Sunday, August 30, 2015

Global Entrepreneurship & Development Institute (GEDI)

GEDI INDEX

Enterprise is a crucial engine of economic growth. Without enterprise and entrepreneurs, there would be all little innovation, productivity growth and new jobs.

Entrepreneurial success does not take place in a vacuum. Entrepreneurs exist in the context of their particular geography – be that their local, national, or even supranational economy and society.

This mix of attitudes, resources, and infrastructure is known as the entrepreneurship ‘ecosystem’. The Global Entrepreneurship Index is an annual index that measures the health of the entrepreneurship ecosystems in each of 120 countries. It then ranks the performance of these against each other. This provides a picture of how each country performs in both the domestic and international context.

Entrepreneurship With Better Benefits


Institute 

The Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI) is a research organisation that advances knowledge on links between entrepreneurship, economic development and prosperity. The institute was founded by world-leading entrepreneurship scholars from the LSE, George Mason University, University of Pécs and Imperial College London.

The main contribution of The GEDI Institute is the GEI index, a breakthrough advance in measuring the quality and dynamics of entrepreneurship ecosystems at a national, regional and local level. The GEI index methodology, has been validated in rigorous academic peer reviews and has been widely reported in media, including in The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Forbes (see media tab).

Methodology

The methodology has also been endorsed by the European Commission and has been used to inform the allocation of EU Structural and Cohesion Funds. The theoretical approach of The GEDI Institute has also influenced entrepreneurship policy thinking in trans-national organisations such as United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Further details can be found in the research tab.

The GEDI methodology collects data on the entrepreneurial attitudes, abilities and aspirations of the local population and then weights these against the prevailing social and economic ‘infrastructure’ – this includes aspects such as broadband connectivity and the transport links to external markets. This process creates 14 ‘pillars’ which GEDI uses to measure the health of the regional ecosystem.

Disclaimer : The following article come from this websites GEDI
Email : ainsley@thegedi.org 

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Reinvigorating Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Market in Oman.

Info. About Oman SME -  In today’s fast-paced, dynamic market environment, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) undoubtedly play a vital role. Growing and dynamic SMEs are essential to the growth and sustainability of any economy, as they provide a myriad of opportunities and value addition. A high-income economy like Oman, whose SME sector is still in its nascent stages, is yet to come to a stage where the SME sector is the primary contributor to the nation’s GDP.
This conference will not only showcase various best practices of economies such as the US and members of the EU, which benefit from significant contributions from their mature SME sector, but also initiate a dialogue on ways in which the Omani economy can bring about regulatory changes and incorporate some of these practices into their own system.

Enterpreneurship

Important Agenda's -

Day 1 - 

* Overview of SME Financing in the Sultanate of Oman.
* ICV Development Strategy.
* Challenges to SME Development.
* Enterpreneurship Enabler.

Day 2 -

* Enterpreneurship in Education.
* Understanding an SME Ecosystem and Creating One.
* Opportunities for International Aspirant SMEs.
* Creating an Enterpreneurship Enviorment and It's Challenges.
* And Much More.

IFM Events
Location and Dates : AL Bustan Palace Hotel, Ritz Carlton, SEPTEMBER 13-14 2015.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Industrial Toys Gaming Company Raises $5 million

Mobile games developer Industrial Toys has raised $5 million in a round of funding led by Accel Partners.

As part of the financing, the Pasadena company is also announcing the launch of its first title, "Midnight Star," which will be available this summer in beta.

Industrial Toys is an independent studio that designs mobile games for serious gamers. It was founded by Alex Seropian, who also founded Bungie Studios, the team behind the hit "Halo" franchise.

"We’re huge fans of mobile gaming, but we think there aren't enough great mobile games for core gamers and we’re committed to changing that," the company says on its website. "We'll be mobile to the core, with games that let you have an immersive session at home that blows your mind apart as well as a 30-second experience that still moves you forward while you’re waiting for the bus.

We Advice You Grow


The Series A round represents Industrial Toys' first institutional financing and comes from a firm with a long history in the games space. Accel Partners was an early investor in Supercell, Rovio, Playfish, Gameforge and Mind Candy.
"Each new platform shift yields a crop of large, independent gaming companies. The shift to mobile and tablets is no different, but has largely targeted the casual or mid-core gamer. The opportunity to ‘activate’ core gamers is even bigger -- the content just hasn’t been there,” said Vas Natarajan, a partner at Accel Partners. “Alex and team are developing for the gamers who’ve largely been underserved in this push to mobile.”
Industrial Toys had been angel-funded as it worked on its first title.
Mobile games are the fastest-growing segment of the gaming market, with revenue set to nearly double from $13.2 billion in 2013 to $22 billion in 2015, according to market research firm Gartner.

