James Slavet, of Greylock Partners, thinks there remain a few areas of the e-commerce space that remain undeveloped, including marketplaces, online to offline commerce (meaning transactions that take place in the physical world), and services that are “mobile-first” ways to find and book things like hotels, taxis, or send gifts and cards.
Of those three general areas of interest, mobile is directly involved with two of three, which explains the growing interest in mobile commerce, as distinct from simple mobile payment.
Perhaps because there now seem to be many viable contestants in the mobile wallet and mobile payment areas, entrepreneurs seem to be shifting more in the direction of ways such mobile-first operations can change retail operating practices, the back office and supply chain, for example, or bridge the differences between offline and online commerce.
Amazon's new warehouse strategy, for example, which sites many more warehouses in many urban areas, could shift distribution in a powerful way, allowing one-day delivery in many cases, and even same-day in some instances. That would dramatically improve Amazon's competitive position, compared to place-based local retailers. Mobile can play a part, but more as the ordering front end.
"Payment" and "wallet" are less strategic, in that view.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Where are Untapped Opportunities in E-Commerce?
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Where are Untapped Opportunities in E-Commerce?
James Slavet, of Greylock Partners, thinks there remain a few areas of the e-commerce space that remain undeveloped, including marketplaces, online to offline commerce (meaning transactions that take place in the physical world), and services that are “mobile-first” ways to find and book things like hotels, taxis, or send gifts and cards.
Of those three general areas of interest, mobile is directly involved with two of three, which explains the growing interest in mobile commerce, as distinct from simple mobile payment.
Perhaps because there now seem to be many viable contestants in the mobile wallet and mobile payment areas, entrepreneurs seem to be shifting more in the direction of ways such mobile-first operations can change retail operating practices, the back office and supply chain, for example, or bridge the differences between offline and online commerce.
Amazon's new warehouse strategy, for example, which sites many more warehouses in many urban areas, could shift distribution in a powerful way, allowing one-day delivery in many cases, and even same-day in some instances. That would dramatically improve Amazon's competitive position, compared to place-based local retailers. Mobile can play a part, but more as the ordering front end.
"Payment" and "wallet" are less strategic, in that view.
Of those three general areas of interest, mobile is directly involved with two of three, which explains the growing interest in mobile commerce, as distinct from simple mobile payment.
Perhaps because there now seem to be many viable contestants in the mobile wallet and mobile payment areas, entrepreneurs seem to be shifting more in the direction of ways such mobile-first operations can change retail operating practices, the back office and supply chain, for example, or bridge the differences between offline and online commerce.
Amazon's new warehouse strategy, for example, which sites many more warehouses in many urban areas, could shift distribution in a powerful way, allowing one-day delivery in many cases, and even same-day in some instances. That would dramatically improve Amazon's competitive position, compared to place-based local retailers. Mobile can play a part, but more as the ordering front end.
"Payment" and "wallet" are less strategic, in that view.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
44% of Surveyed U.K. iPhone users want the new Apple iPhone 5
Apple iPhone owners tend to prefer sticking with the iPhone for their next device, virtually all studies show. So it is no surprise that 44 percent of U.K. iPhone users want the new Apple iPhone 5.About 20 percent of all smart phone users in the survey said they wanted to upgrade to the new iPhone without needing any further information about the product.
At the same time, Samsung Galaxy users are just about as loyal as iPhone afficianados are, with only five percent saying they want to switch to the iPhone 5.
According to the research, the most popular feature on the iPhone 5 is likely to be its larger screen, described as the most appealing by 19 percent of respondents. The higher speed Internet access, making use of the new 4G mobile service which is being introduced to the UK, was cited by 17 percent of respondents as most appealing feature. But 39 percent also said none of the new features appealed to them.
Perhaps not so helpful for Apple were the 27 percent of the respondents who said the iPhone 5 had been over-hyped without anything exciting or innovative.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Is "Ancillary Jurisdiction" Exercised by FCC Legal?
The Federal Communications Commission network neutrality rules were promulgated using a concept known as "ancillary jurisdiction," essentially the notion that the Commission has authority to institute such rules because it is "ancillary" to other authority it has expressly been given by Congress.
But many would argue that the FCC exceeds its authority. Congress has never explicitly given the FCC the authority to enforce network neutrality, but the FCC contends that the power to mandate Internet openness is implicit in other powers Congress has granted to the agency.
This ancillary jurisdiction argument therefore is destined to remain controversial until the lawfulness of the authority has been settled.
But many would argue that the FCC exceeds its authority. Congress has never explicitly given the FCC the authority to enforce network neutrality, but the FCC contends that the power to mandate Internet openness is implicit in other powers Congress has granted to the agency.
This ancillary jurisdiction argument therefore is destined to remain controversial until the lawfulness of the authority has been settled.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Is Private Cloud a Business Opportunity for Public Cloud Providers?
There are five common misconceptions about “private cloud,” which sometimes is seen as server virtualization at existing enterprise computing facilities, or simply the adoption of infrastructure as a service, according to Gartner analysts. The implications are important for some service providers supplying enterprise cloud services.
To be sure, virtualization and cloud computing are driving private cloud computing, says Tom Bittman, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. But virtualization and virtualization management are not, by themselves, private cloud computing.
