Three International Ecosystems (3IE) Sailing on a river full of economic possibilities in technology, women’s college basketball, and green energy. #3.

Three International Ecosystems (3IE)

Sailing on a river full of economic possibilities in

technology, women’s college basketball, and green energy.

#3 - July 2014

Investment $ flowing toward Technology

• Washington, D.C., January 17, 2014 – According to the Money Tree Report: Venture capitalists invested $29.4 billion in 3,995 deals in 2013, …..  Internet-specific companies captured $7.1 billion in 2013, …….  Additionally, annual investments into the Software industry also reached the highest level since 2000 with $11.0 billion flowing into 1,523 deals in 2013. …… “Advances in technology continue to revolutionize how companies engage their customers on nearly every level and has changed the landscape of virtually every industry,” said Mark McCaffrey, global software leader and technology partner at PwC.  “Consumers can see how innovation is changing their lives in the internet and software spaces and are eager to embrace technology at a faster and faster rate.  ……”  http://www.pwc.com/us/en/press-releases/2014/annual-venture-investment-dollars.jhtml

• … we declared “every business is a digital business” …. Industrial companies are becoming customer service companies. Consumer products companies are becoming Internet companies. Energy companies are becoming information companies. And media and entertainment companies are becoming logistics companies. http://www.accenture.com/microsites/it-technology-trends-2014/Pages/tech-vision-report.aspx

• In commentary, one question for conversation: Are we among those providing tech investment monies, seeking funding, beneficiaries of opportunities resulting from deals, outsiders looking in wondering, or other?

Robotics and People in a changing landscape

• ‘In 2011, the sales of industrial robots increased by 38% to 166 028 units and the worldwide market value for robot systems (including the cost of software, peripherals and system engineering) for that year was estimated at USD 25,5 billion.’  http://www.iec.ch/etech/2013/etech_0113/tech-3.htm

• ‘ .. manufacturing and robotics sectors have become tightly intertwined.. In 2012, analysts at McKinsey & Co. … estimated that manufactured goods currently make up 70% of all global trade, …   There were approximately 12 million people employed in manufacturing in the U.S. as of 2013, down from 19 million in 1980. .. Two very large and very obvious developments are fueling debate about the future of manufacturing: 1) the growing use of robotics and 2) rising wages and other costs in offshore manufacturing centers, ….’ http://www.plunkettresearch.com/manufacturing-robotics-market-research/industry-and-business-data

• The video, found at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/robots-outsmarting-us/, attempted to capture, some of the issues, when it comes to the adoption of robotics vs. the impact on today’s job going into the future. The photo below is of/by: ABB

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New tech splashes by Sans Digital, and Tiffen

• From ‘ATP Focused Program Competition 97-04 Digital Data Storage,’ here’s some remarks: the United States digitally stores more than 400 billion documents, with 72 billion new documents being added each year; .. the data storage market alone stood at $100 billion per year with projections to grow to one trillion dollars per year …. http://www.atp.nist.gov/press/97-04dds.htm Hence, one can understand, in today’s terms, an entity, like Sans Digital, introducing models, such as, 2U 12 bay, 3U 16 bay, and 4U 24. http://www.sansdigital.com/index.php.

• One Photography in the US: Market Research Report concludes the industry yields $10 billion annually in revenue; http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/default.aspx?indid=1443. So, its easy to understand why the Tiffen Company is willing to get involved with camera stabilizing products; among them – the Steadicam Smoothee; http://www.tiffen.com/steadicam_smoothee_homepage1.html

Green Homes, beyond support of an environmental

cause • ‘According to a 2012 report from McGraw Hill Construction: the confluence of a stagnant housing market and consumer desire to save money is creating a green home building boom that could be worth up to $114 billion by 2016. Green homes represented $17 billion, or 17 percent of the overall construction market in 2011. …’ http://cleantechnica.com/2012/06/01/green-home-building-booming-could-be-114-billion-market-by-2016/

