BCG’s Value Creators Report Shows How Software Is Driving New Business Models

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) recently released their fifth annual technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) value report. The 2013 TMT Value Creators Report: The Great Software Transformation, How to Win as Technology Changes the World (free, opt-in required, 41 pgs).

The five trends that serve as the foundation of this report include the increasing pervasiveness of software, affordable small devices, ubiquitous broadband connectivity, big-data analytics and cloud computing. BCG’s analysis illustrates how the majority of TMT companies that deliver the most value to shareholders are concentrating on the explosive growth of new markets, the rise of software-enabled digital metasystems, and for many, both.

The study is based on an analysis of 191 companies, 76 in the technology industry, 62 from media and 53 from telecom. To review the methodology of this study please see page 28 of the report.

Here are the key takeaways from this years’ BCG TMT Value Creators Report:

BCG is predicting 1B smartphones will be sold in 2013, the first year their sales will have exceeded those of features phones. By 2018, there will be more than 5B “post-PC” products (tablets & smartphones) in circulation. There are nearly as many mobile connections in the world as people (6.8B) according to the United Nation’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

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27 terabytes of data is generated every second through the creation of video, images social networks, transactional and enterprise-based systems and networks. 90% of the data that is stored today didn’t exist two years ago, and the annual data growth rate in future years is projected to be 40% to 60% over current levels according to BCG’s analysis.

The ascent of communications speeds is surpassing Moore’s Law as a structural driver of growth. BCG completed the following analysis graphing the progression of microprocessor transition count (Moore’s Law) relative to Internet speed (bps) citing Butter’s Law of Photonics which states that the amount of data coming out of an optical fiber is doubling every nine months. BCG states that these dynamics are democratizing information technology and will lead to the cloud computing industry (software and services) reaching nearly $250B in 2017.

BCG predicts that India will see a fivefold increase in digitally-influenced spending, ascending from $30B in 2012 to $150B in 2016, among the fastest of all nations globally according to their study. India will also see the value of online purchases increase from $8B in 2012 t5o $50B in 2016.

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3D printing is forecast to become a $3.1B market by 2016, and will have an economic impact of $550B in 2025, fueling rapid price reductions in 3D printers through 2017. BCG sees 3D printing, connected travel, genomics and smart grid technologies are central to their digital metasystem. The following graphic illustrates the key trends in each of these areas along with research findings from BCG and other sources.

Only 7% of customers are comfortable with their information being used outside of the purpose for which it was originally gathered.

BCG reports that mobile infrastructure investments in Europe have fallen 67% from 2004 to 2014. Less than 1% of mobile connections in Europe were 4B as of the end of 2012, compared to 11% in the U.S. and 28% in South Korea. European operators have also been challenged to monetize mobile data as well, as the following figures illustrate.

Big Data is attracting $19B in funding across five key areas according to BCG’s analysis. These include consumer data and marketing, enterprise data, analytical tools, vertical markets and data platforms. A graphical analysis of these investments is shown below.