With 2018 approaching, businesses need to prepare for a series of significant changes to the market environment in China — specifically related to the Party’s upcoming 19^th Party Congress and ambitious urbanization plans (that will redefine where businesses across industries operate in the country).

The professional services market is growing rapidly, according to the recently published report Professional Services Market Global Report 2017 by The Business Research Company. The market is forecast to register a 5.4% growth rate from 2016 to 2020, reaching almost $5 trillion.

Companies are increasingly turning to staffing and recruiting companies to find qualified candidates and expand their workforce in a cost-effective manner.

However, recruitment is being disrupted by technology — creating a host of new changes and opportunities in the years ahead. Read on for a quick overview of the industry, and learn about top recruiting companies, trends, and challenges.

Global security products and services make up an industry worth more than $300 billion. The United States is the largest market overall, but the fastest gains will be found in less developed markets such as India, China, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, and Brazil, according to Jennifer Christ, a Research Manager at the Freedonia Group.

“Growth in the security market stems from economic development, rising urbanization, increasing personal incomes, and concerns about crime and insufficient public safety measures,” Jennifer explained in a recent webinar on the topic.

Consumer spending on professional services is projected to total almost $481 billion by 2020, representing yearly growth of 3.8% from 2015 levels. Positive economic trends will drive growth as consumers gain more disposable personal income and seek professional services for their financial and personal needs.

Many innovative technologies are changing how we access professional services. If you’d like to seek legal advice, chances are you can do it on your computer or mobile device. Many online services are also cheaper than traditional ones, leading established companies to change their marketing strategies and to offer services on a variety of platforms.

Educational institutions face a unique set of security issues in order to ensure student safety. They must protect vulnerable student populations while balancing budget limitations, the desire to maintain inviting spaces for the students and community, and maintain government safety standards.

Media coverage of a number of school related tragedies has spurred upgrades to security equipment and procedures focused on student protection as public outcry boosted funds available for security spending. As a result, there has been a shift at a large share of schools — particularly primary and secondary — to devote a portion of their budget each year to evaluating and improving their existing security systems. 

Read more to see how security challenges vary by the type of education facility.

Companies in the business services sector provide a variety of B2B services such as security, landscaping, and waste management. In the U.S., there are 390,000 companies in the business services sector with annual sales of $815 billion. The 50 largest companies make up less than 25 percent of total revenue, according to First Research Inc.

The demand for business services tends to rise and fall with the overall economy, although some services, such as pest control, are more resistant to economic downturns. Europe and the U.S. are the primary markets; however, the business services sector is growing quickly in Colombia, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Kenya, and Poland, among other areas. In this blog post, we’ll explore different types of business services and examine potential challenges and opportunities within this sector.

Within the credit card sector, innovative technologies are changing the way people make purchases.

Mobile and alternative payments are experiencing significant growth, with a range of payment providers in the mix including PayPal, MasterPass by MasterCard, Apple Pay, Amazon Payments, and Google Wallet.

In addition, co-branded credit cards continue to lure affluent households and millennial shoppers — which are prime demographics in the payments industry.

Is Bali really the best-kept secret of the global FinTech community?

Bali is known for its pristine beauty and its outstanding hospitality. In Part-1 of this two-part series, we showed that behind the scenes there is a vibrant and colorful international FinTech and Startup community evolving on the island. We also explored why Bali is so attractive for FinTech activities and listed "The 10 Magnetic Powers of Bali." Now, let's take a look at the leaders in Bali's FinTech community.

Is Bali really the best-kept secret of the global FinTech community?

Among FinTech enthusiasts there is a rumor that Bali is a thriving hub for innovative thinking, startups, BitCoin and financial technology in particular. The problem is that we rarely hear specifics about it, and there is no good source compiling and overviewing FinTech activity in Bali. Writing this blog post, we at Banking Reports, a leading source of FinTech market intelligence, can verify that, yes, Bali is really a hotspot for FinTech and BitCoin. In our research we have found something even broader: Bali is a paradise for startups in general from all industries, sizes and shapes.