Mobile Apps
Yes, Mobile Devices and related technologies seem over represented in this list of top ten technologies for 2011. Thats because mobile technology is driving massive change in the technology sector. The decades old dominance of the PC platform is being supplanted at breakneck pace by mobile devices.
The traditional model of IT groups dictating what devices could connect to corporate systems is fading away fast. New devices from Apple and the myriad vendors who support the Android platform are being brought into the workpace without any prior approval. The line between the personal use of mobile devices and corporate devices is getting blurred. The iPad is being adopted at positively astounding rates by senior management. The days of the ultralight laptop as status symbol are numbered. Showing up at meetings with an iPad is almost expected when you get closer to the top of the corporate ladder.
What does this mean for corporations that create content that traditionally was delivered by a dedicated desktop app or even a web 2.0 app delivered through a standard browser ?
It means every company needs a mobile strategy. At the top of the house, there must be commitment to considering mobile devices to be first class citizens when designing content delivery channels. It is a hard pill to swallow for many but the fact is mobile devices entering the market place now are more powerful than perhaps 75% of business desktops out there for general compute tasks, lagging perhaps only in their graphics rendering prowess. Given that corporate desktop refresh cycles run typically 3 years, it is almost a certainty that in the next year personal and corporate mobile devices will be more powerful than desktop computers employees may have.
So what are the main elements of a mobile application strategy: (1) Decisions around targeting a specific device family (iOS, WebOS, Android, Windows Phone 7 etc) or to build a general browser based app that is smart aboyt scaling down to mobile devices. (2) Decisions around free vs paid or a hybrid freemium business model to deliver content. (3) Decisions around online vs offline access to content. (4) Decisions around extending the corporate web brand or starting afresh (4) Training or hiring new staff for mobile device development or retaining a third party specialist firm. (5) Rapid iteration of a concept vs execution of a fully realized plan.
Some of these decisions may seem obvious to many of us, however each company's market position and preparedness is different and that must influence their decision making.
Common pitfalls include underestimating the complexity and expertise required in user interface design for mobile devices, underbudgeting for long term maintenance of the application as well as not factoring in the influence customer reviews of mobile apps that are part of every app store now.
Yes, Mobile Devices and related technologies seem over represented in this list of top ten technologies for 2011. Thats because mobile technology is driving massive change in the technology sector. The decades old dominance of the PC platform is being supplanted at breakneck pace by mobile devices.
The traditional model of IT groups dictating what devices could connect to corporate systems is fading away fast. New devices from Apple and the myriad vendors who support the Android platform are being brought into the workpace without any prior approval. The line between the personal use of mobile devices and corporate devices is getting blurred. The iPad is being adopted at positively astounding rates by senior management. The days of the ultralight laptop as status symbol are numbered. Showing up at meetings with an iPad is almost expected when you get closer to the top of the corporate ladder.
What does this mean for corporations that create content that traditionally was delivered by a dedicated desktop app or even a web 2.0 app delivered through a standard browser ?
It means every company needs a mobile strategy. At the top of the house, there must be commitment to considering mobile devices to be first class citizens when designing content delivery channels. It is a hard pill to swallow for many but the fact is mobile devices entering the market place now are more powerful than perhaps 75% of business desktops out there for general compute tasks, lagging perhaps only in their graphics rendering prowess. Given that corporate desktop refresh cycles run typically 3 years, it is almost a certainty that in the next year personal and corporate mobile devices will be more powerful than desktop computers employees may have.
So what are the main elements of a mobile application strategy: (1) Decisions around targeting a specific device family (iOS, WebOS, Android, Windows Phone 7 etc) or to build a general browser based app that is smart aboyt scaling down to mobile devices. (2) Decisions around free vs paid or a hybrid freemium business model to deliver content. (3) Decisions around online vs offline access to content. (4) Decisions around extending the corporate web brand or starting afresh (4) Training or hiring new staff for mobile device development or retaining a third party specialist firm. (5) Rapid iteration of a concept vs execution of a fully realized plan.
Some of these decisions may seem obvious to many of us, however each company's market position and preparedness is different and that must influence their decision making.
Common pitfalls include underestimating the complexity and expertise required in user interface design for mobile devices, underbudgeting for long term maintenance of the application as well as not factoring in the influence customer reviews of mobile apps that are part of every app store now.
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