Monday, August 24, 2015

11th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF)

Overview :- 
Securing financial stability and generating growth is at the top of the global economic agenda, especially after years of uncertainty and sluggish development following the 2008 financial crisis. More and more countries, Muslim and non-Muslim, are now seeking an economic model that is more equitable and sustainable. The concept of the Islamic economy is increasingly gaining global traction in the past few years. It has been proven to be more resilient, and it has presented to the world its vast potential to bring upon peace and prosperity with its underlying principle of being ethical and inclusive.

The 11th WIEF will see the continuous promotion of Islamic economy as it convenes world leaders, government representatives, economists, academia, and the business community to address pressing economic and social issues. The Forum also promotes the values of cross-border business and economic partnerships as it provides an international platform for governments and the business community to showcase their cutting-edge ideas, galvanise support, and recruit collaborators.

Why To Attend :-
Five years after the onset of the global financial crisis, the world economy remains fragile and uncertain.

This year, the 11th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) will provide a high level platform for leading global government leaders, captains of industries, academic scholars, regional experts, professionals, corporate managers, policy makers, innovators, business leaders and investors to discuss opportunities for business partnerships in the Muslim world.


This is your opportunity to participate in this high level exchange of cutting-edge forum, first-hand industry knowledge, and to discuss with international and inter-industrial colleagues on the changing dynamics in global business today. 

You = Success 


Programmes :-
Business MatchMaking.

IdeaPad.

MocaFest.

Forum Programe.

Forum At A Glance.

SME Pavillion.

Complementary Programmes.

Location And Date :-
The 11th WIEF will take place on 3-5 November 2015 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Kuwait Infra Push to Growth and Development

Government plans to generate 15% of energy via renewable sources 

Kuwait has approved the construction of a series of power plants, desalination facilities and other infrastructure projects worth a total of around 3 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($9.9 billion), the finance ministry said yesterday. Like neighboring Gulf countries, Kuwait is struggling to meet soaring demand for electricity and the planned projects will add around 3,580 megawatts of capacity, as well as waste treatment and developments for the education ministry. The ministry did not set a timescale for most of the initiatives, except for a sewage plant which will start by 2020. It also did not say how they will be funded beyond saying 50 percent of the finance will be raised through stock market offerings.

Kuwait National Day Liberation Day Celebration

Among the projects, Kuwait plans a second phase of the gas-fired Az-Zour North power and desalinated water plant that has an initial capacity of 1,800 megawatts. It will also build the first phase of the Khairan power plant with 1500 MW of capacity, which will use different types of fuel, and the Al Abdaliyah power plant with a capacity of 280 MW, of which 60 MW will be from solar energy while the rest will be fed by gas. Kuwait plans to generate 15 percent of its energy needs via renewable sources by 2030, with the first of up to 100 solar-powered fuelling stations operating by 2017, Oil Minister Ali Saleh Al-Omair said in June. A pilot 70 megawatt project in the Shagaya desert zone west of Kuwait City was expected to be completed by next year.

The minister also said that preparatory works of partnership projects between Public and private sectors have borne fruit - 'thanks to the legislative and executive authorities that enacted a law to set up a body to run these projects.' The body has formed its structure in accordance with the international standards to help Kuwait implement projects in a competitive and professional manner, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance said.

 
Growth Harmon 




The body's higher committee has approved six projects and their tenders were offered at the beginning of this month, he added. He affirmed that these projects will be co-implemented by both Public and private sectors as the State of Kuwait seeks to boost the participation of the private sector in sustainable development. Kuwait also plans to create a quantum leap in terms of technologies used in these projects and services provided to citizens; transfer knowledge; create jobs for nationals; attract investment opportunities in the country and support local economy to alleviate burdens on the budget, he noted. This move will be in favor of the local economy, he expected.

Startup Strategy

KUWAIT, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Kuwait has approved the construction of a series of power plants, desalination facilities and other infrastructure projects worth a total of around 3 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($9.9 billion), the finance ministry said on Saturday. 

