Why Mobile Device Brokers Need to be Aware of the New Shift to Mobile Cloud
Computing
Google has created an explosion in consumer awareness of mobile applications. New applications
are growing and "app stores" are coming up everywhere. But most of today's applications need handsets with powerful
computing power, limiting their potential market. However a new architecture based on software running in the cloud will drastically
change the way mobile applications are developed, acquired, and used. And this menas BIG money for Mobile Device Brokers.
According to a new study from TTT Development and Cloud Ops, this will be a very life changing development that could top
the current mobile application model by 2012, delivering revenue of nearly $29 billion annually by the end of that year.
"Mobile application
developers today face the challenge of multiple mobile operating systems," says experienced analyst Tom Kelly. "Either
they must write for just one OS, or create many versions of the same application. More sophisticated apps require significant
processing power and memory in the handset. Using Web development, applications can run on servers instead of locally, so
handset requirements can be greatly reduced and developers can create just one version of an application. This trend is in
its infancy today, but webelieve that eventually it will become the major model for mobile applications."
This approach is
not without hassles, main among which is intermittent network availability. A cloud-based application stops working if you
lose your connection. However new programming languages such as HTML 5 will enable data caching on the handset, allowing work
to continue until cellular signal is restored.
"Cloud computing will bring unprecedented sophistication to mobile applications,"
says Dolly Ukerio of MS. "To mention just a few examples, business users will benefit from collaboration and data sharing
apps. Personal users will gain from remote access apps allowing them to monitor home security systems, PCs or DVRs, and from
social networking mashups that let them share photos and video or incorporate their phone address books and calendars."
Clear-Cloud's new
study "Mobile Cloud Computing" details the mobile applications that will lead the growth, the key technologies,
players and initiatives involved, new business models that will be introduced, and the barriers that must be overcome. Forecasts
include subscribers and revenue by region and application category using mobile cloud applications.
Mobile application developers
more and more are shifting to cloud computing to bypass the major challenges that face them:
The over-flow of handset models and software configurations.
The
small processing power and battery life of mobile devices.
The low-bandwidths of mobile networks.
In mobile cloud computing,
processing happens at the server rather than the smartphone or Blackberry or Tablet. So, mobile applications can offer MUCH
higher performance speeds and a greater degree of sophistication. This increases the power and bandwidth of mobile applications.
Because cloud computing helps
increase processing power, mobile applications can be used for collaboration, sharing, remote access and more. Also, mobile
application developers are no longer held back by the platform on which their applications will operate.
In
fact, the power of mobile cloud computing is so pervasive that many are saying that the number of mobile cloud computing subscribers
worldwide will grow rapidly from 33.5 million subscribers in 2008 to about 1 billion in 2014. However,
this opportunity for growth is not without its challenges. Service providers' primary concerns are connectivity and speed,
the basics of the mobile cloud computing platform. Next, will the cloud computing infrastructures be able to handle the increased
demand?
But these challenges are also opportunities for telecom service providers. At the very least, an HUGE increase in
mobile cloud computing would mean higher traffic, which could increase revenue for service providers. Service providers should
be compelled to upgrade their mobile networks to meet demands because subscribers are predicted to increase five-fold. This
need is accelerating the deployments of LTE and WiMAX networks.
To support mobile cloud computing applications, service providers can offer
integrated networking, storage, and infrastructure. They can also address concerns over security and reliability and offer
self-service solutions to help manage their services and devices. By offering layered pay-as-you-go models, telecom service
providers can make mobile cloud computing more affordable and profitable. Over the next few years we'll evaluate the results
of deploying these approaches in the market.
Indeed, many leading telecom providers have already devised growth strategies for mobile cloud computing. The question
is not if, but when mobile cloud computing will gather critical mass. And the answer, it seems, is much sooner than later.........Brokers....stand
by your handset!
