More than 100 Smart Insights

Since May 2006, our world has changed a lot:

• Gemalto integration completed: few people now remember about struggles between Gemplus and Axalto,
• Mergers and acquisitions are ongoing in our industry, some of them successful, some do bring a surprise ending (cf. Focus section),
• NFC is now a major trend in our industry, even if business model issues remain to be solved, and the handset offer does not yet fulfill our expectations,
• Telecoms are developing thanks to the evolution to 3G, and new interactions between the internet and mobile handsets,
• Identity demand has matured and now represents a major segment in our industry
• After years of conservatism, the payment segment is growing and innovative again, especially thanks to contactless payment in America,
• A revolution is coming in the transport segment as many mass transit operators are now subcontracting totally their payment operation to financial institutions.

As the world economy enters a crisis period, we need, more than ever, a better understanding and anticipation of the major phenomena affecting our environment. The traditional customers of the smart card industry are at the forefront of the crisis, with banks being directly under pressure, and mobile network operators being affected by the global economic downturn. For this reason, the secure transactions industry will undoubtedly be affected by the downturn, and there is no doubt the structure of our industry two and a half years from now will be radically different from today.

After more than 100 issues published, it's time to ask our readers about their feelings, their expectations, their demands, in terms of information. Our objective is to bring you an even better Smart Insights, that will answer more of your questions, and more of your needs in terms of industry-related information. Of course, our objective is support you in making better business decisions, for all of us, not only to survive the crisis, but to benefit from opportunities triggered by the crisis.

So, to help us bring you a Smart Insights newsletter that will fulfill and exceed your expectations, we ask you to take a few minutes of your precious time and answer the questionnaire attached with the present Smart Insights issue.

Thanks in advance!

Thierry Spanjaard

Chief EditorSmart Insights