Research | Harbor Research

RESEARCH

Organizations exploring new growth opportunities require creative research, inspiring analysis, and compelling content. Harbor’s deep domain knowledge and content provide an ideal context for discovery, ideation and planning. Our research and analysis fuel creativity and challenge client teams to find unique solutions in an increasingly connected world.

VIEW OUR RESEARCH PRODUCTS

HARBOR’S METHODOLOGY

Harbor Research views growth opportunities through the unique lens of Smart Systems. We approach research and analysis from three sides: markets, technologies and business strategies. Our approach means you get more than quant, you get a compass to guide you to the most optimal, lowest risk paths to growth and innovation.

Three Levels of Smart Systems Strategy

source: Harbor Research

Our research capabilities include player tracking, ecosystem mapping, events and news analysis, and quantitative modeling of growth opportunities. In this fast-changing environment, leadership’s ability to identify emergent trends “around corners” will become a minimum requirement. In our experience, this capability is more art than science, but keeping up with technology and innovation is critical.

IDENTIFYING & FRAMING NEW GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES

Slide

FRAMING SMART SYSTEMS OPPORTUNITIES

Discover Harbor’s Smart Systems Forecast Model and Quantitative Analysis

The Smart Systems Forecast was the first quantitative database to analyze, quantify and track Smart Systems and IoT opportunities.

The Smart Systems Model provides a multi-dimensional framework for assessing vertical markets, customer segments, applications and use cases to identify Smart Systems and IoT growth opportunities and criteria for strategic decision- making and new business development.

Slide

FRAMING SMART SYSTEMS OPPORTUNITIES

Discover Harbor’s Smart Systems Forecast Model and Quantitative Analysis

HOW OUR RESEARCH HELPS CLIENTS

TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION

ENABLEMENT & CONNECTIVITY

The “center of gravity” in the Enterprise will increasingly be driven by new sensing devices, edge computing capabilities and distributed intelligence. Higher bandwidth and reliable connectivity are key to many new business models. Embedded systems and connectivity technologies are enabling new innovations. Learn more… How can we help?

NETWORK SERVICES

A new generation of high-performance network technologies—5G, time sensitive and new sensor networks—are unleashing an age of pervasive connectivity that is fostering entirely new modes of customer interaction and services. Realizing this potential will require new ecosystems and business models. Learn more… How can we help?

SOFTWARE TOOLS & PLATFORMS

Containerization is ubiquitous, languages are less important and microservices are available everywhere. All this changes how software is developed, but it also creates huge complexity. What new software opportunities are evolving in the market, what business models align with these growth opportunities, and how should software players organize their service and solution delivery? Learn more... How can we help?

APPLICATION SERVICES

Smart Systems are creating new solution delivery modes that are turning manufacturers, and in many cases others along the value chain, into a new kind of application services business. First movers in asset management, security as a service, customer support innovation and more are locking down lasting positions in their industries. New data driven application solutions are disrupting virtually all sectors of the economy. Learn more… How can we help?

MARKETS & APPLICATIONS

SMART CITIES & INFRASTRUCTURE

New smart city technologies are showing promise in their ability to alleviate citizen and agency stakeholder pain-points, but the diversity of technologies and the number of applications and integration dimensions create numerous hurdles to adoption. While many cities are beginning to modernize, embracing technologies to improve their essential urban systems and enable more effective resource utilization is a complex challenge. Learn more… How can we help?

INDUSTRIAL & RESOURCES

The acceleration of smart systems and digital innovations is causing a revolution in industrial systems, machinery and resource-driven segments. New business models, unexpected category dynamics, and disruptive technologies are challenging long-held beliefs and outdated strategy assumptions. Companies need to creatively evolve their business models and value delivery schemes to respond to the ever-changing customer and competitor landscape. Learn more… How can we help?

SMART ENERGY

Traditional power equipment manufacturers are facing new software and renewables competitors. Energy sector players need to step back and re-imagine solutions and re-think delivery models. Energy technology companies need to evolve their strategies to creatively leverage new software and data technologies which are forever changing the way solutions will be delivered and value is created. Learn more… How can we help?

TRANSPORTATION

New mobility technologies are driving significant discontinuities in the vehicle, mobile equipment and transportation arena. Traditional vehicle manufacturers as well as construction, agriculture, mining, and material handing machine suppliers will need to define new mobility business models to leverage the diverse innovations invading these markets. Learn more… How can we help?

SMART HOMES & CONSUMERS

The term “smart” implies intelligent, but you wouldn’t know it from today’s residential and consumer technology arena – a fragmented landscape full of narrow point-solutions, time-sink gadgetry, entertainment obsessions, and software/platform incompatibility. The next wave of “Smart Home” innovation needs to address the adoption barriers for smart interoperable systems. Learn more… How can we help?