Like neighbouring Gulf countries, Kuwait is struggling to meet soaring demand for electricity and the planned projects will add around 3,580 megawatts of capacity, as well as waste treatment and developments for the education ministry. 

The ministry did not set a timescale for most of the initiatives, except for a sewage plant which will start by 2020. It also did not say how they will be funded beyond saying 50 percent of the finance will be raised through stock market offerings. 




Among the projects, Kuwait plans a second phase of the gas-fired Az-Zour North power and desalinated water plant that has an initial capacity of 1,800 megawatts. It will also build the first phase of the Khairan power plant with 1500 MW of capacity, which will use different types of fuel, and the Al Abdaliyah power plant with a capacity of 280 MW, of which 60 MW will be from solar energy while the rest will be fed by gas. 

Kuwait plans to generate 15 percent of its energy needs via renewable sources by 2030, with the first of up to 100 solar-powered fuelling stations operating by 2017, oil minister Ali Saleh al-Omair said in June. 




A pilot 70 megawatt project in the Shagaya desert zone west of Kuwait City was expected to be completed by next year.


Kuwait awards re-tendered airport project to same consortium at cheaper price


DUBAI, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Kuwait's government said it had awarded a contract to build a new terminal at Kuwait International Airport to the same consortium that had an earlier more-expensive bid dismissed. 

Turkey's Limak Holding and local construction firm Kharafi National won the deal after bidding 1.312 billion dinars ($4.34 billion) for the work - 74 million dinars cheaper than the offer it submitted in November. 

The government dismissed all bids proffered in November without explanation - though Kuwait's Al Watan newspaper quoted ministry sources saying they had been too expensive and had not met technical specifications. 

 
Small Business Development



The government's Central Tenders Committee said late on Monday the Limak-Kharafi consortium had submitted the lowest bid during the re-tendering process. 

Kuwait has planned tens of billions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects in recent years but many have been held up by bureaucratic delays, political tensions and allegations by some members of the parliament of corruption and inefficiency. 

Indian on Innovation

Three Indian companies among world's most innovative firms: Forbes

NEW YORK: Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consultancy ServicesBSE -1.47 % (TCS) and Sun Pharma Industries are the three Indian companies that have been named among the world's 100 most innovative companies by Forbes in a list that has been topped by Tesla Motors. 

 Fast moving consumer goods company Hindustan UnileverBSE -0.25 % has been ranked 41 on the list, followed by TCS at rank 64 and Sun Pharma at rank 71 in the Forbes list of 'The World's Most Innovative Companies'. 

 The list has been topped by Elon Musk's California-Based Tesla Motors which has a market capitalization of USD 25.5 billion. Musk has inherited (former Apple CEO) "Steve Jobs' mantle as the cult favorite CEO. And his electric car company has grabbed Apple's creative crown," it said. 

 On Hindustan Unilever, Forbes said the company had over 35 brands spanning 20 distinct categories. 

 India's largest IT company TCS, with a market cap of USD 80.3 billion, appears on the list for the eighth time. The company took a major step toward bolstering its digital services when last month it announced a training program in digital technologies for a third of its workforce. 

 In the past year it crossed the milestone of employing 100,000 women, meaning that one out of three employees is now a woman, Forbes said. 

 Sun Pharma had a market cap USD 39 billion and India's largest drugs company appears on the list for the fourth straight time. Billionaire Dilip Shanghvi - who owns more than half the company - pipped Mukesh Ambani earlier this year to become the richest man in India.

Stay Strong Startup


 The list also includes software company salesforce.com on the second spot, followed by Amazon (8), Hermes International (22), Netflix (27), MasterCard (36), Starbucks (45), Adobe (74), Coco Cola (81) and Cognizant (96). 

 Forbes said companies are ranked by their innovation premium: the difference between their market capitalisation and a net present value of cash flows from existing businesses. 

 To be included in the list, firms need seven years of public financial data and USD 10 billion in market cap. 

 Forbes said only those industries are included that are known to invest in innovation.

Citation - With Thanks from Economic Times http://goo.gl/SjFyh4

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

4 Definitive Ways to Grow Your Startup

1. Understand the difference between traction and growth.

Before their companies start to grow, most entrepreneurs mistake traction for growth. Both come at different stages in the lifecycle of the startup and play very different roles.
Knowing where you are in your journey will help you manage your time and resources efficiently.
Balfour writes on the difference between the two. He mentions that the goal of a startup in the traction phase should be to get product/market fit, get users coming in through the door, and only then, focus on retention. He says, “If your product does not retain users, there is no point in growing the top of the funnel.”
Growth is about focusing on those levers that are pulling in the crowds, then cranking things up. He writes, “A few things happen in the growth stage. One, your growth process should be humming like a machine. Two, you should have more capital and team resources available. Three, you may start to saturate your core channel. At this point, it is time to diversify your channels.”

