forrester

Tablets and TV go hand-in-hand

What is TV's new best friend? The tablet.

Eighty-five percent of U.S. tablet owners fiddle around on their tablet while watching TV, according to a new report by marketing research company Forrester.

"Analysts and press have paid much attention to the cannibalistic relationship of tablets and PCs," one of the report's authors, Sarah Rotman, wrote in a blog post today, "but there's another screen whose relationship to the TV is worth considering."

According to the report, tablets, like the iPad, Kindle Fire, and Nook, are taking over both laptops and smartphones as … Read more

The state of 'Bring Your Own Device'

It's dangerous for those of us in the tech industry to naively take what we see playing out in our workplaces every day as a mirror of the wider world. High-tech workers are often more technically savvy and likely to be early adopters. High-tech employers are likewise more inclined to let employees use the tools of their choice. And high-tech companies as a group are, almost by definition, far closer to technology adoption's leading edge.

Which raises the question of whether all the personal gadgets from smartphones to tablets to laptops that appear to be an increasingly integral … Read more

One-third of U.S. adults will own a tablet by 2016, says report

Tablet fever will grip more than a third of all U.S. adults by 2016, according to Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps.

In a report released yesterday, Forrester upped its estimates for U.S. tablet ownership, now forecasting that 112.5 million adults, or 34 percent of the population, will own a tablet in another four years. If that prediction proves correct, it means the industry will sell almost 293 million tablets in the six years from 2010 to 2016.

Europe is also getting into the act.

Forrester expects 105.7 million tablet users to surface in the EU-7 by … Read more

Look out, Microsoft--Apple is grabbing more IT dollars

For a company that doesn't market its products to the business world, Apple has been enjoying a surge in sales among corporate buyers.

The growth of the iPad maker in the corporate market last year proved to be a huge surprise, according to the new Forrester report "Global Tech Market Outlook For 2012 And 2013." Eyeing the landscape for this year and next, the research firm expects Apple to become even more of a disruptive factor in the battle for IT spending.

Apple doesn't break down its sales between consumers and corporations. But based on its … Read more

Groupon model still faces obstacles to success

Now that we have gotten the Groupon IPO out of the way, the debate over the health of the daily-deals sector rages on.

In fact, the novelty of being one of the fastest growing Web juggernauts ever began fading before last week's IPO. One early warning sign: the Chicago-based company's core business, which it pioneered just three years ago--prepaid local daily deals--dipped 3 percent during the third quarter, Yipit, a deals aggregator and industry tracking firm, reported prior to Groupon's IPO.

What's more, according to Yipit's research, Groupon's gross billings per subscriber are … Read more

Amazon could sell 5 million tablets next quarter

At the right price, an Amazon tablet could hit unit sales as high as 5 million in the fourth quarter alone, says an analyst from Forrester Research.

Sharing her thoughts in a blog post yesterday, Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps said that if Amazon can launch a tablet below $300 and provide enough supply to meet demand, it could sell anywhere from 3 million to 5 million tablets in the next quarter.

Earlier this month, Taiwanese news outlet CENS cited information that claimed Amazon was already planning to order anywhere from 800,000 to 1 million tablets per month from … Read more

Analyst: Debt ceiling showdown will affect IT spending

As Washington D.C. bickers over whether to issue the country another credit card in the form of the U.S. debt ceiling, Forrester Research predicts that the outcome will affect technology spending.

In a blog post, Forrester analyst Andrew Bartels said Forrester was planning to project 7.4 percent growth in IT spending for 2011 and 10.4 percent in 2012.

However, the outcome of U.S. debt ceiling talks will swing those forecasts. After all, the feds are a big buyer of technology.

Bartels wrote:

Our forecast did recognize three threats to economic growth, and thus three risks … Read more

Managing software integrity risk

It's no secret that companies of all kinds use third-party software in their own products. Mobile OEMs are a great example--new phones often contain code from of hundreds of code suppliers--both open source and proprietary.

A new "Software Integrity Risk Report" commissioned by software analyst Coverity and conducted by Forrester Research points to a growing discrepancy in the quality and security standards businesses are applying to their internally developed code versus code supplied by third-parties.

This can lead to an increased risk of software defects, translating to an increased risk of software failure and impact to brand … Read more

Companies trying, not buying, Office alternatives

Companies are actively looking for Microsoft Office alternatives such as Google Apps, but so far their interest hasn't dented the productivity suite's dominance, a Forrester Research study released today said.

"Adoption of alternatives relative to Microsoft Office is paltry, but interest remains high, with more than a quarter of companies actively looking at or experimenting with Web-based alternatives," Forrester said in the study. "While the free versions of these programs make it easy for companies to try, concerns over user acceptance and compatibility with Microsoft Office file formats continue to hinder broader deployments."

Interest … Read more