M2M : Electricity and Gas Smart metering in Europe

Taken from Berg's Report 

SMART METERING IN EUROPE

EU28+2 has 281 million metered electricity customers and the annual demand for electricity meters for new installations and replacements is in the range of 12–16 million units. Penetration for smart meters, providing more comprehensive functionality than basic meter data collections, was 24 % at the end of 2014. By 2020, Berg Insight projects that the penetration rate will increase to 58 %, driven by large rollouts in Spain, France and the UK, in combination with nationwide rollouts in several smaller countries. The installed base of smart electricity meters is forecasted to grow at a CAGR  of 15.8 % between 2014 and 2020 to reach 163.8 million units at the end of the period. The rate of installations is expected to accelerate towards the end of the decade as nationwide rollouts in France and eventually also the UK get underway. Berg Insight also anticipates that deployments of a new generation of smart meters will start in Italy by circa 2020 as the first intelligent metering devices installed in the country reach the end of their technical lifespan. Moreover an uptake in adoption in Germany is likely, although full-scale installations cannot be expected to begin before the mid-2020s.

Europe’s national governments play a key role for the adoption of smart metering. The EU’s highly publicised 20/20/20 targets merely include a recommendation for the member states to evaluate the technology and introduce it – if there is a positive business case. Over the past years, almost all European countries have performed cost benefit analyses of smart metering and the majority of the cases have resulted in a recommendation to go ahead with a rollout. Italy and Sweden were the first countries in Europe to complete smart meter rollouts in the late 2000s, followed by Finland at the end of 2013. A second wave of deployments is now prepared or underway in France, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and several other countries in Western Europe. Estonia is doing the first nationwide rollout in Eastern Europe, where other markets with a high level of activity also include Poland and Latvia. At the end of 2014, a total of seventeen European countries had developed regulatory roadmaps for the full-scale introduction of smart meters and at least two more were planning for partial rollouts. Among the largest countries, only Germany remains indecisive about smart meters. The official position of Germany’s federal government is that the country should design the roll-out of smart metering systems in a targeted fashion which meets the needs of its energy reforms. A proposed plan for a partial rollout to around 30 percent of the households is currently being evaluated. If approved, Berg Insight believes that it could result in a gradual ramp-up of smart meter deployments in the late 2010s and full-scale replacements beyond 2020.

Smart gas metering is starting to take off in Europe as a number of countries have identified a positive business case for the technology. Seven countries – Austria, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the UK – have made positive assessments in their national cost benefits analyses and plan full-scale rollouts. The Netherlands made the installation of smart gas meters mandatory for new connections and replacements in 2012 and the UK has also started with replacements on a small scale. During 2015, large-scale installations are planned to begin in France and Italy as well. At the end of 2014, there were 2.5 million smart gas meters in operation, corresponding to a penetration rate of around 2 %. By 2020, Berg Insight projects that the rate will increase to 40 %, mainly driven by nationwide rollouts in the UK, Italy and France. The installed base of smart gas meters is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 63.8 % between 2014 and 2020 to reach 49.0 million units at the end of the period. 

Asia-Pacific Online Payment (H2-2014)

Taken from Asia-Pacific Online Payment Methods: Second Half 2014 from ystats.com

Online Payments in the Asia-Pacific Region Grow with E-Commerce

In the region’s largest market, China, online and mobile payments are dominated by local third party payment providers, such as Alipay and Tencent. In November 2014, Alibaba announced that it is planning to spin off its financial services arm controlling Alipay into a separate public company, with the expectation of a market value of no less than USD 25 billion. Meanwhile, other third-party payment providers, such as 99Bill, Lakala Payment and China PnR started expanding their mobile and online payment offerings to in-store payments. The number of online payment users in China neared 300 million in June 2014, while mobile payment users topped 200 million.

One of the region’s mobile payment pioneers, Japan has seen new mobile payment pathways launched this year. Korea-based mobile messaging service Line introduced Line Pay in Japan, while Rakuten Bank, a division E-Commerce leader Rakuten, launched payment transfers through Facebook. To support the growth of online payment methods, the Japanese adopted a plan to enhance the payment system, including improvement of real-time bank transfers. The payment methods most used by online shoppers in Japan are credit card and convenience store payments. 

In South Korea, last month the government agency regulating finances relaxed its requirement to use the specific software for online payment security, allowing companies to choose any security software. Other innovations in payments include the recent launch of mobile payment service KakaoTalk, by Daum Kakao, operator of the leading mobile messaging platform. Also, phone maker Samsung cooperated with payment processor Yelopay to introduce a Samsung Wallet. The value of mobile payments in the first half of this year grew by more than two times to several EUR billion. 

In Australia, online shopping remains the leading purpose for using credit cards. Mobile payments are on the rise, as the share of payments made via smartphone accounted for a high one-digit share of all remote purchases. Moreover, payments with PayPal are gaining popularity and already account for a small one-digit share of all consumer payments in the country.

