INTRODUCTION
Fast moving digital imaging technology, introduced in the 1980s, has revolutionized the way organizations such as companies and governments organize and process their work and communicate with their stakeholders. The technology also has led to fundamental shifts in the ways individuals communicate with one another. The economic impacts on sales of digital imaging (sales of imaging-related equipment and services, new markets opened, and productivity enhancements) have been equally momentous.
Since BCC completed its last review of digital imaging technologies and markets in 1998, the landscape has been transformed by the proliferation of digital cameras and other digital imaging devices such as photo-enabled cell phones; the widespread availability of broadband Internet connections; powerful new image processing and management software; and the deployment of new image display and output devices and technologies.
This BCC provides an up-to-date understanding of recent developments in digital image sensing, storage and transfer technologies and a sense of the directions in which new technologies under development are likely to take the field in the next five years.
SCOPE OF STUDY
The report contains:
METHODOLOGY AND INFORMATION SOURCES
The findings and conclusions of this report are based on information gathered from industry sources, including manufacturers and users of digital imaging equipment and services. Interview data were combined with information gathered through an extensive review of secondary sources, such as trade publications, trade associations, company literature, and online databases, to produce the forecasts and projections contained in this report.
The base year for analysis and projection is 2004. With 2004 as a baseline, market projections were developed for 2005 to 2010. These projections are based on a combination of a consensus among the primary contacts combined with our understanding of the key market drivers and their impact from a historical and analytical perspective. The analytical methodologies used to generate the market estimates are described in detail in the section on Market Size, Segmentation, and Trends.
All dollar projections presented in this report are in 2004 constant dollars, unless otherwise noted. (See Market Size, Segmentation, and Trendsfor a more detailed discussion of pricing issues.
ANALYST CREDENTIALS
Andrew McWilliams, the author of this report, is a partner in the Boston-based international technology and marketing consulting firm, 43rd Parallel, LLC. He is also the author of numerous other Communications Co. (BCC) reports, including several nanotechnology-related market assessments, including the following:
