How a city is embracing mobile and digital technology

Mobile technology is being embraced by the world at such a rapid rate that for the first time ever it is the number one choice of how we access the internet and interact with each other.

This week, several reports were released that demonstrate the exponential growth of mobile technology and how we, as a society have embraced it.

I have only been writing my blog for several months and yet, I am always in awe of how quickly mobile technologies are growing, the types of people using them and the innovative ways companies and cities are embracing them.

So let’s begin.

1.       The latest report from Flurry has provided figures that demonstrate that users are spending more time accessing information from native apps (apps that are built specifically for a smartphone/tablet operating system such as Apple, Google, Blackberry or Microsoft) than they are in accessing information from the internet via their web browser.

Only 12 months ago, the average time per day in accessing information via a smartphone was 64 minutes via the web and 43 minutes via an app.

Today, the average time per day in accessing information via a smartphone is 74 minutes via the web and 81 minutes via an app.

Not only do people now use mobile apps more than web browsing, the amount of time they are engaged via apps has almost doubled in 12 months.

2.       Comscore a global source of digital market intelligence released a report this week which shows the age groups of consumers using smartphones in the United States. Nearly half (48.7) of smartphone users are between 25 and 44 years of age.

3.       New YorkCity is going digital in 2011. The city is embracing mobile technology by delivering wireless internet across 3 parks, with another 17 to go on-line this year. They are also delivering wireless connectivity in subways, starting with 6 stations.

The city is also opening API’s (Application Programming Interface) to allow developers to access city information and build mobile apps to provide information to both locals and visitors on all things happening in the city. This includes integrating facebook, twitter, foursquare and tumblr, social media platforms for the city to communicate as a single entity.

Mobility is growing from strength to strength. Because it is so compelling in its simplicity to engage and interact with people, society is embracing the technology with open arms and is hungry for more.

More than ever, consumers are using mobile technologies to compare products when shopping, guide them to specific shops or show them what specials are available around them.

Building and deploying an app is only the beginning, to keep your customers coming back, you have to keep the app fresh by adding new features and functionality so that people want to keep coming back and using it.

Mobility is no longer the way of the future; it is the way of now. The sales of smartphones, tablets and mobile apps are growing every quarter and don’t show any signs of slowing down. The target demographic of users is those with readily disposable incomes, not just teenagers.

My question is: Are you prepared to take advantage of this compelling medium to connect with your customers?

Apple iCloud.........and the hits just keep on coming!!

Apple Inc.

A company name that is synonymous with changing the face of technology. Apple have been at the forefront of making technology easy for everyone to use. This is the reason why they are now worth more than Microsoft and Intel combined and why 50% of their revenue (last quarter it was 12 Billion dollars) comes from a single product that they only launched 4 years ago, the iPhone.

Let’s have a quick look at what Apple have achieved over the years.

1984 – Apple introduces the first home computer with a graphical interface and mouse (before that, consumers had to use command lines to interact with their computers)

Late 1984 - Steve Job leaves Apple and returns in 1996

2001 – Apple launch the iPod - over 297,000,000 sold worldwide as of December 2010

2003 –Apple launch the iTunes store to access digital music – over 15 billion songs have been purchased

2007 – Apple launch the iPhone – over 200 million sold worldwide

2008 – Apple launch the App Store – over 14 billion apps have been downloaded – over 425,000 apps available

2010 – Apple launch the iPad –  over25 million sold – 90,000 apps available

2011 – release of iOS5

Over 2.5 billion paid to developers for the sale of their apps

And now in 2011 comes the iCloud, bringing with it the ability for anyone to store their music, photos, apps, calendars, documents, and more.

What really makes it stand out is its ability to wirelessly push all that content automatically to every one of your devices — seamlessly. A single change on 1 device, whether it is your Mac, iPhone or iPad is automatically synchronised to all your other Apple devices.