Cash on delivery is still the payment method most preferred by online shoppers in India in 2014. The same is true for Pakistan, where credit card payment is offered by only three out of seven major shopping sites. Also in Vietnam cash on delivery and bank transfer are the most popular payment options in B2C E-Commerce. Though electronic payment penetrations lags in these nations, the potential for growth is promising.

Indonesian Consumer Confidence, October 2014

Taken from The ANZ-Roy Morgan 

ANZ-Roy Morgan Indonesian Consumer Confidence Dips on Politics in October

HIGHLIGHTS

• ANZ-Roy Morgan Indonesian Consumer Confidence fell to 158.1 (down 3.1pts) in October, but still 9.1pts higher than it was a year ago in October 2013 (149.0). The main driver of this month’s decrease was less confidence in the economic outlook over the short and long term.
• Indonesians are less optimistic about economic prospects for the country as a whole. 82.8% (down 4.5ppts) of Indonesians expect Indonesia will have ‘good times’ financially during the next 12 months and 16.1% (up 3.6ppts) said Indonesia will have have ‘bad times’ financially.
• 92.1% of Indonesians (down 2.4ppts) expect the country as a whole to have ‘good times’ economically over the next five years compared to 6.8% (up 1.6ppt) who expect ‘bad times’ economically.
• In terms of personal finances, 47% (unchanged) of Indonesians said their families are ‘better off’ financially now compared to a year ago with 8% (unchanged) who said their families are ‘worse off’ financially.
• Also, 74% (unchanged) of Indonesians expect their families will be ‘better off’ financially this time next year compared to 2% (down 1ppt) who expect their families to be ‘worse off’ financially.
• Finally, 62% (down 2ppts) of Indonesians said ‘now is a good time to buy’ major household items compared to 35% (up 3ppt) who said ‘now is a bad time to buy’ major household items.

ANZ Chief Economist South Asia, ASEAN & Pacific, Glenn Maguire said:

• "Political shenanigans and the growing prospect of a near term fuel-price hike are now weighing on the minds of hitherto exuberant Indonesian consumers.
• "Our survey was largely conducted over the period when Prabowo made a clean sweep of lower and upper house parliamentary appointments and hopes of Jokowi securing a workable majority in the Parliament were perhaps at their lowest. To be sure, some of the decline in confidence aligned with political developments was probably tempered by a well-received response to his official Cabinet announcement.
• "The large decline in question Economic conditions next year, falling 8.1ppts in the month, suggests the prospects of a fuel price hike is also weighing on confidence. A fuel price hike will surely make a significant dent in sentiment. Indeed, the history of our consumer confidence index data set provides a useful indication of what the likely impact of a fuel price hike will be on the Indonesian economy. We note that consumer confidence took a sizeable hit in June-July 2013 after a 44% rise in retail fuel prices – the first increase in five years.
• "Given a fuel price hike is imminent, Consumer Confidence looks set to fall in tandem with rising petrol prices. Our consumer confidence index should be providing the timeliest read of any economic data in Indonesia on how the impact will play out and their likely effect on economic activity and financial markets.”

Indonesia Operational Risk Index by BMI

Taken from

Indonesia Operational Risk Report

Published 11 September 2014

Investors in Indonesia face a variety of challenges that hinder the business environment in the country. Chief among these issues are the limitations on foreign direct investment (FDI), excessive red tape associated with trading and setting up a business, a poorly skilled labour market, a disjointed and highly variable logistics network, and the risks posed to foreign workers and businesses from crime and terrorism. Having said that, we note that there are opportunities for investment in Indonesia, which is South East Asia's largest economy. The manufacturing, oil and gas, and infrastructure sectors all represent attractive options for FDI, while portfolio investment has traditionally been a key source of capital inflows. What's more, businesses in Indonesia are able to make use of the country's strategic location on vital global shipping lanes, which keeps the cost of importing and exporting low.

The challenges faced by businesses in Indonesia mean that the country is a regional underperformer in the BMI Operational Risks Index, with a score of 46.8 out of 100 placing it 17 th out of 29 states in Asia, and 90 th out of 170 countries globally. This places Indonesia on a par with such countries as Serbia, Columbia and Moldova, which are all much smaller economies with far fewer opportunities for investment. Although Indonesia is placed just above India, it comes in below all the remaining BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa), indicating that it is one of the less attractive emerging markets for investment.

Indonesia's geography poses a number of obstacles to the development of a sophisticated logistics network. The quality and extent of the transport network and utilities coverage is extremely variable island to island, and supply chains face frequent disruption due to poor-quality roads, port congestion and high levels of trade bureaucracy.

2014 ASEAN IT Report from Business Monitor International

This table and chart is a resume from previous article of BMI report.

As we can see here, Indonesia compare to the other 4 ASEAN countries has bigger portion of IT spending, around more than one third (38%).  Indonesia also leading on CAGR (13%) followed by Vietnam.  Most of IT spending growth is generated by Software and IT Service category.

