Summary of 2023 impact of the cost-of-living crisis

Steven Bailey

Principal Analyst, Video Games

Steve specializes in the online PC gaming market, virtual worlds, online consoles, as well as casual, browser-based, and social gaming. 

He also provides consultancy services for major international clients and general games intelligence service work. Steve focuses on subscription and micro-transaction markets in the West as well as in emerging gaming sectors.

Prior to joining Omdia, Steve had an accomplished career in games journalism in a variety of magazine roles, including as editor of a TV-based games portal. Most notably, he lent his distinctive voice as a freelance writer to Edge, the influential games periodical. Over the six years of his career as a writer, Steve published several thousand published pages of video game content within the specialist press.

Steve attended Cardiff University in Wales, completing a PhD in mathematics with an emphasis on numerical analysis and multivariate calculus.  

Sonia Agnese

Senior Principal Analyst, LATAM Service Provider Markets

Sonia Agnese has over 25 years’ experience in the TMT industry. Based in Argentina, she is a TMT public policy and regulatory expert with a strategy, research, and consulting background. She examines international trends and market developments, specializing in Latin America.

Prior to joining Omdia, formerly Ovum, in 2014, Sonia was responsible for regulatory evolution and strategy for the Telecom Argentina Group. She previously worked as a senior consultant at Arthur Andersen and at Deloitte.

Sonia has an Accounting (Hons.) and Economics degree and holds an MBA from CEMA University, Buenos Aires. Sonia is an honorary professor at postgraduate programs in key universities and telecommunications programs in Argentina.

Sonia is also a judge of the GSMA’s Global Mobile Awards as well as a frequent speaker at several Latin American and international forums.  

Matthew Bailey

Principal Analyst, Media and Entertainment

As part of the Omdia channels, programming and advertising team, Matthew Bailey covers the global digital media sector, with a specific interest in digital media monetization strategies, ad-supported online video, digital advertising, ad-funded games, and games-related video content and platforms.

In his role as a Principal Analyst, his main research interests are in digital content and advertising. This includes mobile, social, and ad-supported online video (AVOD), within which Matthew provides analysis of key developments in online video content creation, vendor monetization strategies, and digital video advertising. He also writes on adjacent developments in the broader digital advertising market, OTT video, digital publishing, social media, video games, and next-generation forms of advertising, media and entertainment. Prior to joining Omdia, formerly Ovum, in 2015, Matthew worked as a senior research analyst at MarketLine. He holds a degree in English language and literature from the University of Leeds.

Esther Cheh

Senior Analyst, Access Networks

Esther is Omdia’s Senior Analyst for transport networks, including router, switching, and optical technologies. She has more than 12 years of experience in the telecommunication industry, covering network operations, market and industry analysis, and business strategy in service provider and network equipment vendor environment.

Esther joined Omdia in December 2016. Prior to joining Omdia, she worked as a business consultant, providing strategic consulting on fixed network services to the service providers in the Asia Pacific performing market, opportunity sizing to support corporate decision-making, and recommendations on the go-to-market strategy for new product and new market segments.

Esther holds a Bachelor of Engineering in telecommunication engineering from Multimedia University, Malaysia, and an MBA from the Melbourne Business School, Australia.

Alzbeta Fellenbaum

Principal Analyst, Broadband & Bundling

Alzbeta Fellenbaum is a Principal Analyst covering consumer broadband access data and bundling trends. She follows closely and advises on internet service provider consumer broadband strategies and monitors technical and regulatory developments across the industry. 

Alzbeta was a principal analyst and research manager at IHS Markit and a member of the service providers and platforms team. Alzbeta joined IHS Markit in 2012 and managed the Broadband Coverage in Europe project for the European Commission. Before, Alzbeta was an audience research and market insights coordinator for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague, Czech Republic. Alzbeta was also a research assistant at the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

Alzbeta holds a Master of Arts in international relations and American studies from Charles University in Prague and has studied at the University of Miami and Georgetown University.

Vladimir Galabov

Research Director, Cloud and Data Center

Vlad is responsible for the cloud and data center research practice’s expanding roadmap, focused on disruptive trends such as the shift to edge computing, the evolution of compute silicon, and the need for efficiency improvements and sustainability in the data center industry.

Vlad joined Omdia, formerly IHS Markit Technology, in 2016. He developed many of our unique, industry-leading analyses including our flagship open computing equipment research and our three-way server market reconciliation process. He’s held senior positions at Intel and Ciena, where his data-led insights served as a central input into the companies’ strategies. Key market models he developed include an in-depth analysis of telecommunications network operations costs, a PC inventory tracker, and an actionable IOT market forecast. Vlad’s work has even facilitated decision-making in the British Parliament. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and management from Aston University, UK.

Paul Gray

Research Director, Consumer Electronics and Devices

Paul Gray leads the home devices research, spanning television sets, smart home, consumer electronics, and domestic appliances. His main research area is TV sets, focusing on the European region, broadcast technology, smart TV, and new TV features. Paul is also heavily engaged in researching the development of the Ultra HD ecosystem.

He joined Omdia, formerly IHS Markit, more than 10 years ago. With more than 30 years’ experience in the TV set supply chain working for NXP and Philips in semiconductors and displays, Paul continues to research the TV set business. He has also worked on wearable and media devices and has tracked and forecast the smart TV business from its very beginning. Paul has been cited by, among others, the Financial Times, Korea Times, Korea Daily, Nikkei, and Le Monde. He has also offered expert viewpoints in online, radio, and television programming. Paul holds a degree in electrical engineering and a diploma in industrial studies.

Tony Gunnarsson

Principal Analyst, TV, Video & Advertising

As part of Omdia's media and entertainment team, Tony Gunnarsson covers the global online video sector, with a specific interest in direct-to-consumer video services, across both subscription and transactional video, as well as online video aggregation.

His main research interests are in the premium, paid-for subscription online video (SVOD). Tony provides analysis of the key developments in the global online video market, consumer insights, and business intelligence. He also writes on adjacent developments in the broader TV and home entertainment market, including the emergence of AVOD services as a vehicle for premium content. Prior to joining Informa Tech (now Omida), formerly Ovum, in 2014, Tony worked as a senior analyst at IHS Markit, formerly IHS Screen Digest. He holds a master’s degree in imperial and commonwealth history from King’s College London.

William Hare

Practice Leader

William Hare is the Practice Leader for Omdia’s European Service Provider Markets Intelligence Service. He leads a team of analysts developing and delivering reports and data on the European Telco space, covering fixed and mobile market developments across more than 50 countries.

William has more than 13 years’ experience in the TMT sector, advising Telcos, NRAs and professional services firms in Europe and across the world. Specialisations include market analysis, market forecasting and 5G. Prior to joining Omdia in 2020, he was a Principal Analyst at Analysys Mason, where he led two European-focussed telecoms research programmes as well as leading the development of various innovative market modelling exercises and forecast model methodologies. He holds a degree in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge.

Maxine Holt

Senior Director, Cybersecurity

Maxine Holt leads the Omdia cybersecurity research group and is the lead architect of the Omdia Cybersecurity Ecosystem. Her team delivers a comprehensive cybersecurity research program to support vendors, service providers, and enterprise clients. Maxine also leads the Omdia Analyst Summit at the high-profile Black Hat event series.

Maxine has spent her entire career as an IT and security professional. She has been at Omdia since 2018, following a spell at the Information Security Forum (ISF), developing thought-leading security research for ISF members. Before ISF, Maxine spent 15 years in research at Ovum, starting her career as a software developer in the financial services industry and consulting for the financial services and internet sectors. Maxine is a regular event speaker and contributes articles to high-profile publications in cybersecurity.

Irina Kornilova

Practice Leader, TV & Online Video

Irina tracks the international online, movie, and TV markets and maintains the Omdia online video models via extensive interview work and desk research. Her widespread contacts with a network of key industry players support Irina’s research and analysis of the sector. 

Irina is also a regular contributor to industry reports. She has written about a range of topics, including an assessment of iTunes market share, the changing nature of the Australian online rental market, and the strategies of consumer electronics companies for online video in Europe. Irina holds a Master of Science in international management from King's College London, as well as a graduate degree in management from the Russian State University of Trade and Economics. She is fluent in Russian.  

Ed Ludlow

Senior Data Analyst, Media and Entertainment

As part of OMDIA’s digital content and channels service, Ed uses programing and automation to monitor the evolving television and online video broadcasting landscape. Ed also supports OMDIA’s cinema and movies, advertising, and sports services. Ed is a specialist in the video on demand sector, having previously worked as part of Netflix’s UK publicity arm on retainer before joining OMDIA in 2021. He came with an in-depth knowledge of UK film distribution, which he had acquired through developing his own website, an online data-visualization dashboard for UK cinema. His work at OMDIA involves creating Excel and Power BI deliverables with R and SQL; using Python to build web-scraping robots; and writing reports about channel revenue streams and TV, film, and video production and distribution. He is fluent in three languages and graduated from The University of Leeds in 2018.

