Infrastructure Management End Users See Budget Constraint as the Greatest Challenge

Based on an extensive online survey on investment plans for infrastructure management and storage software in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan), IEnd users of infrastructure management software are continuing to adopt technology for greater efficiency and effectiveness. Over 63% of respondents see the software as an important investment purchase. These include systems management, network management and storage software.

Heterogeneous storage environments resulting from departmental, branch, or post-merger consolidation present challenges to end-users; as such, the storage management software investments to be a critical priority moving forward. However, the end-users do meet some challenges.

Entitled Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) Investment Plans on Infrastructure Management Software, 2006, this exclusive survey revealed that end-users rated availability, cost optimization, and need for security and compliance as the top drivers for infrastructure software investments. In terms of challenges, budget constraint was listed at the top with over a third of responses collected. Companies are finding it hard to justify the amount of money required to improve their infrastructure management operations. There were too few business case studies, too few technical experts, and too little management support in these areas.

Investment Plans on System/Network Management Software Source: Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) Investment Plans on Infrastructure Management Software Survey, 2006

Virtualization products, despite its current low adoption rate, seem to be the perfect solution to address most of end-users' challenges while maintaining cost on infrastructure management. IDC expects the investment to move a few notches higher once vendors can elaborate the value propositions effectively in the marketplace,

Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) Investment Plans on Infrastructure Management Software Survey, 2006 Publ 20060831

Is Live Traffic a Telematics Killer App!

Telematics: Traffic used to be delivered through AM or FM radio and generally did not tell you anything you did not already know. But this is all changing with satellite-based navigation systems -- many of which are emerging with a radio receiver that gives you traffic reports for your current location.

The proliferation of GPS-based navigation devices has fueled consumer demand for live or predictive traffic data. After all, what good is a plotted route if it doesn’t consider traffic conditions.

But providers of live traffic data face challenges because the market is fragmented among suppliers of content. This fragmentation reflects the variety of sources of raw traffic information including airborne helicopters and planes, road sensors, cameras, Department of Transportation (DOT), sensor-equipped vehicle fleets (a.k.a. probe cars) and human observers.

The data from these disparate sources of traffic flow is being aggregated in different ways but ultimately is delivered to navigation devices or through telematics services. An emerging capability for live traffic reports will include predictive traffic analysis (based on historical data or, in some cases, taking into account local events).

In the end, dynamic content such as traffic reports has value to many people who use navigation systems or services. The services opportunity is appealing for content providers or network operators who see not only navigation devices but mobile phones as the ultimate goal in the delivery of location-based content.

The subscriber base for traffic information services to approach nearly 4.5 million by 2011 in the United States alone. worldwide, demand will be even greater. Suppliers that are able to deliver accurate and reliable real-time and predictive traffic data will be rewarded with revenue growth and market share gains. Today’s offerings come from ClearChannel, Traffic.com,M SmartRoute, LandSonar, and Inrix and represent the first generation of location-based traffic. These are the companies that recognize the potential market opportunities, adds TRG’s Magney

The future of navigation and traffic will include access to live roadway camera feeds, live routing and drive-time updates. And all of this content will be delivered to appropriately equipped cars, mobile phones and PNDs creating significant subscription revenue and hardware upgrade opportunities.

Telematics & Navigation Benefit from Real-Time Traffic Publ 20060724

HDTV Cable Network Revenues Will Reach $1.8 Bil. by 2010

Kagan: US. More than 21 mil. HDTV sets had been sold to consumers at year-end 2005, and at year-end 2006 penetration of HD sets into TVHHs is expected to reach nearly 30%. Just published, ECONOMICS OF HIGH-DEFINITION CABLE NETWORKS forecasts that by 2010 nearly 180 mil. HDTV sets will have been sold to U.S consumers, penetrating more than 81% of TVHHs.

Due to capacity constraints and the fact that the number of HD households remains rather small, the market for HD cable networks is still nascent and by our estimates generated only $182 mil. in 2005. However, we believe this will grow to more than $1.9 bil. by 2010. While some HD nets are currently producing positive cash flow, in aggregate, HD networks are expected to lose money through 2006 as subscriber numbers and affiliate and ad revenue catch up with programming expenses.

