Game Software Market to Double by 2011
A new study by Jon Peddie Research (www.jonpeddie.com), reports that the videogame market is set for significant growth due to new revenue models, diversification and new genres of games that will attract more and diverse consumers. The worldwide market for videogame software in 2005 was over $15 billion and is expected to double to $30 billion by 2011. This growth amplifies even more the anticipated upward sales trend in the console market.
The report, “The Videogame Market: Incremental Revenue Growth and Genre Expansion for 2006 and Beyond,” provides an overview and forecast of the various factors that will contribute to this growth including advertising, digital distribution, micro-transactions, virtual property commerce, online models, game development software, leveraging intellectual property, and interactive shopping. The study also looks into “macro-genres” and sectors of the videogame industry that are expanding, which will allow game companies to diversify their revenue streams. These areas include simutainment, physutainment, social games, drama and episodic games, casual/mobile games, serious games, and adult games.
New CCNA Labs and Study Guides
Cisco Press has made available new “Labs and Study Guides” for each CCNA course in the Cisco Networking Academy Program. The series of “Labs and Study Guides” accompany new “CCNA Companion Guides,” launched by Cisco Press in March 2006.
The all-new Labs and Study Guide titles combine the best of the former “Lab Companions” and of the “Engineering Journal and Workbooks” with new features and introduce many new tools to improve the students’ hands-on skills and reinforce the topics for each CCNA course.
All four books, written by Networking Academy instructors and priced at $29.95, provide all the labs in the online curriculum, additional challenge labs and a Study guide section with classroom tested exercises. The books are:
• Networking Basics CCNA 1 Labs and Study Guide, Shawn McReynolds, ISBN: 1-58713-165-X. www.ciscopress.com/title/158713165X.
• Routers and Routing Basics CCNA 2 Labs and Study Guide, Allan Johnson, ISBN: 1-58713-167-6. www.ciscopress.com/title/1587131676.
• Switching Basics and Intermediate Routing CCNA 3 Labs and Study Guide, Allan Johnson, ISBN: 1-58713-171-4. www.ciscopress.com/title/1587131714.
• WAN Technologies CCNA 4 Labs and Study Guide, John Rullan, ISBN: 1-58713-173-0. www.ciscopress.com/title/1587131730.
Hiring Begins at IRMC Noida Call Center
Building on the recent deployment of its VoIP-enabled global network, IRMC is opening a new center of excellence in Noida, India. IRMC has made a multimillion-dollar investment to set up the Noida facility, which will initially house approximately 350 employees, with expansion plans that could increase its size tenfold over the next few years.
“With one of the first and largest all digital, voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) deployments in the call center marketplace, we can seamlessly connect our Noida center to our global network, allowing for immediate re-allocation of work among centers in India and other parts of the world,” said Vikas Kapoor, president and CEO of IRMC.
IRMC’s network is matched by a management organization that provides opportunity for India-based talent to build their skills in new markets.
“The opportunities for professional growth abound,” said Rakesh Kumar, chief operating officer, Global Retention Operations. “I already have a work force with Indian professionals getting executive assignments in the Philippines, Canada, and the US. These examples are typical of the global management experience IRMC offers professionals of all nationalities.”
New York-based IRMC is one of the world’s largest privately-held call center services companies with over 6,000 employees worldwide and revenue of over $300 million, providing services in collections, retention and customer service. The IRMC family of companies include: Allied Interstate and First Contact in the US; IntelliRisk Philippines and IntelliRisk Management India Pvt. Ltd.
