Tags: Arts - TV, Business - Small Business, Politics - Canada, Technology

Technology breaking out of ‘one-size-fits-all’ box

February 1, 2011

CALGARY, AB, February 1, 2011/ Troy Media/ – Remember, as a child, when you visited your local convenience store to buy some candy? The proliferation of choices often left you speechless as you tried to decide what to spend your pennies on. As overwhelming as these choices seemed, you really only needed to consider a few factors when making your final purchase.

Well, a visit to your local electronics store today will leave you once again feeling like a kid in a candy store. Canadian consumers and enterprises will be overwhelmed by the broad range of products available as the industry moves from standardized computing devices, like the PC, to tablets and smartphones. As computing choices grow, consumers will be faced with more options to consider. Unlike the narrow choice between salty and sweet, consumers will now be faced with considerations like the need to seek optimum solutions for buying, replacing, managing and supporting these new tools.

Half of all computers sold in 2011 will not be PCs

According to Deloitte’s recently released 2011 global Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions, more than half of all computing devices sold in 2011 will not be PCs. While PC sales are likely to reach almost 400 million units, it is estimated that combined sales of smartphones, tablets and non-PC netbooks will easily exceed that figure. But traditional PCs will continue to dominate as the workhorse computing platform, with non-PC computers only expected to represent 25 per cent of all devices sold by the end of 2011.

Other TMT predictions also provide insight on how businesses operate, especially when it comes to advertising.

1) Social networks are likely to surpass one billion members in 2011 and deliver over two trillion advertisements. Due to their low cost base, social networks may achieve impressive gross margins despite their relatively low revenues particularly compared with traditional media companies.

2) This year will show an increase of 140 billion hours of TV viewing around the world. Worldwide TV advertising will increase by $10 billion, the global audience will grow by 40 million and TV shows will be the subject of more than a billion tweets.

3) Tablets will be more than just a toy. In 2011, more than 10 million, 25 per cent of all tablet computers, will be bought by enterprises. Consumer demand for tablets is forecast to remain strong; however, enterprise demand is likely to grow even faster. Although consumers will initially buy tablet computers as personal media devices, they will quickly discover they are useful for work.

4) By the end of 2011, more than 50 per cent of television owners in the U.S. and UK are expected to own a personal/digital video recorder (PVR/DVR) and have the technological ability to skip ads. However, given most PVR owners will continue to watch the majority of their television live (known as “appointment to watch” television), TV advertising will be almost entirely unaffected in these markets.

5) In 2011, 25 per cent of North American big box and anchor tenant retailers will begin offering free in-store Wi-Fi access to shoppers. Until now, cellular data was the only connectivity available inside most large stores, as retailers feared that consumer online comparison shopping would hurt sales. However, when shoppers do in-store online comparison shopping, the likelihood of purchasing appears to go up, not down: when an online search reveals that competitor’s prices are similar, many shoppers proceed with the purchase at the store they are in, rather than drive around to save a few dollars.

Similarities to 2010′s predictions

If we look back on the TMT predictions for 2010, where the dominant theme was that consumers and enterprises want to access data anywhere, anytime, and on any screen – but need to do so economically – we see similarities to 2011′s predictions.

This new computing world offers Canadians many things the “one-size-fits-all” PC-dominated world did not. For both personal and enterprise, the new choices in computing products tend to be more affordable, connected, mobile, pervasive, reliable, useful and fun, and can be used in many different environments by both adults and children. Consumers will use these devices while shopping, working, for social networking and for media consumption.

Duncan Stewart is Research Director for Deloitte Canada. The 2011 Canadian TMT Predictions are based on research, in-depth interviews and input from Deloitte clients and alumni, industry analysts, leading global TMT executives, and more than 7,000 Deloitte TMT member-firm practitioners. A full list of both the top ten Canadian and global TMT Predictions is available on-line at www.tmtpredictions.ca.