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In this issue:

* High Hopes for Wireless Webs
* Aging Boomers
* The Wait for E-Books
* Smart Skin
* Better Use of Networked Storage
* Disillusioned Investors
* The End of FEDs?
* Home Entertainment the Digital Way
* ASP Shakeout
* A Changing Playing Field in eLearning Content
* Business Challenges Post-11 September
* E-Readers' Market Struggle
* Fast-Growing Markets for Portable Electronics
* Paths to Innovation in Data Storage
* Toward Successful CRM
* Cosmeceuticals
* New Players in the eLearning Industry



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(Full text of SRIC-BI publications is available to sponsoring 
clients only.  To find out if your company is a sponsor, please 
visit http://www.sric-bi.com/info.shtml.)
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High Hopes for Wireless Webs

Wireless mesh routing promises to turn low-power wireless 
communications devices into semi-intelligent network nodes. 
Like the Internet, the technology is rising from the grass 
roots. And its impact could be as far-reaching as the 
Internet's, creating an expansive communications 
infrastructure with low power requirements and high 
bandwidth. (Scan No. 2149, "Wireless Webs")
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/ScanTOC/S2149m.shtml


Aging Boomers

Boomers will carry a rich collection of resources into their 
retirement years and will increasingly shift their focus from 
achievement and external rewards to self-fulfillment, 
cooperation, and other subjective concerns. For this group, 
quality, integrity, and tradition are more likely to sell 
products than are flashy, image-conscious messages.
(Aging Boomers: A Marketing Perspective)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Rsums/RS856.shtml


The Wait for E-Books

Hype about electronic books (e-books) exceeded reality in 
recent years, and many e-book ventures crashed in the 2001 
collapse of the Internet bubble. Nonetheless, e-book 
distribution will offer solid benefits if people can wait 
five years or more for the industry to overcome its considerable 
challenges. (E-Book Distribution: What Went Wrong; What's Next)
http://www.sric-bi.com/DF/summaries/eBookDistr0202.shtml


Smart Skin

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a 
smart skin that is as strong as seashells. The intelligent 
composite nanostructure can distinguish between chemicals by 
changing color and also is sensitive to mechanical and thermal 
stresses. NASA, a cosponsor of the research, is considering 
using the skin in an inflatable structure to aid in the 
inhabitation of Mars. (March 2002 Conductive Polymers Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/CP.shtml


Better Use of Networked Storage

Storage vendors and customers are seeking ways for storage-area 
networks and network-attached storage to work together. When 
these once-competing technologies function together well, 
businesses will be able to reduce their storage-administration 
costs, increase their use of storage capacity, provide 
accessible data backup, and reduce storage complexity. 
(Storage Networking)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B304.shtml#2370


Disillusioned Investors

Consumers who have seen the value of their investments plummet 
are questioning whether they can trust financial institutions, 
accountants, employers, government, and the media. Though 
investors are not likely to trade in their investments for 
passbook savings, financial institutions have some serious 
relationship building to do. (Crisis in Consumer Confidence: 
What It Means for Financial Institutions)
http://www.sric-bi.com/CFD/MRsummaries/MR.V-7.shtml


The End of FEDs?

Prospects for commercializing field-emission displays (FEDs) 
are shakier than ever. Not only has commercialization proceeded 
much more slowly than companies expected, but improved 
liquid-crystal displays and organic light-emitting diode 
technologies present serious competition to FEDs. (March 2002 
Micromachining Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/MM.shtml


Home Entertainment the Digital Way

Providers of digital devices, content, and network services 
need solid information about prospects in the home-entertainment 
market. The outlook for the next ten years varies for broadband 
home Internet, digital television, DVD-video players and 
recorders, and hard-disk-drive video recorders such as TiVo 
recorders. (Devices and Services for the Home: Forecast 2002)
http://www.sric-bi.com/DF/summaries/DvcsSvcsHome0302.shtml


