More than 50,000 technology innovators and decision makers rely on ABI Research for deep insight and analysis of transformational technologies and key markets. In addition, we also provide an impartial and expert perspective on the companies that are shaping these technologies and industries.
Here, we’ll take a look at eight standouts among the hundreds of companies we reported on in February.
UPS
In our Smart Packaging Solutions and Technologies report we examine the drivers of smart packaging adoption and identify key areas for growth. UPS is notably expanding its smart packaging initiative in 2023 after finding success in select facilities in 2022. This initiative entails affixing RFID tags to packages or employees, eliminating the need for manual package scans and hastening the shipping process. UPS’s smart labels reduce non-operating costs as well as the likelihood that parcels will be misrouted.
Our Renewable Energy Market report traces the key technologies driving growth and provides insight into sustainable revenue streams and IoT applications. Whereas renewable energy was once a polarizing issue, in recent years it has gained an irreversible momentum, becoming a core tenet of corporate social responsibility and helping to ramp up the renewables market—especially among tech giants like Google. Google has been buying massive amounts of renewable energy with the goal of operating all of its nearly 30 data centers and 70+ campuses completely carbon-free by 2030. It has also supported solar and wind projects globally, from Chile to Finland, as well as the first ever battery-based system for backup power at a data center in Belgium.
Fitbit
Our Payment and Banking Card Technology Analysis draws a roadmap of the current payment card market, paying special attention to mobile payments and wearables as we near an escalation of the chipset shortage. While physical payment and banking cards are nowhere near obsolete, mobile payments are increasingly available, not just on your smartphone but even, in the case of Fitbit, on your fitness watch. Wearable payment technologies like Fitbit pay use a built-in NFC chip, and Fitbit’s pay equipped offerings are unique in their compatibility with other payment apps, like Google Wallet. So while this probably is not a great time to lose your EMV-chipped credit card, wearable options will prove especially resilient.
Apple
Our Contactless Ticketing Update pinpoints growth opportunities and revenue streams from product development to marketing to sales throughout all of 2022. Apple has succeeded in becoming close to ubiquitous in the contactless ticketing market—whether you’re swiping into the metro or scanning a ticket at a concert, your Apple device is likely to be compatible. And there are only signs of expansion, with new cities signing on to one-tap transit transactions every year—in recent months, Amsterdam and Venice. Apple’s contactless ticketing also uniquely integrates with Apple Maps.
Thales
Our Securing Access to eGovernment Services Through Remote Online Verification report evaluates implementation possibilities for digital identity, paying special attention to the scalability and increased efficiency of remote verification makes things possible. Wherever there is a conversation about digital government documents and identities, it is very likely Thales has a seat at the table. Thales has signed on to be part of not only the Potential Consortium, a 148-member body working on an EU digital wallet, but the NOBID Consortium, which represents several other European countries. Thales cites its implementation of remote verification as key to its efficiency, which the company recently said brought “secure and smart connectivity” to one in four people globally.
NVIDIA
Our SmartNICs, DPUs, and IPUs report gives a deep understanding of key drivers for the increased adoption of these technologies, from the evolution of NICs to SmartNICS to the introduction of DPUs/IPUs. NVIDIA has long established themselves in the infrastructure offload market and are only ramping up, acquiring Mellanox and its Bluefield DPU offerings in 2020. NVIDIA’s longtime development of SmartNIC and DPUs is an appealing effort to reduce power consumption and lower operating costs. NVIDIA also recently announced a joint initiative with Intel that will better support workstations on the metaverse and AI applications.
Boingo
In our The Role of Neutral Hosts in Private Cellular Networks report we dissect the implications that neutral host providers will have on the economics of enterprise connectivity solutions and provide targeted strategies for individual enterprise verticals. Boingo Wireless has been deploying neutral host networks for over 15 years, increasingly with innovation and accessibility for carriers and users in mind. The company’s neutral host Wi-Fi networks and Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) are aimed at maximizing carrier participation, enhancing user experience, and simplifying wireless connectivity at large. Boingo also has its eyes on the metaverse: in late 2022, Boingo became the first Telecom Infra Project (TIP) to integrate TIP OpenWifi, which will maximize network performance for video streaming, augmented and virtual realities.
Kyocera
Our analysts provide a detailed look at the smart labels market in the Smart Labels: Technologies and Market Opportunities Analysis, with insight into the connectivity technologies that will drive smart label ecosystem growth in years to come. Kyocera is one of the exciting players in this space, recently announcing a partnership with Powercast to create battery-free smart labels. The labels are powered by an incredibly high functioning RFID sensor and utilize Kyocera’s uber thin supercapacitators, which can hold up to three sensors. These smart materials, sustainable in nature given there’s no need for battery replacement, can perform a wide range of tasks from measuring warehouse temperatures to displaying instructions in real time.
MediaTek
As our Processor Security for the IoT Edge lays bare, while edge computing continues to involve more highly sensitive data, impenetrable security features and solutions are necessities—and the market for them is growing. MediaTek markedly prioritizes security in IoT applications and on its Genio platform, collaborating with other industry heavyweights like Microsoft to deliver its security solutions to external chipsets. Recently MediaTek partnered with Canonical to enable Ubuntu on Genio, which will in turn broaden and quicken the ability of developers to create reliable, secure IoT devices.
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