Europe Shifting to Digital Money and Online Sales for Micropayment Finds Frost & Sullivan

The micropayments market is set to grow rapidly in Europe. Overall, cash payments are decreasing in the region, and though they still remain the preferred means of payment, the emergence of micropayment solutions and products is fuelling the shift to digital money. In fact, defining a single direction for the European market, optimising fee structure and risk management, and enhancing end-user experience will surely boost the use of prepaid, online and contactless solutions for small payments.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan on Opportunities in the Micropayments Market finds that the growth of micropayments solutions will be driven by the usage of pre-paid, contactless, and mobile payment solutions. The analysis determines that use of contactless payment cards systems in Europe is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.7 per cent from 2011 to 2017. Likewise, with the massive adoption of smartphones and increasing penetration of tablets in Europe, mobile commerce will record a CAGR of 10.6 per cent between 2011 and 2018.

The shift to digital money has a substantial benefit for banks and governments alike. In Europe, the cost of handling cash is high. The European Payment Council (EPC) is working on ways to improve processes and reduce the total cost. "The process of production, transportation, protection and destruction of cash is complex and expensive, and with only 30 per cent of the produced money in circulation, governments are looking to optimise the national cost of cash," said Frost & Sullivan ICT Global Program Director Jean-No?l Georges. "The economic crisis has also forced governments to streamline tax collection and fight against shadow markets through the use of electronic money and associated Web services."

Moving away from cash, however, comes with many challenges attached. The preference for cash payment among the older generation of users, issues with the business model and lack of infrastructure as well as a clear marketing message have pegged back market growth in the short term.

Consumers have shown varying degrees of readiness to adopt contactless cards. Frost & Sullivan believes that education on the user and merchant sides, with a strong focus on the security features of contactless technologies, will help to popularise the usage of contactless cards, and potentially, of contactless-based mobile payments.

As of now, the future of prepaid cards and prepaid mobile solutions seems brighter. "Turning cash into electronic funds in a stored value account is currently the best approach," noted Georges. "A flexible solution, which includes issuing a prepaid mobile payment account where customers can load the money through peer-to-peer transfers, cash deposits or bank cards and then use the prepaid value with merchants, will encourage non-cash payments."

Lastly, cloud-based mobile payments are also expected to contribute to the expansion of the micropayments market. "Cloud-based m-payments, in principle, are an extension of the traditional online commerce market. However, we believe that as cloud-based m-payment matures, and its awareness among consumers and merchants increase, the solution will play an important role for the in-store payments and micropayments markets," said Georges.

Creating marketing and promotional tools based on target groups and offering aggressive awards and discount programs will also spur demand for micropayments.

If you are interested in more information on this research, please send an email to Joanna Lewandowska, Corporate Communications, at joanna.lewandowska[.]frost.com, with your full contact details.

Opportunities in the Micropayments Market (9A68-67) is part of ICT Market Insights, which includes research services such as: Cloud Computing in the European Banking Sector, ICT in European Financial Services: A CIO Perspective, ICT Market in European Banking Sector - Market Model, and European Payment Processing Platform Market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan (frost.com), the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants.

Our "Growth Partnership" supports clients by addressing these opportunities and incorporating two key elements driving visionary innovation: The Integrated Value Proposition and The Partnership Infrastructure.

The Integrated Value Proposition provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation.
The Partnership Infrastructure is entirely unique as it constructs the foundation upon which visionary innovation becomes possible. This includes our 360 degree research, comprehensive industry coverage, career best practices as well as our global footprint of more than 40 offices.

For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?

Contact Us: Start the discussion | Join Us: Join our communit | Subscribe: Newsletter on "the next big thing" | Register: Gain access to visionary innovation.

Article source: Newswire Today

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Europe Shifting to Digital Money and Online Sales for Micropayment Finds Frost & Sullivan

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Increasing Complexity of Security Threats Spurs Middle East Network Security Market Finds Frost & Sullivan

The Middle East network security market is all set for rapid growth as organisations in the region realise their vulnerability to increasingly complex cybercrimes. The need to comply with Government cyber legislations has further encouraged businesses to implement network security solutions, fuelling the markets growth in the region.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (networksecurity.frost.com), The Middle East Network Security Market, finds that the market earned revenues of USD 341.4 million in 2012 and estimates this to reach USD 933.6 million in 2018.

The Webinar conducted by Frost & Sullivan on 12th February 2013 titled Analysis of the Middle East Network Security Market shared strategic insights on the various drivers, restraints and challenges in the network security market in the GCC. The Webinar discussed the priority areas in network security investment, the level of network security adoption and the technology convergence leading to next generation firewall capabilities in the GCC. To get more insights on the Middle East Network Security Market and view a recording of the complimentary Webinar, click here.

During the Webinar, Ankit Mishra, Senior Research Analyst, Information & Communication Technologies Practice, who closely tracks the IT Security Market, indicated that,"The growing number of organised security breaches in the Middle East, which have caused data losses worth millions of dollars, have led companies across verticals, particularly in banking, financial services and insurance and telecom, to invest in network security solutions. Enterprises recognition that attacks can affect business continuity and agility as well as tarnish brand image drives security installations.""

Governments in the Middle East have increased their network security spending in the education, healthcare, construction and infrastructure sectors, and ongoing as well as planned modernisation programs across these verticals will continue to spur the uptake of network security applications.

The convergence of network security technologies in a single device will boost demand for advanced security intelligence systems, although the shortage of skilled labour to manage these sophisticated, technology-intensive solutions can curb investments from companies. The unregulated distribution framework, which lacks structure in terms of price, profit potential and regional allocation, also hinders market growth.

Forming local joint ventures and partnerships will enable distributors to establish strong business relationships with key end users in the region, ensure quality after-sales services, logistics support, and spare part availability, and sustain business in the long run, especially in Saudi Arabia.

"Higher throughputs, more web-based applications, complex connections within applications, and access to a large amount of data have become a necessity in several enterprises, and solution developers need to cater to these evolving customer needs," noted Mishra. "Vendors must educate customers on next-generation firewalls, and provide marketing materials to dismiss misconceptions that new technologies are costly and complex deployments."

As smartphones and tablets continue to proliferate in the consumer and business segments and hackers target portable devices, mobile security solutions will become a priority in the Middle East.

If you are interested in more information on this research, please send an email to Tanu Chopra/ Deepshri Iyer, Corporate Communications, at tanu.chopra[.]frost.com /deepshrii[.]frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company email address, company Website, city, state and country.

The Middle East Network Security Market is part of the Network Security Technologies Growth Partnership Service program. Frost & Sullivans related research services include: Indian Network Security Market, APAC Network Security Market, and Asia-Pacific Managed Security Services (MSS) Market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan (frost.com), the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants.

Our "Growth Partnership" supports clients by addressing these opportunities and incorporating two key elements driving visionary innovation: The Integrated Value Proposition and The Partnership Infrastructure.

The Integrated Value Proposition provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation.
The Partnership Infrastructure is entirely unique as it constructs the foundation upon which visionary innovation becomes possible. This includes our 360 degree research, comprehensive industry coverage, career best practices as well as our global footprint of more than 40 offices.

For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organisation prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?

Contact Us: Start the discussion | Join Us: Join our community | Subscribe: Newsletter on "the next big thing" | Register: Gain access to visionary innovation

The Middle East Network Security Market / P694-74

Contact:
Nimisha Iyer, Corporate Communications - Middle East, North Africa and South Asia
P: +91.98200 50519 / F: +91.22.2832 4713 - E: niyer[.]frost.com.

Article source: Newswire Today

Source:
Increasing Complexity of Security Threats Spurs Middle East Network Security Market Finds Frost & Sullivan

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