MSOs will continue to be put under pressure to add more HD networks. The two major DBS operators, DIRECTV & EchoStar, have added subscribers at an impressive pace and Kagan estimates that at year-end 2006 DBS subscribers will total 29.4 mil., a full 30.3% of the multichannel universe, and forecasts growth of 2.6%/year, reaching 34.2 mil. in 2011.

Multichannel Universe, DBS, Cable and Telco Subscribers (2005-2011)

		2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
DBS	(mil.)	27.4	29.4	31	32.3	33.2	33.7	34.2
Cable	(mil.)	65.4	65.6	65.9	66.3	66.8	67.4	68.1
Telco/Other	(mil.)	0.2	0.8	1.8	3.2	4.4	5.5	6.5
Total Multichannel HHs	(mil.)	93	95.8	98.7	101.8	104.4	106.6	108.7

Other key estimates from ECONOMICS OF HIGH-DEFINITION CABLE NETWORKS include: • More than 21 mil. HD sets had been sold to consumers at year-end 2005. At year-end 2006, Kagan estimates about 30% of TVHH will have purchased an HD set. • The number of HD subscribers across DBS and cable platforms at year-end 2005 totaled 5.5 mil. Cable operators had secured nearly 70% of those. • At $0.84/sub, ESPN HD sports the largest license fee among all HD networks.

ECONOMICS OF HIGH-DEFINITION CABLE NETWORKS Publ 20060831

Google Holds Top Spot in European Site Rankings

comScore: Series of monthly rankings of top European Internet properties based on data collected through its world Metrix audience rating service.

In July 2006, Google Sites represented the number one European online property, attracting 156.3 million unique visitors. Rounding out the top three spots were Microsoft Sites (144.1 million visitors) and Yahoo! Sites (99.5 million visitors), respectively.

Top 15 Online Properties in Europe Among Visitors Age 15+* July 2006 Total Europe – Home and Work Locations Source: comScore world Metrix
	Unique Visitors (000)
Total European Internet Audience	215,458
Google Sites	156,334
Microsoft Sites	144,065
Yahoo! Sites	99,464
eBay	86,201
Time Warner Network	59,475
Wikipedia Sites	46,492
Amazon Sites	40,098
Adobe Sites	31,550
Ask Network	30,073
Vodafone Group	29,727

* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

In addition to capturing the top spot in our European ranking of the number of site visitors, Google sites were visited by a greater proportion of the online population in Europe (75 percent) than in the U.S. (60 percent).

In July, Google and Microsoft Sites vied for the first and second positions in 13 of 15 European countries and were often followed by a local company with a major national online presence in the third spot (such as France Telecom in France).

Top 3 Properties in European Countries Among Visitors Age 15+ July 2006 Total Home and Work Unique Visitors Source: comScore world Metrix
Property Ranking:	First	Second	Third
Austria	Google	Microsoft	eBay
Belgium	Google	Microsoft	Belgacom Group
Denmark	Microsoft	Google	TDC Group
Finland	Google	Microsoft	Sanoma WSOY
France	Google	Microsoft	France Telecom
Germany	Google	eBay	Microsoft
Ireland	Microsoft	Google	Yahoo!
Italy	Google	Microsoft	Telecom Italia
Netherlands	Google	Microsoft	Sanoma WSOY
Norway	Microsoft	Telenor	Google
Portugal	Microsoft	Google	Portugal Telecom
Spain	Google	Microsoft	Yahoo!
Sweden	Microsoft	Google	Aftonbladet Hierta
Switzerland	Google	Microsoft	Swisscom
United Kingdom	Microsoft	Google	Yahoo!

top European Internet properties

Publ 20060831

$2.5 Billion in State & Local Real ID Spending Through 2012. Compliance with Real ID Act of 2005 to drive spending

Input: State and local government spending on Real ID initiatives is estimated to be $2.5 billion through 2012, the authority on government business. The major driver behind the market’s growth over the next six years is the need for states to comply with the Real ID Act of 2005’s new standards for issuing driver’s licenses and identification cards. The new standards require potential changes to state systems applications and the management of information tied to standardized identification systems across jurisdictions.

