Companies involved in this market often consider electronic
broadcasting to be an array of services. For example, Xpedite Systems
(which started in the fax distribution business) has these summary
numbers on their website. They are based on both International Data
Corp. (IDC) and Forrester Group numbers:
Fax-based services (2000): $1.6 billion
E-mail services (2004): $4.7 billion
Multi-media services (2004): $10.5 billion
You can see the summary at:
http://www.ptek.com/ourmarket/xpeditemarket.cfm
The latter number includes fax, e-mail, voice and video broadcasts.
Another service that’s greatly debated is instant messaging, which
some see as supplementing e-mail (see IDC's report Finding a Place:
Corporate Instant Messaging Market Forecast and Analysis, 2000-2004
(IDC #B23039) and other see being blocked by corporate IT managers
(see this Forrester Research report:
http://www.forrester.com/ER/Research/Report/Summary/0,1338,13147,FF.html)
IDC itself summarizes growth in the e-mail market by discussing the
number of e-mail addresses or “seats.” An IDG study released last
September shows growth in e-mail mailboxes at 138% per annum, from 505
million in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2005. These numbers are part of
IDC's third annual Email Usage Forecast and Analysis, 2001-2005 (IDC
report number #25335). Ferris Research has also done a study of
worldwide corporate e-mail use. They forecast the number of e-mail
mailboxes rising from about 51 million to 70.5M between 2001 and 2005
in the U.S.; the Asian market is the fastest-growing during that
period, rising from 20.5M to 76M.
Forrester, IDG, and Gartner Group all have services tracking the
e-mail and messaging markets. Browsing the reports available yields
some low-cost and interesting research. For example, this brief
Forrester Report is $95 and notes that customer surveys show e-mail
ads and promotions are losing effectiveness and irritating customers:
http://www.forrester.com/ER/Research/DataSnapshot/Excerpt/0,1317,14931,FF.html
Other Forrester reports indicate where e-mail marketing is working –
and where it’s getting resistance from consumers and legislators.
Excellent articles on critical aspects of the market that may lead to
segmenting of services. Here, for example, is one on security. This
report summarizes the Ferris Research numbers for corporations (by
region):
www.e21magicmedia.com.hk/esecurity2002/pdf/gs3.pdf
Here are the websites for each of the major research services
mentioned above:
Ferris Research specializes in e-mail and messaging markets:
http://www.ferris.com/
Forrester Research is here:
http://www.forrester.com/home/0,6092,1-0,FF.html
Gartner Group’s research page is here:
http://www3.gartner.com/1_researchanalysis/research_overview.html
International Data Corp. is the research division of IDG. They have a
list of research available here:
http://www.idc.com/en_US/commerce/idcStore.jhtml
Good luck with further research – you’re starting on an interesting
project. It will be an adventure getting the spotlight on developing
this business. |
