The worldwide enterprise software market in Q1 2016 witnessed a minimal decline of 0.3 percent versus the same quarter in 2015. The euro depreciation had only mild impact, as the decline relative to the dollar was just 2.3 percent compared to Q1 2015. The transition from on-premise to SaaS deployments and delayed revenue recognition associated with this new business model are the main reasons for the flat growth. However, the trend over the past 16 quarters shows signs of revival in the enterprise software market.

The industrial network "edge" is populated by devices, such as Ethernet, wireless, and cellular gateways; Ethernet switches and routers; and wireless access points (WAPs). Traditionally relied upon to bridge IT (information technology) and OT (operations technology) environments or bring legacy equipment into automation or enterprise architectures, industrial network edge devices have often been an afterthought in the quest to integrate operations.

Just as modern data analytics can support actionable business insights, appropriate actions based on analysis of sensor-based data can provide actionable insights in the industrial process control world. This was true even before we had modern automated process control systems and had to depend exclusively on humans to perform those actions.

ARC Advisory Group research indicates that use of leak detection systems (LDS) in flowlines, gathering lines, onshore and offshore platforms, pipelines, and other midstream operations continues to expand. An increasing number of end users now view leak detection systems as a positive investment in safety as well as a requirement for regulatory compliance. Effective leak detection systems provide a degree of insurance against undetected leaks that could negatively impact a company's bottom line and reputation.

India's information technology (IT) services companies covered in the report continue to perform well, exhibiting above-average growth. In this report we analyze the fourth quarter of financial year 2015-16 of India's IT sector and compare it with the same period of the previous year.

Transportation management systems (TMS) are designed to help companies move freight from origin to destination efficiently, reliably, and cost effectively. ARC Advisory Group recently completed survey-based re-search on the return on investment (ROI) associated with TMS. Based on the survey results, it appears that the now-robust ROI has improved greatly compared to our last survey on this subject five years ago. However, the reasons for the improvement are not entirely clear.

ExxonMobil's program to develop and prototype a highly interoperable multi-vendor process automation system has attracted attention in both the automation supplier and end user communities. At ARC Advisory Group's 2015 Orlando Forum, ExxonMobil presented the broad outlines of the idea and its underlying motivation and business case. At this year's ARC Forum, just after awarding a contract to Lockheed Martin for the prototype development, ExxonMobil explained both the motivation and the architecture in much greater detail.

Several ARC Advisory Group analysts and client managers attended the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) last week at NRG Park in Houston. With continued low oil prices (Brent Crude was at about $50 at the time we wrote this, and fortunately going up) the attendance and overall vendor presence was more muted.

The third-party logistics (3PL) market encompassing non-asset-based transportation, warehousing, and integrated supply chain services experienced a year-over-year growth of 2.1 percent in revenues in the first quarter of 2016. The growth was mainly driven by acquisitions. Organic growth (without the effect of acquisitions) declined by about 8.9 percent, mainly due to softening global trade.

How important is digital transformation for industry in the EU and worldwide and what role can politics play? This was the focus of the speeches made by EU Commissioners Guenther Oettinger and Elżbieta Bieńkowska's at the European Commission Conference on "Digitizing European Industry" at the Hanover Fair on April 25, 2016.