Cem Nurkan

Research Director, Enterprise IT

Cem Nurkan leads a global team of enterprise technology analysts focusing on creating high-quality syndicated research, as well as developing and maintaining relationships with all players in the Enterprise IT ecosystem.

He has a wealth of experience accumulated over the last 25 years with tech companies, service providers, and research organizations.

Cem is an expert in developing strategic business relationships, particularly with industry suppliers, distributors, and customers. Previously, he headed up Nurkan Consulting and provided strategic advice to investment banks and equity funds on asset heavy tech investments, such as subsea cable systems and base station refreshes as well as offering procurement and technology advice to enterprises.

Cem has also held the position of head of carrier, Benelux, at China Telecom Europe where he built and expanded on strategic Tier 1 and 2 carrier relationships and established the Benelux region as a new focus area. Prior to this, Cem spent time working at Gartner, specialising in offering strategic advice to help Nordic tech companies with their technology, clients, and the competitive marketplace. Nurkan began his career working for well-established tech brands IBM, Cisco, and Dell.

Cem serves as an Advisory Board member to two technology companies.

Gareth Sims

Senior Director, Market Data Analytics & Modelling

Gareth leads the Market Data Analytics & Modelling team. In this role, he is responsible for managing the division’s data and forecasting assets to deliver comprehensive, reliable, accessible, and actionable analysis for customers.

Having joined the company in 2003, Gareth has spearheaded the creation of numerous forecasting products and business modeling tools, spanning a range of sectors from mobile devices and networks to consumer and enterprise applications and services. He has also presented at many industry and customer events and led forecasting and business strategy workshops across the globe for clients. Before joining Omdia, Gareth was a senior commercial analyst at MCI (now Verizon), where he managed the pricing of business services in the UK. He is a chartered management accountant and holds a degree in business economics.

Craig Stice

Chief Analyst, Omdia Semiconductor Research

As part of Omdia’s semiconductor practice, Craig focuses on semiconductor manufacturing worldwide. Craig’s team provides detailed research on the semiconductor industry, whether at the IDM, fabless, or foundry markets. Additionally, his team provides a quarterly semiconductor revenue forecast by component type which currently goes up to 2027.

Previously, Craig worked with the memory team at Omdia, focusing specifically on the NAND industry. Craig provided detailed analysis of NAND manufacturing, technology trends, as well as application demand drivers to create an overall view of the current NAND supply/demand environment and the outlook.

Craig began his career as an analyst with IHS Markit (now Omdia) in 2012. Prior to that, Craig spent 16 years at Micron Technology working in product marketing and business development. Craig holds a Bachelor of Arts from Boise State University, Idaho.

Daniel Sutton

Principal Analyst, Visual Entertainment

Daniel Sutton is part of the media and entertainment team, specializing in aggregating data and curating both custom and syndicated outputs across the media and entertainment space. His work supports the development of new products and the expansion of existing data sets at Omdia.

Daniel joined the television media service at Omdia (formerly IHS Markit) in 2014, specializing in IPTV and video-on-demand (VoD) technologies. Later, he developed outputs for the TV and online video intelligence service and has since worked with teams at Omdia to create the current service.

Prior to joining Omdia, Daniel worked predominantly as an analyst, supporting the management of accounting functions in a range of industries, including infrastructure, fashion, and housing.

Nicole McCormick

Senior Principal Analyst, Broadband & Bundling

Nicole McCormick is the practice leader of the broadband and multiplay team at Omdia, formerly Ovum. She leads a global team of analysts who cover mobile and fixed broadband operator strategies, delivering leading data, outlook, and coverage such as pricing strategies, LTE monetization strategies, telco innovations, and mobile roaming for the Asia Pacific region.  

She has more than 20 years’ experience covering the telecoms and television sectors in Asia Pacific. Nicole is a regular presenter and moderator at industry conferences in the region.

Aaron West

Senior Analyst, Consumer Electronics and Display Applications

Aaron provides expertise and analysis of the smartphone market, joining Omdia in 2022.

Aaron has a range of research and publishing experience. He graduated from a degree in theoretical physics before moving into consumer product testing, with a focus on sustainability and the environment.

In this role, he was responsible for research project management, including comparative testing of technology products and consumer surveys. He also reported on the energy efficiency and longevity of home appliances, as well as the product lifecycle and obsolescence of smartphones.

He has published articles in Which?, one of the UK’s largest subscription magazines, produced by the country’s largest consumer association.