2. Look for common threads.

At the stage where you’re pulling in the crowds for your product, you need to focus on what’s working and what’s not. This will enable you to identify the particular growth channel or channels to allocate your energies on.
A good strategy is to look for threads or themes that are common to both your top customers and the top industries they represent. That’s where your cue to gain depth lies. For instance, if your top customers (as a factor of engagement) are those with 10 to 15 employees or are from a particular industry segment, go deeper within that segment, rather than going wide at this stage.
Startup or Giveup?




3. Identify what slows you down.

While scaling up, there may be many tasks on a daily or weekly basis that hold you back or slow you down. While scaling up, you want to channel all your focus on just one thing -- growth.
So, delegate to an internal team member tasks that don't contribute directly toward your goals. If necessary, outsource when you don’t want to build bulk internally at the growth stage.
The idea is to identify and rid yourself of all things that slow you down on your path. A good example is to visualize Steve Jobs taking back control of Apple and cutting down on those products that were slowing the company, before focusing on just those that could be leveraged for growth.

4. Don’t shy away from partnerships.

A strategic partnership can be a powerful weapon to fast-track distribution. When Tamara Steffens was in charge of business development at Path, she did a deal with Wordpress which resulted in more people posting content to Path from Wordpress than from other sources.
Balfour says of successful partnerships that, “When you sell to other companies, integrate your product into their product (in some way), in order to reach consumers who are generating the revenue (via ads or some form of payment). Most of these relationships involve a revenue share between the two companies.
Examples of such partnerships include Uber with NFLTaskRabbit with Gap and Square with Starbucks.
Whatever is your path to growth, the last thing you want is to run out of cash. Don’t spend on anything that doesn’t drive growth in revenues or efficiency. You should also start bringing in revenues early on in your startup journey. These will help you stay invested so you can go all out on whatever growth channel works for you.

Entrepreneur

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Two Stage With Top 3 Problems For Startups

Startup Advisor 
At the seed stage
1) Building a talented and motivated team

For all the attention that startup founders get, the quality of work done – especially in the early stages – is largely determined by the team behind them. Not only do these first employees have to be talented enough to churn out top-notch work, more often than not they also need to juggle more than one task at a time.

2) Getting initial validation and traction

The perpetual challenge for all startup founders is, “how do I get customers to use my product or service?” Unless you’re fresh out of a prestigious program like YCombinator or 500 Startups, no one will believe in a new product that has no proven track record, explains Goh Chee Hau, founder of on-demand delivery service The Lorry.

3) Executing fast

There is a startling number of startups out in the world today. Fast Company estimates that, in the US alone, more than 500,000 new businesses sprout up every month. Almost every industry is crowded with upstarts looking to carve out a niche for themselves.

At the growth stage

1) Hiring and retaining talent

Now that product-market fit has been established, startups need to focus on empowering specialized roles to drive certain metrics. For these positions, only the best-in-class talents will do, but every other founder surveyed in this study said that it is far easier said than done.

2) Bringing on a good management team

In the same vein, most entrepreneurs found that as the startup scaled, they no longer had the capacity to look after everything.  A good management team and processes go hand-in-hand.

3) Putting stable and efficient processes in place

It’s not enough to have a group of brilliant individuals. In order for a company’s products or services to remain excellent, good processes must be established – notably when company size is swelling in numbers.

www.businessstandard.com

Startup Solu Bags $1.3M Seed

Another hardware startup is sparking up in Finland. Helsinki-based startup Solu has taken in a $1.3 million seed round, ahead of a planned product launch this fall.

Startup Solution 


The stealthy startup has not yet pulled back the curtain on what it’s building exactly but, after pinging our sources, TechCrunch understands it’s directly targeting the personal computer market with a new type of OS and its own hardware. Which sounds suitably ambitious for the land that can claim a former world number one mobile maker (aka Nokia).

Dropping some heavy hints of Solu’s target, co-founder and CEO Kristoffer Lawson notes the team started working on the concept 30 years after the launch of the Apple Macintosh “almost to the day”. “We have seen 30 years of one way of thinking. I think it’s time for a change,” he says in a statement.

