As Om noted, September is a beast in tech circles, and this year is no exception. The month came roaring in with big news from Microsoft and Nokia, and a splashy bi-continental event from Samsung, who launched their new Galaxy Gear smartwatch in both Berlin and New York City. And, of course, gadget fans around the world are anxiously awaiting Apple’s September 10 event, which allegedly will reveal the newest iPhone models and possibly a new Apple TV. Meanwhile, over on GigaOM Research, our analysts are already looking at the near term future of mobile – who will rule the mobile OS market in the next 5 years? We also take a look at Japan’s post-Fukushima energy strategy and why so few companies are deploying SDN.
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Cleantech: Japan: Where solar is the new black
Adam Lesser
In his latest weekly update, analyst Adam Lesser looks at the impending energy crisis in Japan, a country that is heavily reliant on imported oil, coal, and gas to power its cities and industries. Prior to the Fukushima disaster, it was also the third largest producer of nuclear power, owing in part to the fact that the island nation has few of its own fossil fuel reserves. Since the tsunami that struck Japan two years ago, clean energy sources, and especially solar, are being considered as an alternate energy source, despite the relative lack of space for large photovoltaic installations. However, shipments of solar cells and photovoltaic modules are rising, and Japan could serve as an important test case for smart grids and long distance energy transmission. Lessre outlines some of the hurdles that Japan and its nascent solar economy may face in the near-term future.
Cloud: Survey: SDN benefits unclear to enterprise network managers
Lee Doyle
In his latest report, Lee Doyle investigates which enterprises are actually implementing software-defined networking, noting that ”the biggest impact on networking in the data center is the strong adoption of server virtualization; the networking industry has struggled to deliver products that rapidly, easily, and securely support the creation and migration of virtual machines (VMs) on any server at any place in the network.” Doyle’s survey of network and IT managers reveals that many companies are still struggling in the SDN space: only 15% of organizations surveyed have deployed or are in pilot with SDN, and Doyle analyzes the particular challenges and trends that are preventing a faster uptake of SDN, before concluding with key takeaways and recommendations for companies who are considering SDN as their next major investment.
Mobile: Forecast: Global mobile operating systems and broadband, 2012–2017
Peter Crocker
Analyst Peter Crocker makes some big statements in his latest market forecast, predicting that Apple will lose its market share over the next five years and Android, despite various fragmentation issues, will dominate the 4G arena. This data-driven report looks at forecasts for global shipment and LTE trends, and analyzes broadband subscription rates across the American, European, and Asian markets. Crocker also addresses the mobile operating systems outside of the iOS and Android ecosystem before concluding with a list of variables – infrastructure investment, disruptions in the developer ecosystem, and more – that could affect his predicted market outcomes.
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