Mobile access through mobile applications on handsets is set to overtake desktop web access within the next 5 years. By 2015, over 1 billion users worldwide are expected to access the web through their mobile handset. Many organizations have not fully considered how to approach and serve their users, customers, and stakeholders on mobile platforms. The majority are still using web applications optimized for use on the desktop, not the handset. With mounting evidence that users, many in emerging markets, are gaining the power to communicate and interact on mobile devices, organizations are still surprisingly unprepared to adapt to the coming challenge of serving these customers and potential customers effectively in an environment of abundance of bandwidth, information, and processing power. In a few short years, it is very likely that the desktop platform will become merely a complementary platform to a new mobile platform as the means of connecting and serving customers online.
New rules and constraints apply in the development of mobile applications today. Limited screen sizes, limited storage, and limited processing capabilities are mainly dictated by the form factor of these devices. However, with exponential improvements in technological capabilities, coupled with exponential drops in cost, the demand for rich interactive applications on mobile platforms is also expected to grow exponentially. For instance, mobile application downloads are expected to grow more than 700 percent, from 2.9 billion to 21 billion, by 2013. Most of these applications to be downloaded do not exist today.
Organizations should put aside immediate concerns about payback and immediately begin exploring the mobile landscape because the pace of change is exponential and likely to overwhelm – or outpace – the strategy development process, leaving value for others at the table.
To take advantage of this new growth, organizations can prepare today by developing rapid development strategies for entry into the mobile marketplace. To do this, organizations can begin by:
- Understanding the mobile ecosystem
- Identifying and supporting small mobile applications initiatives
- Developing a strategy for participation in the mobile applications value chain
- Building strength in serving customers
- Repeating early successes often