• Per a November 2010 report, called ‘Green Recovery America’s Homebuilders,’ the following was said: … In the green building market there is likely a first-mover advantage: companies that make a concerted national effort to integrate sustainability into project sitting, construction materials, and construction processes, as well as provide energy, water, and habitat conservation options in finished products, will be able to build a brand image as the environmental choice for home construction. ….’ http://www.calvert.com/NRC/literature/documents/BR10068.pdf?litID=BR10068

• Photo: http://www.ecofriend.com/nature-friendly-specification-needed-building-green-home.html;

The New Manufacturing Base

• ‘The Mahindra Group – a $17 billion IT and vehicle manufacturing firm in India – will now produce a line of two-wheeled, all-electric vehicles out of a 37,000-square-foot Ann Arbor facility. … “The North American Technical Center and GenZe represent important disruptive product incubators for the Mahindra Group. Constant innovation focused on improving the lives of our consumers, employees and the communities they impact’ … Comment & Photo of Mahindra Rise: http://www.mlive.com/business/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2014/05/mulitbillion-dollar_india-base.html

• ‘In 2014, The Atlantic launched a series of conversations across the country on how we can “build the future” – of manufacturing, of biotechnology, and of energy. On April 16, The Atlantic traveled to Worcester, MA, for the second event in this program series. Thanks to advanced software and new technologies, modern manufacturing has become one of the most innovative industries in the world.’ As media, in listening, what clearly came out in implicit and explicit comments: ‘the need for an innovative culture and nurturing institutions,’ in part, ‘a reference to the skills gap.’ http://www.theatlantic.com/live/events/building-future/2014/

• In 2012, an article reported: ‘there were approximately 3.6 million jobs open in the U.S., … in …context of … an economy that employs 143 million people. … Business and the general public have a shared interest in a strong workforce, and should have a shared vision--and shared investment strategy--to develop the next generation of skilled workers.’ Comment & job seeking photo per: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/3-million-job-openings-tell-us-skills-gap-004026892.html; 3rd photo per acdi.com – manufact.

Afinia 3D Printing, Wearable tech by Brilliance & I’m Watch

• There’s good reason for the buzz about 3D Printers; ‘industry experts estimate the 3-D printing market is expected to double to $4 billion by next year [2015] and top $10 billion by 2021;’ http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2014/06/12/d-printing-poised-propel-manufacturing/10402635/. 3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file.. In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the entire object is created. http://3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/. Thus, not surprising, to please their customers, Afinia 3D Afinia 3D, a leading supplier of Desktop 3D Printers, now offers a new line of Premium PLA filament (left-end photo); .. PLA, also known as Polylactic Acid, is a cornstarch derivative and is the world’s second most commonly-used 3D printing thermoplastic. http://www.afinia.com/. By the way, whose on first?  

• Wearable technology mainly concerns devices and apparel/textiles. Glasses, jewellery, headgear, belts, armwear, wristwear, legwear, footwear, skin patches, exoskeletons and e-textiles are involved and the device business is already large. As the wearable electronics business powers from over $14 billion in 2014 to over $70 billion in 2024, ….; http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/04/prweb11796246.htm. Accordingly, among the entities vying for a share of that economic pie are: http://www.brilliance.com/ (middle photo) and http://www.imsmart.com/en/i-m-watch/overview (right-end photo). Competition.

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Women’s Basketball wants Growth in Revenues

• According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, the average NBA salary rose to $3.17 million per player in the 1999-2000 season, while the average WNBA salary was about $55,000. ... Why is the pay so much lower in the WNBA? Attendance is one reason, as less money comes in at the gates for WNBA contests. Comments & WNBA Photo: http://www.askmen.com/sports/business_150/190_sports_business.html

• Remarks per an article in June 1998: ‘an increasing number of companies are embracing women's sports with sponsorship dollars, hoping to get involved at the ground floor with athletes, teams and organizations. … Women's games are hot. They are expected to account for $600 million of the $4.45 billion that corporations dedicate to sports sponsorships this year, according to International Events Group.’ http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/1998/06/19980622/No-Topic-Name/Womens-Sports-A-Growth-Industry.aspx

