With the Beijing 2008 Olympics over, increased attention has been given to the after effects that the event will have on the Chinese economy and, in particular, on the rapidly growing manufacturing sector. While other host countries such as South Korea (Seoul), Spain (Barcelona) and Australia (Sydney) saw a slowdown in economic growth after hosting the Olympics, the impact on Beijing and China is less clear cut due to the country’s status as an emerging economic superpower. In Datamonitor’s opinion, after the Olympics have ended, China’s manufacturing industry will continue to slow as the business outlook within the manufacturing industry darkens.
(more…)

Eco-friendly computing practices, collectively termed Green IT, have gained significant CIO mindshare lately, thanks to the almost ubiquitous debate around enterprise carbon footprints and all things environmental-friendly

Adoption of eco-friendly computing is fast emerging as a priority for technology decision makers. A new report by independent market analyst Datamonitor, “2008 Trends to Watch: Green IT”, predicts a surge in CIO interest and vendor initiatives in the Green IT space. It reveals that tighter regulatory measures and advances in technology are feeding renewed interest in Green IT. In an independent survey* conducted by Datamonitor, over 75% of respondent firms considered eco-friendly computing as an important element in their IT strategy while a further 15% rated it as their top IT priority.

(more…)

In a report about the future of social networks published in October 2007, Datamonitor predicted global revenues from social networking are set to reach USD$2.4 billion by 2012. It also went on to say that as the market became more crowded, it would be harder for social networking sites to remain independent and that acquisition would solve scalability issues, improve content and search capabilities, and extend visibility and reach. This acquisition gives Bebo increased resources, Time Warner a new channel for its content, and AOL a new challenge in a period of intense transition. If the acquisition goes well, Bebo and Time Warner together could develop a partnership to rival that of MySpace and News Corp. However, the challenges of switching from a subscription to a fully advertising-supported revenue model while breaking new ground in social network monetization, could overwhelm AOL.

(more…)