This week, the content and digital publish space got a bit more exciting, with the news that NYC-based incubator and investor Betaworks acquired Instapaper. Over on GigaOM Pro, our analysts have also been watching the content personalization landscape, and our latest Sector RoadMap (published in conjunction with paidContent Live) scrutinizes the current market and predicts which vendors and technologies could disrupt the market over the next 12-24 months. Also new this week: our analyst podcast about the future of shopping and retail, as well as a look at the hybrid cloud market.
Note: GigaOM Pro is a subscription-based research service offering in-depth, timely analysis of developing trends and technologies. Visit pro.gigaom.com to learn more about it.
Cloud: Are Hybrid Clouds Just a Fear of Commitment?
David Linthicum
In his latest blog post, analyst David Linthicum weighs in on hybrid clouds, an increasingly popular option for companies who are not ready (or willing) to commit to a public versus a private cloud solution. Linthicum cites a few key features of hybrid cloud solutions, and provides a brief example of how Zynga has made use of a hybrid instance, but also lays out a set of caveats for businesses who are exploring this path.
Connected Consumer: Sector RoadMap: Content Personalization in 2013
Mark Mulligan
In the latest Sector RoadMap from GigaOM Pro, analyst Mark Mulligan tackles the rapidly-evolving content personalization landscape. As content owners shift from human editorial curation towards machine-based recommendations, publishers, are relying on big data tools to study behavioral and social media data to target consumers and deliver highly dynamic, personalized content. Mulligan uses GigaOM Pro’s patented RoadMap methodology to identify and analyze six major disruption vectors that could impact the content personalization market over the next 12-24 months. Mulligan also highlights six personalization-technology vendors in both the B2B and consumer markets who could break away to dominate this landscape in the near-term future.
Mobile: Why mobile is vital to the future of retail [Podcast]
Adam Lesser, Dr. Phil Hendrix, Doug Stephens
In one of GigaOM Pro’s latest podcasts analysts Dr. Phil Hendrix and Doug Stephens join Adam Lesser for a deep and insightful conversation about how mobile computing is changing the shopping experience. The 40+ minute podcast kicks off with results from a recent consumer survey on the shopping experience at large, and assesses the impact of “showrooming” on traditional brick and mortar establishments. As Hendrix, Stephens, and Lesser reveal, although physical, visceral experiences at brick and mortar stores is still a vital part of the shopping experience, successful retailers will need to drastically change the in-person shopping experience in order to survive. While Amazon is currently dominating the online market in terms of product discovery and comparison, what mobile experiences – apps as well as shopping platforms – will play in a role in dictating which types of physical shopping outlets can survive?
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