This week, the media and technology worlds were abuzz after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced his $ 250 million purchase of the Washington Post on Monday. While his impact remains to be seen on the storied newspaper and publishing company, his company’s workplace policies have come under fire from economic experts and labor advocates, as Research analyst Stowe Boyd details in his latest weekly update. Other popular items on GigaOM Research include our latest Sector Roadmap on software-defined networking, as well as an update on the rise of tablets (and their competing operating systems) in the workplace.
Note: GigaOM Research, previously known as 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: SDN Sector RoadMap
Mark Leary
Analyst Mark Leary looks at software-defined networking, which, represents “the next big wave of networking investment,” with an investment of $ 2.45 billion projected by 2018. Our latest sector roadmap identifies six market disruption vectors that could impact the SDN market at large in the coming years, and analyzes their potential effect on the biggest players today: established suppliers like Cisco, startups like PlumGrid, and middle-industry players in between. This extensive report also provides a detail overview of the technology and history behind SDN, an overview of leading vendors, and closes with key takeaways for IT buyers and other executive decision-makers.
Mobile: Which OS will rule the enterprise tablet market?
Colin Gibbs
Analyst Colin Gibbs looks at some of the latest developments in the BYOD sector; with the rise of Apple’s iPad, more enterprises are beginning to recognize the tablet as a valuable and vital business tool. But the rise of Android tablets presents a range of more affordable alternatives with better mobile security offerings, and software that’s easier to integrate with a Windows desktop systems. Gibbs offers his own take at the future of the enterprise tablet market, with a special nod towards Samsung’s current strategy.
Social: If Amazon is the future of work, then be afraid
Stowe Boyd
Analyst Stowe Boyd warily eyes Amazon’s recently-revealed distribution center staffing policies and procedures as an unsettling harbinger of the future of work. Noting that the commerce giant is effectively capitalizing on armies of temporary, low-paid workers tasked with autobot-like duties and held to robot-like standards of efficiency and productivity, Boyd echoes the concerns of economic development advocates and industry experts alike. “There have to be limits to productivity and efficiency that treat people humanely, ” Boyd contends, “and companies’ excesses must be bounded by our society’s larger needs, like human well-being and those parts of our culture that we have not allowed naked market forces to control.”
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
- Report: The Rise of Mobile Health Apps
- What’s next in the world of software-defined networking
- The Xbox One’s role in the TV ecosystem