RETAIL & COMMERCIAL SERVICES

The retail and commercial services sector continues to be a highly competitive, low-margin environment where disruption has become the new normal. Battered by new online services, traditional bricks and mortar businesses search to balance their brands with new services, cross-channel interactions, and the impacts of digital technologies. Retailing needs to re-think how to design new modes of interaction with information-rich consumers. Understanding how Smart Services technologies can enable new customer experiences and achieve back office efficiencies will be critical. Learn more… How can we help?

HEALTHCARE

Smarter healthcare equipment and systems are becoming integrated with virtual digital systems. This allows the data from patient sensors, diagnostic machines and more to become an integral part of all healthcare information systems. Developing new ecosystems to create new unimagined capabilities for patient care and delivery is the first step towards new growth. Learn more… How can we help?

SMART BUILDINGS

All of the sub-systems in buildings—including power systems, HVAC, lighting, security, people movers, and more—produce data that has largely gone unharvested and under leveraged. Identifying and acting on new information-based services will create extraordinary business advantages for both established and emergent players. Understanding how new digital building technologies are creating new “social” and data relationships between equipment suppliers will be key. Learn more… How can we help?

RESEARCH SERVICES

SMART SYSTEMS FORECAST MODEL

The Smart Systems Forecast was the first quantitative database to track IoT opportunities within the broader Smart Systems and Services arena. The model provides an empirical framework for assessing vertical markets, customer segments, applications and use cases to identify Smart Systems and IoT growth opportunities and criteria for strategic decision-making and new business development. The model’s underlying schema addresses 500+ device segments across 9 market venues, 44 technologies, 30 customer segments, 62 applications and 250+ use cases. Learn more… How can we help?

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS SERVICES

Organizations interested in exploring new growth opportunities require inspiring analysis, creative research and compelling content. Harbor has built deep domain knowledge through research, analytics and modeling to provide an ideal context for discovery, ideation and planning. Our content, methods and approach fuel creativity and challenge client teams to find unique solutions in an increasingly connected world. Our analysis and research services are configured to support specific client goals and decision support needs. Learn more… How can we help?

BRIEFINGS & WORKSHOPS

Harbor briefings and workshops are an ideal learning environment when executive teams who are trying to put their arms and minds around emerging opportunities can come together and build a shared understanding of new growth opportunities. We emphasize interactive analysis, the incorporation of outside participants and perspectives, and time-efficient facilitation focused on key decisions. Our market and technology briefings typically range from an hour to a half day. Our strategy development and our discovery, ideation and innovation workshops, which typically range from a half day to a full day or more, are always focused on client goals with the workshop’s configuration designed to address critical decisions. They can be conducted at the client’s location or at our offices. Learn more… How can we help?

HOW WE HELP CLIENTS WITH RESEARCH



MARKETS

Knowing which segments, applications and use cases to focus on and which market relationships to create will be critical in today’s rapidly evolving marketplace. Our research helps business developers and growth teams identify new growth opportunities and creatively imagine fully developed systems and whole marketplaces.



TECHNOLOGY

Creative combinations of emerging technologies are are increasingly reinforcing and accelerating one another. New embedded intelligence, networking and software innovations are all in some way trying to break from today’s technology paradigms. Explore our research and perspectives on “Smart Systems” and how they will enable unimagined new solutions.



BUSINESS MODELS

The assumption that business models are only about new customer experiences and making existing products or services more attractive no longer works. Business model design needs to transcend traditional product or service innovation. Explore Harbor’s business design knowledge, research and experience to ignite new ideas.



PLAYERS

Harbor analyzes diverse technology and solution players across the Smart Systems and IoT landscape. Our player tracking and intelligence gathering provides clients with analysis focused on technology development, solution delivery and business models, as well as market positioning. Use our player research to help inform your competitive, partnership, acquisition or solution delivery strategies.



THEMATIC RESEARCH

The business world has entered a new chapter with unexpected challenges, unfamiliar technologies and diverse new innovators that requires a new approach to research – one that balances the qualitative with the quantitative – which we feel is more revealing in markets that hold a recognizable shape barely long enough to be described or measured. Explore our thematic research to see what trends and discontinuities we are investigating.

HOW TO WORK WITH US

Harbor Research has research available for purchase in the form of briefs and factbooks, which you can browse below. Contact us to learn about our quarterly retainer service, which will help you consistently stay in the know and save money.

We can also work with you to do custom research and analysis. Simply contact us to set up a meeting and we would be happy to discuss your needs.

RECENT RESEARCH

VIEW MORE RESEARCH

OUR THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

The Future of Smart Hospitals

Hospitals are seeking new ways to improve their productivity and efficiency, while reducing operational costs and improving margins. The speed and scale at which medical device and equipment manufacturers are integrating automation and data analytics into healthcare systems is staggering.

Private Networks for Innovation

New private networks (wireless, 5G, LTE, CBRS) promise growth for business and disruption for the traditional wireless carrier model.

The Emergence of Higher Performance Real-Time Private Networking

Where is real-time, mission-critical networking heading? We believe it’s heading to many more places than most people imagine.

BROWSE MORE OF OUR FREE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP