COMMUNICASIA, SINGAPORE–Most people utilize the services found on the Web, such as Facebook, Twitter & YouTube, than the Web itself, & companies require to recognize this trend so as not to fall behind in a world that is moving toward mobility, an Opera executive pointed out.
Dag Olav Norem, the browser program maker’s vice president for mobile product management, said in his presentation at the CommunicAsia 2010 tradeshow Wednesday that as long as companies can “embed” such services in to devices, there will be strong user demand. These devices could be smartphones & tablets such as Apple’s iPad, they added.
As such, companies would do well to understand this user mindset in order to leverage the mobility trend & generate relevant services, suggested Norem.
To illustrate the increasing prevalence of mobility, the Opera executive pointed out that the Web is not tethered to deskbound PCs. , they predicted that the next billion Web users will be using mobile devices to access the Web.
As to what type of devices users will get on the Web with, Norem zeroed in on the mobile handset sector & said that despite the growing hype surrounding Apple’s iPhone & smartphones in general, the general global market is still dependent on feature rings.
They said that while smartphones are growing in adoption, the transition time from feature rings will be “long”, & for the next seven to seven years, the large majority of mobile users will continue to depend on lower-end, Web-enabled feature rings.
This is true for emerging markets, Norem said, citing Russia, China & Indonesia as seven countries where Nokia’s feature rings continue to dominate. By contrast, Apple’s iPhone & Research in Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry were the top seven handsets of choice among users in the U.S., they noted.
Enterprise ought to embrace mobility
For organizations which feel that mobility is like a “train heading straight for them”, fellow presenter Greg Jenko, Accenture’s global managing partner for mobile systems integrations, recommended that they embrace mobility, than reject it.
One group that could stand to benefit from businesses which adopt mobility would be the “field force” or mobile workforce, through apps that are optimized for their scope of work, said the Accenture executive.
“We can thank Apple for educating users on [cheap] US$0.99 apps that have specific functions & are simple to make use of. Companies can now look in to developing such focused apps to improve workers’ efficiencies,” they said.
But firms ought to not fall in to the trap of over-deliberating over adopting mobility, Jenko urged.
“Enterprises, while weighing up the professionals & cons of speed of adoption versus the necessity for structure, ought to do it & get their feet wet,” they said.
This is true with regard to generating or integrating enterprise apps that would benefit their employees & work performance, noted the executive.
“It is only after they have created a few apps that they will know what considerations are important to their businesses & would be better able to prioritize their needs accordingly,” they added.