Virtualization makes it easier to dynamically and granularly pool and reallocate infrastructure resources, Gartner says. The point is that some form of virtualization is used to create a cloud computing service.
Private cloud computing is a form of cloud computing that is used by only one organization, or that ensures that an organization is completely isolated from others. Sometimes that leads to the notion that private cloud computing is another way of conducting computing operations
Private cloud computing is defined by privacy, not location, ownership or management responsibility, says Gartner. That’s an important distinction for providers of cloud computing services, as it does not mean private cloud “only” is operated from an enterprise’s own facilities. Private cloud computing can be hosted from a third-party cloud computing center, in other words.
Though the majority of private clouds likely will be on-premises (based on the evolution of existing virtualization investments), Gartner says, a growing percentage of private clouds will be outsourced and supported off-premises. That means private cloud is as much a business opportunity as public cloud.
Private cloud includes both infrastructure as a service and platform as a service, especially for enterprises that want to foster faster software development, or routinely work with lots of third-party app developers.
Over time, some private clouds will be moved completely to the public cloud. The majority of private cloud services will evolve to enable hybrid cloud computing, blending public cloud services and third-party resources.
The bottom line is that private cloud computing often will represent a sales opportunity for cloud service providers and some hosting operations.
To be sure, virtualization and cloud computing are driving private cloud computing, says Tom Bittman, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. But virtualization and virtualization management are not, by themselves, private cloud computing.
Virtualization makes it easier to dynamically and granularly pool and reallocate infrastructure resources, Gartner says. The point is that some form of virtualization is used to create a cloud computing service.
Private cloud computing is a form of cloud computing that is used by only one organization, or that ensures that an organization is completely isolated from others. Sometimes that leads to the notion that private cloud computing is another way of conducting computing operations
Private cloud computing is defined by privacy, not location, ownership or management responsibility, says Gartner. That’s an important distinction for providers of cloud computing services, as it does not mean private cloud “only” is operated from an enterprise’s own facilities. Private cloud computing can be hosted from a third-party cloud computing center, in other words.
Though the majority of private clouds likely will be on-premises (based on the evolution of existing virtualization investments), Gartner says, a growing percentage of private clouds will be outsourced and supported off-premises. That means private cloud is as much a business opportunity as public cloud.
Private cloud includes both infrastructure as a service and platform as a service, especially for enterprises that want to foster faster software development, or routinely work with lots of third-party app developers.
Over time, some private clouds will be moved completely to the public cloud. The majority of private cloud services will evolve to enable hybrid cloud computing, blending public cloud services and third-party resources.
The bottom line is that private cloud computing often will represent a sales opportunity for cloud service providers and some hosting operations.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Mobile and Cable Companies Try to Profit from Over the Top Apps
Mobile operator 3 Hong Kong will offer its subscribers a WhatsApp Roaming Pass for $8 ($1 USD) a month that gives them unlimited access to WhatsApp services without counting it against their data caps, or a $48 ($6.19 USD) daily pass offering unlimited WhatsApp use and 5MB of service in 78 destinations around the world.
You might wonder why a mobile service provider would promote a service that competes directly with its own messaging service. The answer is that so many people are doing so that 3 might as well try and extract some revenue from the service in an indirect way, namely by allowing usage of WhatsApp without counting the usage against a customer's data cap.
Time Warner Cable, for its part, is currently sending a mailer to internet-only customers, suggesting that they should upgrade their broadband speeds for a better Netflix experience and offering to throw in a whole year of free TV as a bonus.
That's one example of a service provider trying to generate revenue indirectly from an over the top application.
You might wonder why a mobile service provider would promote a service that competes directly with its own messaging service. The answer is that so many people are doing so that 3 might as well try and extract some revenue from the service in an indirect way, namely by allowing usage of WhatsApp without counting the usage against a customer's data cap.
Time Warner Cable, for its part, is currently sending a mailer to internet-only customers, suggesting that they should upgrade their broadband speeds for a better Netflix experience and offering to throw in a whole year of free TV as a bonus.
That's one example of a service provider trying to generate revenue indirectly from an over the top application.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
PreCash Thinks Instant Check Deposit, Instant Bill Payment More Significant for Unbanked than "Mobile Wallet"
What's more important to a consumer without a bank account: a mobile wallet that stores loyalty credentials, or check deposit? Answer: check deposit."Current mobile check solutions can take up to six days before somebody gets their money," says Steve Taylor, PreCash CEO. "That does not work for someone living from paycheck to paycheck. They need their money immediately."
FlipMoney will offer instant mobile check deposit and instant bill payment, features that Taylor says matter a lot more to the underbanked than to the banked.
With FlipMoney, for the first time, people without a bank account or credit card can do instant remote check deposits and perform free expedited bill payments with their smart phone.
FlipMoney combines instant remote check deposit and free expedited bill payments in a single mobile wallet that works with a prepaid card.
Flip is currently being field tested. Large scale deployment will begin this fall, the company says.
For instant check deposits, PreCash plans to charge $1 plus one percent of the deposit amount for a payroll or government check and $1 plus three percent of the amount for personal checks.
There is also a standard-speed option for a flat $3 fee per item. PreCash does not plan to charge for expedited bill-payment.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
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