The Real ID Act gives states three years, until May 11, 2008, to implement the new standards. According to the law, after that date, the federal government will no longer recognize driver’s licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet the minimum standards. This would force citizens of states that did not comply to carry their passport to gain entry into courts, airports, and other federal locations because their license would no longer be accepted as a valid form of identification.

Varying levels of commitment, progress, and spending have been seen across the states, but clearly, fifteen months after the Real ID Act of 2005 was passed, there has been more talk than action in terms of implementation, . Once Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidance is published and adequate funding is released, INPUT expects vendors will begin to see traction in the contract area. Although spending is expected to increase dramatically as the 2008 deadline nears, the timeframe to fully implement Read ID is likely to change. Critical regulations from DHS have been delayed and conflicting cost estimates between the Congressional Budget Office’s report and the states are further complicating the issue. The National Governors Association (NGA) and National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) will be releasing their official cost estimates for Real ID in the coming weeks and the numbers are expected to be staggering. If states continue to shoulder the majority of the costs, INPUT anticipates a protracted implementation that will go far beyond the current 2008 deadline.

Barring another historic event such as 9/11, it is unlikely the federal government will be able to muster the funding or the public support to force swift implementation of Real ID. But, if the anticipated adequate funding becomes available, INPUT projects significant contract opportunities for vendors through 2012.

INPUT's State & Local Real ID Implementation TargetView

Publ 20060831

MySpace Gaining Ground Accounting for 2.53% of Visits to Shopping Sites

Hitwise: Google was the top U.S. search engine responsible for 14.93 percent of U.S. upstream ¹ visits to the Shopping and Classifieds category for the week ending August 26, 2006. Yahoo! Search was the second most popular search engine sending visits to Shopping & Classifieds websites, accounting for 4.69 percent of upstream visits for that week. MSN Search rounded out the top search engines accounting for 2.33 percent of visits to the category.

Top U.S. Search Engines Sending Traffic to Shopping and Classifieds Websites for the week ending 08/26/2006

Search Engine	Domain	Upstream Share Percentage
Google	www.google.com	14.93
Yahoo! Search	search.yahoo.com	4.69
MSN Search	search.msn.com	2.33
Data for the week ending August 26, 2006
Source: Hitwise

Interestingly, social networking site MySpace.com accounted for 2.53 percent of all U.S. upstream visits to Shopping and Classifieds category for the week ending August 26, 2006, up from 1.28 percent six months ago (week ending February 25, 2006). In that period, the market share of visits to MySpace.com has increased 67 percent among all websites, and MySpace.com captured 4.88 percent of all U.S. visits for the week ending August 26, 2006. The top Shopping and Classifieds websites that were visited after MySpace for the week ending August 26, 2006 were eBay, Amazon.com, Gateway, Walmart.com, and Craigslist.

Search is a proven method of acquiring traffic and Google is the leader in driving online retail site traffic. With the growth of MySpace and others, online retailers should expand their focus beyond search to consider social networking sites as a source of additional traffic.

The top three brand search terms in the Shopping and Classifieds category for the week ending August 26, 2006 were eBay, Craigslist and Walmart. The top three product search terms were Barbie, iPod and Heelys for the four weeks ending August 26, 2006 (see table below).

Top Search Terms Sending Visits to U.S. Shopping & Classifieds Category Websites for the four weeks ending August 26, 2006

Rank	Brands	Generic Terms	Products
1	ebay	lingerie	barbie
2	craigslist	sex toys	ipod
3	walmart	halloween costumes	heelys
4	ebay.com	auto parts	crocs
5	target	textbooks	bratz
6	best buy	shoes	lego
7	amazon.com	furniture	webkinz
8	amazon	cell phones	bowflex
9	home depot	checks	proactive
10	sears	flowers	air force ones
Data for the four weeks ending August 26, 2006
Source: Hitwise

Shopping and Classifieds category for the week ending August 26, 2006 Pubk 20060831