19 Jan
The information industry is growing at a rapid pace and is one one the largest influencers of the global economy today. The global information services market is expected to reach US$196.7 billion in 2025, growing at a CAGR of 8%.
Various sectors of the information industry are expected to see rapid growth over the next decade due to emerging trends positively affecting the global landscape. For example, the rise in digital viewership and readership is driving enormous potential for industries such as the global information services market. As the use of the internet increases, advertisers and publishers are publishing their content on digital platforms rather than on media such as print and television. From book-reading and news consumption to advertising viewership, internet users are shaping the consumption of such content. As a result of the growing market, new customer-targeting strategies are being explored and traditional information services companies are innovating their operations to keep up with changing customer preferences.
Despite the potential for the future growth of numerous sectors of the information industry, there are plenty of challenges still ahead. One of the largest challenges being faced in the information industry is an increase in labor costs. With margins always under threat from competition and other external forces, industry players are also struggling with rising labor costs. A rise in minimum and average wages due to the government or a competitive push impacts the costs that operators have to incur when securing even typically low-skilled jobs.
In this article, we will elaborate on some of the major trends and challenges expected to impact various sectors of the information industry.
What is the information industry?
Before we dive into the future trends and challenges of information services, it is important to define the industry. BizVibe’s platform contains more than 400,000 information companies which are segmented into 11 categories. Each category is being transformed by its own set of trends and challenges that will greatly influence the direction of information companies in the coming years. Below we will discuss the trends and challenges influencing some of the major categories in the information services sector.
Motion Picture and Video Industries
Emerging Trend – Partnerships, Investments, and M&As to Gain Market Leadership
The motion picture and video industries are experiencing increased investments, expansions, M&As, and partnerships owing to the significant potential in the sector. Investments are flowing in to enhance their infrastructure, content, distribution platforms, profitability, and geographical reach. A growing consolidation and collaboration landscape is creating a competitive advantage and opportunity for expansion for industry players.
Major Challenge – Threat from Piracy
Pirated copies of movies, shows, and music distributed through illegal, unauthorized channels result in losses worth billions of dollars every year. The unregulated nature of the internet has multiplied this problem in the last few years. Even OTT platforms are becoming victims. Moreover, the coronavirus-led lockdown periods across the globe saw heightened piracy activities. Although governments across the world are trying to deal with this problem in various ways, the industry is still racking up lost revenue due to this challenge.
Software Publishers
Emerging Trend – Focus on AI and Machine Learning
As AI and machine learning are set to become key technologies for business enterprises across applications and industries, software developers are focusing on enhancing and offering these capabilities in their products, attracting investments for development, and continuously launching solutions to tap the soaring market demand. Despite the slowdown in the broader IT industry following the coronavirus breakout, AI and machine learning have emerged as bright spots that can provide resilient growth to service providers.
Major Challenge – Risk of Data Breaches and Cyberattacks
Despite the huge investments that software companies make to elevate the security standards of their products, the growing sophistication of cyber attackers continues to expose vulnerabilities. Cyberattacks have become commonplace and often take advantage of the vulnerabilities in software. Software companies are forced to invest in developing a tight security regime for their products and launch frequent security updates without any additional income. Moreover, software companies themselves are often targeted by cyberattackers.
Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers
Emerging Trend – Introduction of 5G Networks
With the introduction of 5G networks, wired and wireless carriers are expanding 5G coverage into new cities, which are expected to contribute to the growth of the wired and wireless carriers industries. This can drive economic growth and help ensure a robust deployment and adoption of secure networks. Also, it is expected to enhance the speed, coverage, and responsiveness of wireless networks.
Major Challenge – Impact of COVID-19
The coronavirus outbreak has created several challenges for the telecom industry. Despite rising consumer traffic and usage, the overall outlook is not very optimistic for telecom companies due to revenue loss from enterprise segments that are badly hit by the outbreak. Liquidity has become a real concern, and therefore operators are rethinking their investments and capital expenditure strategies to offset some of the impact on revenue and cash flow. Lockdowns and restrictions on movement have jeopardized the timelines of ongoing infrastructure projects such as 5G rollouts. Although telecom operators have not been hit as hard as some of the other industries, they still need to take quick actions to avoid severe financial impact.
Information Industry Companies on BizVibe
BizVibe’s platform contains more than 400,000 information company profiles which are free to view. Each profile consists of in-depth company insights, comprising 50+ data points, including full industry trend and challenge analysis for 11 information categories.
BizVibe company insights help provide answers to questions such as:
✓ How will industry challenges impact specific geographic regions?
✓ Which regions will emerging trends be the most prominent?
✓ What are a company’s major product and service offerings?
✓ Who are the company’s key executives and what are their roles?
✓ How is a company positioned financially?
✓ Who are the company’s major competitors?
✓ What is the risk level of doing business with a given company?
✓ What is the latest company news?
Additionally, BizVibe enables users to connect with information companies and includes a feature that allows companies to send and respond to RFI/RFPs directly on the platform. There are information profiles of companies from over 200 countries on BizVibe. Accessing these profiles to discover, analyze, and connect with information companies is free to use.