A sweeping mission statement on its website adds: “Solu is aiming to change a complete industry with a unique approach and unique technology.”



Prior to this seed round, Solu had pulled in a six-figure pre-seed, back in September 2014, when the business was incorporated. Investors in its new round are lead KSV Finland, along with Vladimir Ashurkov, Sasha Markvo, Otto Hilska (Flowdock) and Timo Kiravuo (Aalto University), among others. Existing investor hardware startup accelerator BuildIt, which hothoused Solu, also participated, along with others from the previous round.

Solu’s founding team consists of Lawson (also Holvi co-founder), Javier Reyes (ex Nordic Director of TMF Group) and Pekka Nikander (Nixu founder). At this point the startup has 12 employees on its payroll. The board includes Nokia’s Sonja London, Taneli Tikka (serial entrepreneur), Jyrki Kasvi (Member of Parliament), and Sasha Markvo, along with Reyes.

Lawson says it’s planning parallel launch events in San Francisco, London and Helsinki. And if it keeps to its slated autumn launch timeframe there won’t be too long to wait to see what kind of kit Solu hopes will be disrupting the Mac and PC (albeit, both have arguably already been amply disrupted by mobile platforms).

Friday, August 14, 2015

Internet Future Growth Opportunity

The Internet Economy in the G-20
The $4.2 Trillion Growth Opportunity
The Internet accounted for 21 percent of GDP growth over the last five years among the developed countries
Most of the economic value created by the Internet falls outside of the technology sector, with 75 percent of the benefits captured by companies in more traditional industries.

Entrepreneurship - Venture Art

The Internet economy in the world's G20 nations will grow by more than 10 percent annually surpassing the size of the German economy at $4.2 trillion by 2016.
As a proliferation of Web-enabled Smartphone’s is expected to help a total of 3 billion people access the Internet by 2016, online retail, banking, advertising, IT services.
In developed markets, the Internet economy will grow at about 8 percent annually, while in developing markets it will grow more than twice as fast.

Ideas Entrepreneurship Venture Art

The UK has retained its position as the largest internet economy in the G-20, according to research by the Boston Consulting Group.  The internet is now the UK’s second-biggest economic contributor behind the property sector, having overtaken manufacturing and retail.
By 2016, the Internet economy will be contributing 12.4% of GDP in the UK, compared with a G-20 average of 5.3%.

It has reached a scale and level of impact that no business, industry, or government can ignore. And like any technological phenomenon with its scale and speed, it presents myriad opportunities, which consumers have been quick and enthusiastic to grasp. Businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs)—the growth engine of most economies.

Mobile Economy - The Future of Entrepreneurship


Mobile Economy is Future
The Internet is a vast mosaic of economic activity, ranging from millions of daily online transactions and communications to Smartphone downloads of TV shows.
An extensive study by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI)—Internet matters:
The Net’s sweeping impact on growth, jobs, and prosperity—includes these findings:
The Internet accounts for 3.4 percent of overall GDP in the 13 nations studied. The Internet economy, now larger than that of Spain, surpasses global industry sectors such as agriculture and energy.
Over the last five years of that period, its contribution to GDP growth in these countries doubled, to 21 percent.

Mobile Economy 

Kuwait Internet Economy Outperforms EMs
A new report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), reveals that Kuwait boasts a globally competitive Internet economy.   The 2015 BCG e-Friction Index highlights that, on a global level, Kuwait is ranked 40th — ahead of a number of strong emerging economies such as Brazil, China, India, South Africa, and Turkey. On a regional level, Kuwaitis ranked fourth after Qatar, the UAE, and Bahrain.
The Mobile Internet Takes off—everywhere
There are currently almost 7 billion mobile phone subscriptions globally, or one for every person on Earth.
 Research firm eMarketer expects that in 2017, seven of the top ten countries for Smartphone penetration will be in Europe (the U.S. will rank 11), and in three European nations (Norway, Demark, and Finland), Smartphone penetration will exceed 90 percent.