ASP Shakeout 

Application service providers (ASPs) first appeared in the 
late 1990s, offering to manage everything from a firm's 
Web site to its human-resources software. Now a shakeout 
is under way that is forcing hundreds of ASPs out of 
business. Companies that outsource information-technology 
functions to these providers need to monitor the ASP arena 
closely. (Application Service Providers: A Customer Perspective)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B304.shtml#2368


A Changing Playing Field in eLearning Content

The eLearning-content marketplace is shifting dramatically, 
with vendors bifurcating into two camps and looking for 
attractive pricing models. Single-source providers offer 
customers both a technology platform and content. Platform 
providers develop tools for content authoring and management 
and provide access to off-the-shelf eLearning content from 
third parties. (The Changing eLearning-Content Marketplace: 
Implications for Buyers and Vendors)
http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/summaries/LoDRpt11.shtml


Business Challenges Post-11 September

The events of 11 September 2001 and the recently passed USA 
Patriot Act of 2001 change the ground rules for doing 
business in the United States. Companies need to devise 
contingency plans for possible cyberattacks, prepare to handle 
law-enforcement requests for customer and employee information, 
assess their vulnerability to lawsuits if they turn over such 
information, and enhance their insurance coverage.
(Terrorism on U.S. Soil: Challenges for Business)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B304.shtml#2372


E-Readers' Market Struggle

For consumers, electronic-book readers (e-readers) have no 
advantages over the ultimate user-friendly technology: the 
paper-and-ink book. And for professionals and students, 
e-books are inferior to laptops and personal digital 
assistants. Though no general-interest market is likely to 
materialize, e-readers will eventually carve out valuable 
market niches. (E-Readers: Struggling to Gain a Foothold)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B304.shtml#2371


Fast-Growing Markets for Portable Electronics

New generations of handheld devices and related services 
will continue to change the way in which people work and 
socialize. Cell phones are only the most visible of these 
devices. Mobile Internet services, personal digital 
assistants, and personal MP3 players are also likely to 
show healthy growthin the next five to ten years.
(Portable/Mobile Devices and Services: Forecast 2002)
http://www.sric-bi.com/DF/summaries/PortableDevcs0302.shtml


Paths to Innovation in Data Storage

Until recently, innovation in data storage came through 
providing ever-greater capacity at lower prices. However, 
as the impact of capacity improvements diminishes, storage 
providers will have to compete on other factors as well, 
such as form factor and physical design, access speed, 
access management, and consumer brand awareness and preferences.
(The Evolving Landscape of Storage Media)
http://www.sric-bi.com/DF/summaries/EvolvingLndscp0302.shtml


Toward Successful CRM

Customer-relationship management (CRM) is the darling of 
enterprise software because it focuses on the all-important 
customer interface. However, implementations that lack clear 
objectives can alienate customers by aggressively exploiting 
CRM technology beyond its effectiveness. Companies need both 
a clear vision and a way to measure progress toward CRM 
objectives. (Customer-Centric CRM)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B304.shtml#2369


Cosmeceuticals

Cosmeceuticals--part medicine, part cosmetics--account for 
only 10% of today's personal-care market, but research 
programs will soon be producing more products that offer 
physical and health benefits beyond aesthetic ones. The 
fastest-growing sector is the skin-care market, which is worth 
some $3.5 billion in the United States. (March 2002 Biocatalysis 
Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/BC.shtml


New Players in the eLearning Industry

As eLearning technologies mature and the market for eLearning 
expands beyond early adopters, the competitive landscape is 
beginning to change. Established technology and service 
companies and Internet start-ups are entering the fray, along 
with providers of off-the-shelf content, niche custom-content 
developers, and collaborative-tool providers. (Evolving 
Business Models in eLearning, Volume 3)
http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/summaries/LoDRpt10.shtml


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Copyright 2002 by SRI Consulting Business Intelligenc.