Monday Morning Impact – March 5

IDC: Smart Cities Initiatives Forecast to Reach $80 Billion This Year

Worldwide spending on the technologies that enable Smart Cities initiatives is forecast to reach $80 billion in 2018, according to new research from International Data Corporation (IDC).

“Smart Cities have recently evolved from a collection of discrete flagship projects to a sizeable market opportunity that will drive significant technology investments in 2018 and beyond,” said Serena Da Rold, program manager in IDC’s Customer Insights & Analysis Group.

The strategic priorities that IDC believes will see the most spending in 2018 include intelligent transportation, data-driven public safety, and resilient energy and infrastructure. Intelligent traffic and transit and fixed visual surveillance are the two largest use cases in terms of worldwide spending, followed by smart outdoor lighting and environmental monitoring.

On a geographic basis, the United States will be the largest market for Smart City technologies with spending forecast to reach $22 billion in 2018. China will be a close second with 2018 spending expected to be nearly $21 billion. The two countries will share a similar growth trajectory with five-year compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 19.0% and 19.3%, respectively. The regions that will see the fastest spending growth are Latin America (28.7% CAGR) and Canada (22.5% CAGR).

IDC expects spending to accelerate over the 2016-2021 forecast period, growing to $135 billion in 2021.

Channel Impact^®
The research can be leveraged as an effective tool to help channel partners and vendors identify the best opportunities for each specific use case over the next several years.

ConvergeOne Announces Acquisition of Arrow Electronics’ Systems Integration Business

ConvergeOne, a Minnesota-based IT services provider, will acquire Arrow Electronics’ Systems Integration business, specializing in unified communications, contact center, and voice and data technologies.

“This acquisition will be an ideal addition to ConvergeOne, supporting our continued strategy to grow customer relationships by providing comprehensive solutions, services, and support,” said John A. McKenna Jr., chairman and CEO of ConvergeOne. “Arrow’s Systems Integration business shares our customer-focused approach, and brings a strong portfolio of cloud services as well as business expertise in the federal, state and local government, and healthcare industry verticals. This acquisition will enable us to increase our national presence and expand the collaboration and cloud solutions and services we offer customers today.”

Founded in 1993, ConvergeOne focuses on collaboration and technology solutions for large and medium enterprises. Services include strategy, design and implementation with professional, managed and maintenance services. The company claims more than 7,200 customers, including 57 percent of the Fortune 100 and 43 percent of the Fortune 500 customers across the healthcare, finance, manufacturing, education, and energy industries.

Since 2005, ConvergeOne has successfully acquired 16 companies. Completion of the transaction is expected to occur within 30 days. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Channel Impact^®
The move expands ConvergeOne’s portfolio of services in the collaboration and IT-enabled solutions space.

AT&T, Ericsson Team Up for IoT Professional Services

AT&T has formed an alliance with Ericsson to build out new professional services capabilities in the IoT space. Existing AT&T services include consulting, application solutions, device lifecycle solutions, and managed services and support.

In conjunction with Ericsson, AT&T will also offer Global Device Certification, which includes testing, verification and assistance with regulatory approval for IoT devices.

“Companies want to connect things to extract value,” said Mike Troiano, vice president of IoT Solutions at AT&T. “Our services help businesses achieve scale and longevity in design, lower cost implementations, save time and resources, and innovate quicker.”

“Through our collaboration for global device certification, AT&T and Ericsson are building a global ecosystem for IoT, enabling enterprises to capitalize on the opportunities of the Internet of Things,” said Jeff Travers, head of IoT, Ericsson. “With these services, enterprises can reduce the risk of launching devices and decrease their time to market as they expand globally.”

Channel Impact^®
The alliance is intended to help companies in more than 150 countries adopt and accelerate IoT solutions, while reducing risk and accelerating timelines for global IoT expansion.