Three device trends digital entrepreneurs should see


    Once you dig into the data you see some surprises, which I suppose is the whole operating principle behind Verto Analytics, a digital measurement service with Finnish roots that shared some data with us. Rather than relying on survey data or supply chain estimations, New York-based Verto claims to collect 3000 data points per customer per day of actual usage – giving them much richer and faster data than surveys like Nielsen or supply chain estimations. Multiply that 3,000 by the fact that some of their datasets cover 500 million devices per month it makes sense they’ve received backing by Finland’s technical-focused VC’s, like the ex-MySQL investors Open Ocean Capital as well as Connor Venture Capital.

    Here’s how the world changed in 2014:

    1. We’re splitting our time between more and more devices.
    The average number of smartphones, tablets, and computers used by U.S. adults grew from 2.5 to 2.9 devices, according to Verto’s analysis.

    2. Americans are replacing computers with smartphones and laptops
    Is this a turning point? U.S. adults computer users actually decreased by 6 million users in 2014, meanwhile smartphone users grew from 132 million to 153 million. Tablet users also grew 17% from 93 million to 109 million.

    3. Wearables only have around 6 million active users
    Looking at declining computer use, you might think the future is in devices that are smaller and closer to our body. That may be the case but the market is tiny according to CEO Hannu Verkasalo. “We measure here actual wearable computers like smartwatches on which you can install apps – and despite lots of devices sold, the active user population hovers currently around 6m in the US (for us it matters what people use today, not what they have bought).”

    It’s been a busy year for Verto. They’ve raised new VC money twice over the last 12 months and and have added Ben Felder, the ex-CEO of Take Two Interactive, onto their board in August. Additionally they’ve tripled their customer base over the last 12 months, hitting customers in the obvious technology sectors, as well as other Fortune 500 brands that use Verto’s data for product development, marketing decisions, consumer insights, and competitive intelligence.

    Soon they should be releasing a new product, and will hopefully keep us posted with what interesting things lie in their dataset.