Emergency management agencies (EMAs) have their hands full as the intensity, frequency, and volatility of natural and man-made disasters rise across the United States. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, the U.S. sustained 16 weather and climate disasters during 2020, resulting in damages researchers say exceeded $22 billion in that year alone.

According to ABI Research, the worldwide shipments of smart Government ID credentials is set to rise from 500.1 million in 2020 to 554 million in 2021, with the chipset shortage taking hold in 2022. While the passport market will take a few years to recover to pre-COVID levels, likely not until 2024, the overall market will see an upturn after the woes of 2020.

The worldwide market for smart home devices grew 10.3% year over year in the third quarter of 2021 (3Q21) with more than 221.8 million device shipments, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Smart Home Device Tracker. Despite persistent supply chain disruptions, unemployment, and an uneven economic recovery, consumer demand remained high for smart home devices like smart TVs, smart speakers, and other devices.

Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis of the global autonomous vehicles (AVs) regulatory landscape finds that increasing automated safety requirements necessitate a robust regulatory framework for AVs.

While enterprise commitments to sustainable packaging have centered on 100% of packaging being reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, Gartner, Inc. predicts that 90% of those public sustainable packaging commitments won’t be met by 2025 due to reliance on plastics and single use packaging.

The past few years have seen a major shift in how set-top box (STB) technologies are being designed and deployed to support the evolving needs of connected home subscribers. New consumer attitudes that favor choice and control have prompted network service providers (NSPs) to reevaluate the efficacy of proprietary customer premises equipment (CPE) strategies and explore the benefits offered by a more open approach to bringing new STB value propositions to market.

The warehousing sector has been forced to ramp up its digitization efforts considering the increased order volume and growing omnichannel trends due to the e-commerce boom. Global investment in Warehouse Management System (WMS) platforms surged from $2.3 billion in 2019 to over $2.5 billion in 2020, indicating an 8% year-over-year growth.

Broadcasters, streaming service providers, and Smart TV manufacturers alike are re-positioning themselves to address evolving customer expectations in North America for higher quality video experiences. A broader discussion surrounding viewing standards has emerged to integrate emerging technologies, improve ease of customer use, and ensure compatibility and interoperability with new and legacy services.

Recent analysis of the global desktop and cordless phone market finds that revenues will likely drop to $2.13 billion by 2027 from $2.79 billion in 2020 due to the increased popularity of other types of endpoints such as PC and mobile communications, the rise of newer generations of workers that have rarely used a desk phone, and supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic.

2022 will represent a key year for wireless connectivity innovation as Wi-Fi 6, 6E, and Ultra-Wideband adoption accelerates across a growing number of end markets. ABI Research forecasts that next year Wi-Fi 6 will reach well over 1.5 billion annual chipset shipments, while 6 GHz enabled Wi-Fi 6E chipsets are forecasted to nearly triple year on year.

The Internet-of-Things is leaving an indelible mark on the economy because it opens entirely new ways for products and services—at both consumer and industrial levels—to interact with individuals, the cloud environment, and potentially thousands of applications.

Global smartphone sales to end-users declined 6.8% in the third quarter of 2021, compared to the same time period in 2020, according to Gartner, Inc. Component shortages disrupted production schedules, leading to lower inventory and delayed product availability, which eventually impacted sales to end-users.

As information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) converge, enterprises must decide how they will reconcile the vast differences in IT and OT security. Unlike the IT networks they connect with, OT networks are highly vulnerable to cyberattacks. The IT/OT industry is addressing this issue by implementing purpose-built, integrated security solutions that can natively onboard connections from both ends.

2022 will represent a key year for wireless connectivity innovation as Wi-Fi 6, 6E, and Ultra-Wideband adoption accelerates across a growing number of end markets. ABI Research forecasts that next year Wi-Fi 6 will reach well over 1.5 billion annual chipset shipments, while 6 GHz enabled Wi-Fi 6E chipsets are forecasted to nearly triple year on year.

Analysts discuss the need to treat cybersecurity as a business decision at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit. Eighty-eight percent of Boards of Directors (BoDs) view cybersecurity as a business risk, as opposed to a technology risk. However, only 12% of BoDs have a dedicated board-level cybersecurity committee.

Frost & Sullivan finds as sensor manufacturers move toward a configurable data fusion algorithm that can deal with varying sensory outputs, there will be greater end-user awareness regarding the technology and expanded application in new areas.

IT spending in EMEA is forecast to total $1.3 trillion in 2022, an increase of 4.7% from 2021, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc. The 2022 growth rate will be slower than in 2021 when EMEA IT spending is expected to grow 6.3%.

While there seems to be little doubt that global urbanization will continue unabated, it is equally clear that current concepts of urban living and infrastructure are neither sustainable nor scalable from an environmental impact, resilience, cost, and humanized living perspective. The status quo of polluted, hazardous, and gridlocked cities is beginning to change.

Given the exponential volumes of data leaving the traditional network perimeter every day by volition of an enterprise’s own users, the growing risk of data theft is harder to anticipate than ever before. One of the most challenging obstacles to insider threat prevention has been that most enterprises ignore their users within their risk assessments.

There is a dire need to ensure that 5G spectrum policies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and South Africa include effective spectrum allocation and management strategies. This is key to ensuring that the evolution from 3G and 4G networks to 5G networks and capabilities is seamless, viable for ecosystem players, and accelerates digital transformation imperatives.