Blog articles from 12/2016

A major business disruption stemming from the increasing connectivity of consumer electronic devices is the growing need for ongoing support among consumers. The resulting business challenge is that many companies that had not previous developed capabilities in this area find themselves in a position where providing such services is inevitable. Many are now preoccupied with how to accomplish the following: Increase support efficiency Minimize the use of support...

Bernd Grohmann , Executive Vice President and CTO, eQ-3 AG, provides insight on several key industry trends for Parks Associates’ 11th-annual CONNECTIONS™ Summit conference , which will be held January 5 at CES 2017 in Las Vegas: What is the most important next step to engage consumers in smart home solutions, connected entertainment services, and/or value-added services like tech support and connected health? At eQ-3 we believe that the essential step is to provide...

William Oget , VP Engineering, Arrayent Inc., provides insight on several key industry trends for Parks Associates’ 11th-annual CONNECTIONS™ Summit conference , which will be held January 5 at CES 2017 in Las Vegas: What is the most important next step to engage consumers in smart home solutions, connected entertainment services, and/or value-added services like tech support and connected health? Why can’t products ‘all just get along?’ Consumer products...

Many auto industry players are preparing for consumers to shift their attitudes toward car ownership. The thought is that in the future, a greater percentage of consumers will lose interest in owning a car and will instead opt to use ride sharing services like Uber as a substitute for ever owning a car. The change in attitude toward car ownership is, many maintain, the future of mobility. At auto industry conferences, the future of mobility is a hot topic of discussion, as is how to deal...

We at Parks Associates work with tremendous amount of data in an attempt to understand the complex and ever-changing landscape of digital living. A sizeable share of our work involves looking ahead to where digital technologies are heading ( see our new whitepaper,  Top 10 Consumer IoT Trends in 2017 ) as we help our clients stay ahead of the curve. However, as we bid farewell to 2016, an eventful year, I stepped back and looked at some of the broader news stories outside the realm...

Pierre Fitzgerald , Global Energy & Utilities Industry Lead, Ericsson, provides insight on several key industry trends for Parks Associates’ 11th-annual CONNECTIONS™ Summit conference , which will be held January 5 at CES 2017 in Las Vegas: What is the most important next step to engage consumers in smart home solutions, connected entertainment services, and/or value-added services like tech support and connected health? Key elements to engage consumers will be:...

Karen Kosh , Vice President, Broadband and Mobility Business, OnProcess Technology, provides insight on several key industry trends for Parks Associates’ 11th-annual CONNECTIONS™ Summit conference , which will be held January 5 at CES 2017 in Las Vegas: What is the most important next step to engage consumers in smart home solutions, connected entertainment services, and/or value-added services like tech support and connected health? Consumers are making decisions...

Fitness device use is most frequent among owners with active gym memberships with no cancellation plans Over one in three fitness tracker and/or smart watch owners have an active gym membership and do not plan to cancel. Past research from Parks Associates has found that many as 10% of fitness tracker and smart watch owners have canceled or plan to cancel their gym memberships as a result of using their device. However, new research is showing that high device usage rate of active...