From the chart below, it is obvious that most of the countries spend their IT budget for Computer Hardware (50%-65%), except Singapore that spend dominantly on IT Service (40% - 45%). This situation represents that Singapore IT penetration is higher and more mature so IT spending switch to IT Service, such as Data Center, Cloud, and IT Managed Service.

2014 Vietnam IT Report from Business Monitor International

Taken from

Vietnam Information Technology Report
Published 03 October 2014

BMI View:   We maintain a positive outlook for the Vietnamese IT market in the Q4 update, but we highlight increased downside risk from a tightening of domestic credit conditions in H214 as a result of a build up of bad debt. Credit markets could cause short term disruption but our forecast for robust medium term growth in Vietnamese IT spending remains in place, with a forecast for a compound annual growth rate   ( CAGR ) of 12.6 % between 2014 and 2018 . We expect growth will be driven by rising incomes, enterprise modernisation and the policy environment put in place by the government. We also highlight larger opportunities in the retail market where penetration of devices and services remains below the level in neighbouring markets , which vendors will be able to tap as incomes rise. Meanwhile, Vietnam 's development as an outsourcing destination is a significant medium term factor , with the services segment expected to expand rapidly. There is also increasing momentum towards Vietnam becoming a global centre for electronics production as wages rise in China and manufacturers look to protect margins by moving to Vietnam , where wages are as little as a third of those in China.

Headline Expenditure Projections

• Computer Hardware Sales: VND 38.9 trn in 2014 to VND 58.3 trn in 2018, CAGR of +11.3% in local currency terms. Rising incomes and declining device prices, along with PC subsidy schemes, will support demand growth across all three main device categories over the medium term.
• Software Sales: VND 10.1 trn in 2014 to VND 17.9 trn in 2018, CAGR of +16.1% in local currency terms. There are considerable opportunities in business software and security solutions for vendors willing to accept narrow margins in a price-sensitive market.
• IT Services Sales: VND 14.2 trn in 2013 to VND 25.1 trn in 2018, CAGR of +15.1% in local currency terms. Domestic demand for services remains weak.

2014 Philippines IT Report from Business Monitor International

Taken from

Philippines Information Technology Report
Published 13 August 2014

BMI View: We have a bullish outlook for the development of the Philippines ' IT market , which we believe   will be a regional out performer over the medium term . Low penetration of products and services has left an opportunity for vendors to target the market as incomes rise and device prices decline , creating a fertile environment for a period of robust catch-up growth . Meanwhile, the booming business process outsourcing ( BPO ) industry presents a huge opportunity for enterprise sales for hardware and software vendors . Taking the market as a whole, we forecast IT spending growth of   10.9 % in 2014, with the market expected to reach a value of PHP 181.8 bn.   Over the medium term emerging technologies will add to the growth momentum, particularly in the latter years of our forecast, with cloud services, big data analytics, smart infrastructure, tele-health and e-government all expected to contribute to growth .

Headline Expenditure Projections

• Computer hardware sales: PHP91.7bn in 2013 to PHP99.1bn in 2014, growth of 8.1% in local currency terms. Desktop and notebook shipments remain under pressure, but this is compensated for by the boom in tablet volumes, but, with demand shifting to lower-cost devices, increases in market value will not keep pace with unit growth.
• Software sales: PHP24.1bn in 2013 to PHP27.0bn in 2014, growth of 12.2% in local currency terms. Enterprise software penetration is low but, with the modernisation of local companies, we expect strong growth in spending, particularly for low-cost cloud enterprise resource planning systems.  
• IT services sales: PHP48.2bn in 2013 to PHP55.6bn in 2014, growth of 15.4% in local currency terms. The booming outsourcing sector provides the main impetus for outperformance, but cloud computing demand is also growing.

Key Trends And Developments

• The development of the BPO industry in the Philippines is an important trend for the IT market.

Merger AT&T + T menguntungkan partner dan suppliernya?

Rencana merger AT&T dan T-Mobile (yg mungkin jadi AT&T+T, nah lo) yang masih dievaluasi FCC, regulator komunikasi, ternyata didukung beberapa perusahaan IT.

Saya rada bingung juga apa direct benefit buat Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo dan Oracle. Berita di artikel menyebutkan peran mereka sebagai konten dan software distributor (kecuali Oracle). Tapi bukannya konsolidasi tersebut malah akan mempersulit dalam bernegosiasi?, karena perusahaan baru semakin punya bargaining yang tinggi dan menjadi lebih dominan.
Perusahaan lain yang cenderung manufaktur seperti RIM, Brocade dan Avaya juga turut mendukung merger tersebut. Boleh jadi deal bisnis bisa langsung ke satu tujuan, tapi tetep saja Forces dari partner atau sebagai customer jadi lebih besar.
Ada alasan lain?
Microsoft, Facebook, RIM, and others write to the FCC in support of AT&T-Mobile merger -- Engadget

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8