales still only account for a fraction of global retail (just 5.5 percent of U.S. sales in the first quarter of 2013), that number is certain to rise in the coming years. Albers analyzes how the retail sector, which traditionally spends less than 1 percent of its gross revenues on information technology, is now investing in emerging technologies, such as robotics, 3D printing, new allocation models, and in-house R&D engines. Noting that the retail model is “tectonically shifting from the traditional push model to one that is totally consumer-driven pull,” Albers also takes a look at what strategies traditional brick-and-mortar chains (such as Wal-Mart and Nordstrom) and Amazon are currently employing and what trends and technologies may be considered in the near-term future.
Next, in “Second-quarter IT spending: analysis and outlook,” Ralph Finos presents a midyear check-in for IT spending, analyzing the first two quarters of 2013 to forecast global trends and spending for the remainder of the year and into 2014. While overall IT spending remains slow or stagnant in most sectors, Finos analyzes both geographic and segment revenue growth to reveal which areas show promising growth, and he investigates which market growth trends will influence future growth. He closes with key takeaways and areas to watch, focusing on cloud, mobility, and big data spending as important indicators of development and future spending.
Last, Michael Wolf weighs in on the mobile video wars in “Vine vs. Instagram: 4 things to watch for in social video land grab.” Looking past the headlines that Instagram’s new video features spells the imminent death of Vine, Wolf maintains that the two social video sharing apps could actually develop a sort od symbiotic relationship, especially as video sharing continues to develop as a prime advertising and marketing vehicle.
Also popular this week:
The internet of things: a market landscape
Private PaaS: the next generation platform for enterprises
The wearable-computing market: a global analysis