Mobile Economy

In Western Europe, demand for such services will drive data traffic up sixfold by 2017, from 187,000 terabytes to 1.1 million terabytes a month, supported by more 4G networks coming online and existing operators increasing their speed, coverage, and capacity.
A Revolution in Behavior
Of Facebook’s 829 million active daily users in June 2014, 654 million (almost 80 percent) were mobile users.
Travelers today use their phones to board planes, unlock hotel rooms, monitor devices at home (temperature settings, for example), and check in via live video with their families. Mobile payments are common in many economies; mobile apps are transforming banking. The lines between traditional retail, e-commerce, and m-commerce have blurred almost to the point of in-distinction in some markets, as consumers research online, offline, and on the go and buy wherever and however they find the best selection, service, and deals.

Entrepreneurship Ideas

Businesses Are Benefiting, Too
There have been more than 200 billion cumulative downloads from the various app stores since 2008. The rate of growth is mind-boggling: more than 100 billion downloads took place in 2013 alone, of which around 20 billion were in the EU.
·         There are more mobile bank accounts in Kenya than in the UK,
·         Banks in Europe are using mobile apps to transform the banking experience for consumers (you can deposit a check by taking a picture)
Mobile commerce in the EU5 reached €23 billion in 2013 (up 76 percent from 2012) and accounts for 13 percent of all e-commerce. Nearly two-thirds of EU5 e-commerce purchases occur on tablets; the analogous figure for the U.S. is about 50 percent.
The Impact of the Mobile Economy
In the EU5, the mobile economy generated about €90 billion ($120 billion) in revenue in 2013, and it is responsible for approximately half a million jobs, of which about half are physically in EU5 countries. In the 13 countries surveyed for this report, the mobile Internet is already generating some €512 billion ($682 billion) in revenues annually—the equivalent of almost €585 ($780) for every adult in the surveyed countries. The mobile Internet economy employs approximately 3 million people in those countries.
Mobile Internet Revenues Are Growing Fast
The revenues generated by the mobile Internet ecosystem are a substantial contributor to global GDP as well—€512 billion ($682 billion) across the 13 countries that account for 70 percent of global GDP. The mobile Internet is driving significant and growing revenues across Europe—€90 billion ($120 billion) in the EU5 in 2013. Put another way, adult Europeans in these countries each spend €555 a year on phones, tablets, data plans, apps, digital content, and m-commerce.
By 2017, EU5 mobile Internet revenues will have more than doubled to about €230 billion ($300 billion)—an annual growth rate of 25 percent, which is comparable to the growth of these revenues in both China and the U.S. The single largest contributor to this growth will be the apps, content, and services component of the ecosystem, driven by the rapid expansion of mobile shopping and advertising. By 2017, we estimate that mobile Internet revenues will have grown to €1.16 trillion ($1.55 trillion) across the 13 countries surveyed an annual increase of 23 percent.
The App Economy Soars
Mobile apps—the software programs that perform designated functions on a mobile device—may be the fastest growth story in recent history. Originally designed primarily to facilitate productivity and information retrieval (mobile calendars and e-mail, for example), mobile apps quickly expanded into numerous other fields, including gaming, navigation, health and fitness, media consumption, communication, and commerce, to name a few.
 App developers have made 1.3 million apps available through both the App Store and Google Play, some 255,000 through the Windows Store, 240,000 through Amazon, and 130,000 through BlackBerry World. In 2013 alone, apps were downloaded 102 billion times globally (of which 9.2 billion downloads were of paid apps), a 60 percent increase over 2012. Downloads are forecast to rise to 269 billion (15 billion paid) by 2017.
Advertising-Supported and “Freemium” Revenue Models
More and more advertiser spending will shift to mobile over time, as consumer usage continues to increase and targeting technology improves. Global mobile advertising revenues will reach $18 billion in 2014, up from $13.1 billion in 2013, and this growth will continue until 2017, when spending will exceed $41 billion.
Building Apps for Others
One area where developers are demonstrating success is building apps for other businesses. Developers are finding new opportunities to connect, monitor, and control IT devices remotely. Some 25 billion new devices (including cars, heating and air-conditioning units, lighting systems, farm equipment, wearable’s, and security systems) will come online from 2015 to 2020, doubling the current number.

THE NEXT BIG THING: THE INTERNET OF THINGS

A big area of potential growth is machine-to-machine (M2M) communication—networked devices of all kinds, in such industries as automotive, consumer goods, and utilities that exchange information and perform functions without the physical assistance of humans.
An aircraft engine that monitors and reports operating data in-flight is one example; buses and trucks that continually report their location, speed, and other information is another. Research organization IDATE expects the M2M market to reach €40 billion by 2017.