Electronics Market Goes Into Overdrive

Imagine smart cities with smart infrastructures laying the foundation for a virtual world -- where people interact with each other in virtual avatars, smart clouds, and connected homes, with wireless and artificial intelligence present in every aspect of electronics. It sounds futuristic, but in reality, all mega trends are pointing in that direction.

Frost & Sullivan research indicates that increasing urbanization, creation of smart cities, and geo-socialization will elevate the current level of innovation in terms of product design, product usability, manufacturing equipment, supply chain strategies, and business models.

Electronic products will be designed to alter people's thinking and analytical patterns, interactions, social skills, and ways of life. Information and communication will become powerful tools that will have a key influence on electronics product design and connectivity. More impetus has come from top companies like Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) to merge products in computing such as computers or laptops with tablets and smartphones.

The electronics industry is unique as it is both revolutionary as well as evolutionary. Constant innovation, faster obsolescence, creation and transfer of knowledge, cyclical demand, and price erosion have become parlance for any value chain participant. The electronics industry is transitioning rapidly with mega trends round the corner, year-on-year. Flexible electronics, nanomaterials, smart materials, and 3D integration are just a few of the technologies that will have significant impact on the evolution of the electronics landscape.

There is a lot happening in the area of smaller components, printed electronics, and on the equipment side -- the increased footprint of modular equipment versus traditional equipment. Technological advances in different vertical markets also leads to smart manufacturing techniques in smart factories, and equipment is no longer limited for a specific footprint or product design. All of these factors are taking electronics product design and electronics manufacturing to unprecedented levels. Therefore, the question is, what’s next?

Companies, globally, are investing and allocating research and development (R&D) budgets to identify product roadmaps, designs, business strategies, and growth drivers. The most obvious challenge, then, is to identify a strategy or design roadmap to finally invest money in. Many forward-thinking companies are overcoming inertia. By becoming more flexible, they are successful in identifying business units or markets and products that offer relatively stronger opportunities.

We would like to hear from you. What factors determine product roadmaps and design and R&D budget allocation in your company? What products, manufacturing technologies, connectivity solutions, or next-generation business models will influence technology and reshape electronics industry? Where do you think the future lies?

Frost & Sullivan and EBN are collaborating on a survey to identify evolutionary trends in the electronics industry and their implications for the whole electronics value-chain, including component manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, and end-users. Take the survey by clicking here. Thank you for your time. We appreciate it!