Innovation Blowback from Emerging Markets and Mobile Networks Moving Indoors Among Top Trends for 2008; Online Advertising to Face Growing Obstacles

Innovation Blowback from Emerging Markets and Mobile Networks Moving Indoors Among Top Trends for 2008; Online Advertising to Face Growing Obstacles

Deloitte Identifies Top Trends in Tech, Media and Telecom Sectors

NEW YORK, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Deloitte's Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) industry group predicts that, in 2008, at least one technology innovation developed in an emerging market will become a disruptive force in Western economies.

"Western companies understand the importance of innovating in emerging markets," said John Hagel, co-chairman of the Deloitte Center for Edge Innovation. "They should not miss the much larger opportunity for innovation blowback to use emerging markets as seedbeds for innovation that can be used to attack more entrenched positions in more developed countries."

Meanwhile, the transformation of mobile networks from primarily outdoor to increasingly indoor usage will create new opportunities for network operators, who will need to move rapidly as the process of fixed displacement takes hold. In advertising, the growing online advertising market will contend with increasing consumer antipathy to online ads and concerns about the tracking of online behavior.

Predictions 2008 is a series of three reports examining emerging developments and how they will shape the TMT market. They were written by the Deloitte TMT industry group with input from leading industry analysts and executives. Each report includes recommendations on how to best take advantage of these trends.

Accompanying the Global TMT Predictions this year is a closer look at the U.S. market in a separate report called the Deloitte 2008 Industry Outlook. This report for Technology, Media and Telecommunications looks directly at trends impacting the U.S. market in 2008.

Key trends identified in these reports include:

Technology

-- Innovation Blowback: Technology industries are demonstrating
increased interest and investment in developing products to reach
large, low-income populations in emerging economies such as India,
China, and Latin America. In a phenomenon called innovation blowback,
expect to see at least one of these innovative products, services, or
management practices be introduced back into Western economies in
2008 and act as a disruptive force, targeting the entrenched
positions of incumbents in these more developed economies.

-- Green Technology Issues: LED lights, nanotechnology and water
conservation technology predictions are all examples of how
technology will play an important roll in green issues in 2008.
Additionally, the growing importance of green technology to U.S.
corporations will lead to the creation of a new certification body
for energy-conservation claims.

-- Privacy & Protection of Personally Identifiable Information: The
rising value of digital protection, the flight to privacy and a move
to online authentication will become increasingly important as
increasingly sophisticated consumer targeting plans emerge, along
with continued data security breaches involving personally
identifiable information security.

Telecom

-- Getting Mobile Indoors: With an increasing portion of network traffic
moving indoors, how will mobile operators adapt to this changing
landscape? Network sharing will be a strategic decision made by many
operators in 2008.

-- Accessibility as a Business Driver: Demographics are creating new
market opportunities for communications services and products. Market
segmentation will play a key role in creating new product target
markets.

-- From Credit Crunch to Communications Crisis: A vital question for the
telecommunications sector is the extent to which the current credit
crunch may provoke a crisis in the telecommunications sector in 2008.

Media & Entertainment

-- Online Advertising: Despite increased spending on online advertising
($10 billion invested in specialist online advertising companies
alone), there is growing antipathy by consumers to the online
advertisement and the tracking of online behavior.

-- Long Live Traditional Television, Thanks to Internet Television:
Internet television will increasingly broaden the user experience of
traditional 'TV' as opposed to providing a viewing experience that
competes with it.

-- The Living Room Moves Closer to Being Public Enemy Number One: More
elaborate TV/entertainment set-up in living rooms means higher energy
consumption nationwide. The media and electronics industries will
need to consider how the carbon footprint of the living room can be
reduced without returning to antiquated technology.

Full reports on Deloitte's predictions for the Technology, Media and Telecom industries are available at www.deloitte.com\us\2008tmtpredictions.

About Deloitte

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte & Touche USA LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte & Touche USA LLP and its subsidiaries.

Contact:
Jonathan Gandal Dan Bingham
Deloitte Hill & Knowlton
(203) 708-4115 (212) 885-0510
jgandal@deloitte.comdaniel.bingham@hillandknowlton.com

Source: Deloitte & Touche USA LLP

CONTACT: Jonathan Gandal of Deloitte, +1-203-708-4115,
jgandal@deloitte.com; or Dan Bingham of Hill & Knowlton, +1-212-885-0510,
daniel.bingham@hillandknowlton.com, for Deloitte

Web site:

http://www.deloitte.com/about
http://www.deloitte.com/\us\2008tmtpredictions

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