The demand for mobile applications is on the rise and global businesses are focused to offer mobile applications that would help them offer services on the go. Businesses want to be innovative with their mobile strategy and provide value to their consumers. It is believed that there are on an average 905,000 and 850,000 mobile application’s available on the Apple’s App Store and Android’s Play Store followed by Windows and Blackberry (220,000 and 130,000). Both Apple and Google have witnessed a steady rise in the revenues from their respective application stores.
The future of computing would be focused on Mobile Technologies, with the emergence of smart phones and wearable devices, we are already seeing a new trend where people are using their mobile devices to check their emails, pay utility bills, book movie tickets, or check on essential services. According to Pew Research Center, which conducted a survey in 24 emerging markets that includes Russia and China, it has stated that almost 50% of mobile users have a smart phone and smartphone penetration is growing at an exceptional pace.
Future of Mobility
Smart Phones are here to say in the near future and we are noticing trends, which would change the way businesses operate and transact. There are few businesses such as Taco Bell, which have plans to build and utilize mobile application that would allow their customers to order food via their smart phones and even allow them to pay for it. That’s a smart move, how far it would be successful, we would have to wait and watch.
Wearable Computing
Another emerging trend based on mobile technology is wearable computing, Google has already launched its much awaited product ‘Google Glass’, which is making considerable noise in the tech world. Samsung, Sony and other leading brands have already released smart watches in the market and are rumored to be working on other wearable mobile devices. Currently, the smart watch market is said to be worth $2 Billion, but is expected to grow at a phenomenal rate reaching $9.2 Billion by 2018. We would witness some big time rivalry in this sector.
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
This is an interesting trend that has emerged in recent days, where companies are allowing their employees to use their personal devices at work instead of company purchased devices. As per a recent report, 81% employees admitted using at least one mobile device for business use. However, CIO’s have started debating on security aspects of ‘BYOD’ and how to overcome it.
Reducing Digital Divide
Another advantage of Mobile Computing is that it has helped in reducing the digital divide between the rich and the poor nations, with the prices of smart devices falling each quarter and with new vendors offering cheaper mobile devices, individuals living in poor nations are able to utilize the smartphone features and internet to their benefit.
Mobility is certain to transform the entire business landscape. The technology is advancing at a rapid pace, mobile operating systems and applications are being updated constantly. As a business entity, you need to be on the forefront of the latest technologies and develop your mobile applications on emerging platforms and constantly offer value to your consumers.