• The US Department of Education reported .. NCAA’s 333 Division I women’s basketball programs that competed in the 2005-2006 season lost a cumulative amount of ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-NINE MILLION DOLLARS! … http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/ncaa-womens-hoops-lost-169-million-dollars-16399

• 2014 NCAA Division I - Women’s Basketball Champions; Photo: http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-women/article/2014-04-09/premier-huskies

How about those APPs? Evolutionary & Revolutionary• Mobile phone apps were expected to generate $25 billion in worldwide sales for 2013, up 62% from

last year, according to research from Gartner Inc. … IDC, the technology market research firm, projected that vendors would be shipping 919 million smartphones during 2013. http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/05/business/global-apps-industry/index.html

• Its somewhat amazing how an array of new products, manufactured thru new processes, can be controlled by, say, a mere smartphone, using something called an app. So, what exactly is an APP?

• App is a common term for an application; a type of software that allows you to perform specific tasks. http://www.gcflearnfree.org/computerbasics/3. However, its worthy to note, there are many in society that have privacy concerns about them, the proverbial double edge sword.

• Some Examples:• Introductory video on Noteology, the only app that allows you to record or playback video while

taking notes at the same time; http://noteologyapp.com/2014/04/15/noteology-introduction-video/?utm_source=RHPMM+-+Note+Intro+Video&utm_campaign=MC+-+Note+Intro+Video&utm_medium=email.

• Leon App, a resource for custom audio solutions; http://www.leonspeakers.com/ipad/. • Flixel Cinemagraph Pro for Mac allows users to intuitively and easily create Cinemagraph images, a

hybrid media form that combines the timeless quality of a photograph and elements of moving video; https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cinemagraph-pro/id777874532?mt=12&v0=WWW-NAUS-ITUHOME-NEWAPPLICATIONS&ign-mpt=uo%3D2

• The Melodigram app enables users to augment mobile photos with select music tracks and spoken word dialogue and share their “melodigram” with friends across social networks; http://melodigram.com/g/BGgWfgHfhttUmAv9YWmSsa;

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App-Tronics, LLC Website: App-Tronics.com

• Sometimes its okay to let the pictures tell the story; as we know, on the road, the cat to mouse game plays out everyday; this product adds a new twist of usage.

Upcoming Tech Events for 2014

• CCW+SATCON Conference; expect two focused, efficient days where you'll experience the full range of next-gen technology; November 12-13, 2014, Javits Convention Center, New York, New York; http://www.ccwexpo.com/about/.

• The 2014 Creative Storage Conference (SM) (CS 2014) on June 24 2014 in Culver City, CA; includes a panel discussion on the future of content delivery and a session on software defined systems for professional media.  http://www.creativestorage.org/2014Register.htm.

• Tenth annual RoboBusiness event taking place October 15-17 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA. Analyzes critical market forces, business strategies and technologies impacting the global robotics industry. See http://www.robobusiness.com/ (Photo sourced from their website)

•  As a famous old school song - put it: ‘get in where you fit in,’ or something to that effect.  

Final Parting Shots• “I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the

match.” – Mia Hamm (Olympic gold medalist in women’s football)

• One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man. Elbert Hubbard

• Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant.Mitchell Kapor

• The relationship between renewable energy sources and the communities we expect to host them must be appropriate and sustainable and, above all, acceptable to local people.

Owen Paterson

• The purpose of 3IE is to offer the reader, thru niche reporting, monetary insights into the worlds of technology, women’s college basketball, and green energy.

• Keith McFarland, Charlotte Economic Development Examiner, Examiner.com; http://www.examiner.com/economic-development-in-charlotte/keith-mcfarland

• Keith McFarland Research Institute on Economic Issues, http://www.kmriei.yolasite.com/

• © by Keith McFarland