Cloud spending, including services and data center infrastructure, will surge 25% in 2014, topping $100 billion. Big data and services will grow by some 30 percent, surpassing $14 billion.
Spending on consumer electronics in the U.S. is pegged to grow about 4.5% next year to nearly $212 billion as a tempered outlook in 2013 fueled by the government sequestration and general uncertainty in the stock market and world economy gives way to renewed confidence and optimism, according to Consumer Electronics Association Chief Executive Gary Shapiro.
“It’s tough out there in 2013, but 2014 is looking better,” Shapiro said recently at the organization’s holiday forecast in New York.
Other big trends to keep tabs on in the new year: 3D printers; 4K ultra-high definition TVs from the likes of Orange-based Westinghouse Digital LLC; and connected devices in the home, at work and at play that allow your smartphone and tablet to control a range of products, from LED light bulbs and door locks to home appliances and wearable electronics.
• PERSON TO WATCH: SAILESH CHITTIPEDDI
The Business Journal will keep a close watch on Conexant Systems Inc. Chief Executive Sailesh Chittipeddi, who aims to steer the company toward profitability following its bankruptcy reorganization in June.
Billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros will, as well. His QP SFM Capital Holdings Ltd. in New York took over ownership of the Newport Beach-based chipmaker from Golden Gate Private Equity Inc. in San Francisco. The restructuring eliminated some $195 million in debt carried over from Conexant’s days as a public company and shrunk its real estate holdings, mostly office leases that were spread around the U.S. and overseas that tracked back to the company’s heyday.
The overhang had strangled cash flow and put a damper on growth in the company’s emerging audio and video segments, which accounted for about half of its $135 million in revenue in 2012.
Conexant cut nearly 60 employees in the past year and moved its headquarters to Irvine from Newport Beach as part of its reorganization.
The company designs, develops and sells “chip sets,” or chips and related software embedded in video surveillance equipment, smart TVs, PCs, fax machines and set-top boxes, among other products.
• COMPANY TO WATCH: BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT INC.
Blizzard enters 2014 under new ownership and on a quest to halt mounting subscription losses of its flagship fantasy role- playing game, “World of Warcraft.”
The Irvine-based video game maker, part of Activision Blizzard Inc. in Santa Monica, has a busy year planned with the release of its first free-to-play game and another in the works. The company also plans to release another Warcraft expansion dubbed “Warlords of Draenor,” which will send players back to familiar lands inhabited by characters from the game’s early history after its 1994 “Warcraft: Orcs & Humans” debut.
Blizzard has lost nearly 4 million Warcraft subscribers in the past three years as gamers opted for other entertainment. Players pay about $40 for a Warcraft title and $15 a month online.
The changes started before its parent gained independence from French conglomerate Vivendi SA in October by acquiring a majority of the company for about $5.8 billion.
PREDICTION:
Irvine-based GreenWave Reality, which has attracted large utilities and service providers with its smart technology that can control home lighting and HVAC systems, will be acquired by a private equity firm for more than $100 million.
