IPTV, OTT video drive xDSL test equipment growth: Ongoing demand for IPTV and broadband-based over the top (OTT) video services have created a perfect foundation for test equipment growth. To meet the high bandwidth requirements for IPTV and keep pace with customers' expectations for constant service uptime, service providers are being driven to buy the most update date testing and service monitoring tools to ensure they get a good Quality of Experience (QoE). Given the complexity of monitoring broadband-enabled video and IPTV, service providers need testing gear to identify the exact location of faults in the network before those faults affect their customers. In its new World xDSL Test Equipment Market report, Frost and Sullivan argue that the market earned revenues of $279 million in 2010 and forecast it to reach $545.7 million in 2016. "Simple DSL metrics are no longer sufficient to support QoE, which has resulted in an upsurge in demand for multilayer test equipment capable of testing the triple play architecture (voice, video and data) in real-time," says Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Srihari Padmanabhan. "Due to heavy competition in the service provider segment, QoE and QoS in the broadband service market will assume great importance in the future and enable growth in the xDSL test equipment market." Release
Cloud, CPE managed security services adoption is rising: More and more SMBs and large businesses are finding utility in both cloud and CPE managed security services. According to Infonetics Research's Cloud and CPE Managed Security Services report that global cloud and CPE managed security service revenue grew 12 percent in 2011, to $11.7 billion and is on track to grow to just under $18 billion by 2016. The research firm argues that the managed security market is being driven by three key factors: current solutions aren't sufficient to block new security threats; a lot of companies don't have enough IT staff or expertise to roll out new technology; and other enterprises are moving users, applications, and data into the cloud and want security solutions that will accompany them in that journey. Overall, enterprises have to deal with an increasing array of new threats that could come through any number of mobile or fixed Internet-connected devices on their network. "The highly distributed nature of Internet-connected devices and the diversity of those devices drives many companies to look at managed services (cloud-based services in particular) to provide consistent protection regardless of device type, location, operating system, or browser," said Jeff Wilson, principal analyst for security at Infonetics Research. Release
Consumers love their online video games: Renting video games online has become more popular than video on demand (VOD). ABI Research revealed that while only half of the respondents in its latest Technology Barometer survey said they rented video games, these respondents averaged a much higher monthly spend rate at $23, compared to $16 for DVD/Blu-ray. Over 51 percent of US survey respondents said they play online games versus online video, which stood at 45 percent. Although social networking had a significantly higher level of support (66 percent), online gaming also fell within the range of other key entertainment sources such as movie theater attendance (57 percent), DVD rentals (56 percent), and DVD purchases (55 percent). Release