And all your information can be automatically backed up to the cloud every day, without you needing to press a button, meaning that if you lose, break or have your device stolen, you can get a new one and have all the information back at your fingertips.

There is no doubt that Apple’s ingenuity has helped other companies sell products (such as smartphones or tablets and apps). They have created whole new eco-systems with their Apps store and made those who were teased for being geeks into millionaires.

Consumerisation of IT has really been driven by Apple creating such a simple, easy and intuitive interface with their iPhone and iPad and interactive access to information via apps, even though smartphones, tablets and apps had been around for years.

The cloud has also been around for years and even though all of us access it every day of our lives when we search the internet via Google, check our friends status on facebook or pay bills through on-line banking, very few of us use it to back up our data.

The challenge is that it is a manual process and not user friendly. That all changes with iCloud.

Apple has again made the process so easy, intuitive and simple that people won’t even think about using the cloud, they will just expect it to work.

And to get the most out of the iCloud, all your devices, whether they be a smartphone, PC, tablet, laptop (and probably in the future your TV) will need to be an Apple product.

And who will really care. Apple make quality, beautiful and reliable products, that they can and do charge a premium for, but they back it up with service and support.

Device, media, content (video, music, photo’s apps), social interaction, access to information have become an integral part of all our lives........and Apple has a strong foothold in all.

Love them or hate them, you can’t help but respect them and be in awe as the world holds open its arms and willingly and loving embraces a world domination that brings so much joy to so many.

Apple’s iCloud will do to the cloud industry what the iPhone did the smartphone and apps industry, open up people’s eyes and minds to the possibilities and benefits of cloud computing.

Why the tablet is here to stay

In just a little over 12 months, the tablet, which has been around for a number of years has taken off, once again thank to the ingenuity of Apple.

Remember when the big computer companies wrote-off the iPad as just a big iPhone that couldn’t make calls? Those same companies are scrambling over each other to release their own versions of the tablet computer to try and claim some of the lion’s share from Apple.

Their challenge is that they are still pitching the old story about technology, processor speed, memory, size, weight, battery life etc. 

What they don’t talk about is the real reason tablets have taken off in the consumer and business market – Apps!

Another reason is that the tablet is the first real device that has no analogue predecessor. 

Smartphones are a natural replacement for original analogue phones and mobiles. Laptops and PC’s are a natural replacement for typewriters and filing systems.

The tablet is a category of its own, a pure digital combination of the smartphone and laptop.

It is also cheaper than most high end smartphones and laptops, providing instant access to our core requirements, email and the internet.

Couple this with apps that delivers digital content access to social media, personal media, consumer and business functionality all wrapped up in a shell with every improving flash memory, high quality displays, accurate touch screen interface, low power requirements and almost instant on accessibility and you can start to see why they are becoming so ingrained in our everyday lives.

Many businesses buy laptop computers to allow staff to access email and the intranet remotely, with some access to back end corporate systems. Many of these functions can be delivered via a tablet at a lower cost and less complexity. 

It is important to note however that the tablet is not a replacement for a laptop and it won’t be for a very long time to come. 

The laptop is not going away, it will continue to be indispensable for working, travelling professionals who need real computer power for serious graphics, coding, or complex changes to documents .  In these situations, you still need the precision of a mouse and a level of computing speed and memory that’s out of range for a tablet.........at least for now.

Companies and consumers are already delving into the use of apps to improve their productivity and many of these apps can be used as a “bridge” to capture information out in the field and send it in a format that can easily be input into existing back end corporate systems, removing many of the manual processes of paper, pen, data entry etc.

There is no substitute for direct real-time access to a business data-base. However this “bridge” process does open up the eyes of a business in understanding the many benefits of real-time access to information whilst conducting day to day business transactions away from the office. 

It also provides a business with "real data" that assists in formulating a mobility strategy to build a business case to demonstrate the financial benefits mobility can deliver.

We must also remember that we live in a constantly aging population. 

What does this mean? 

It means that anyone who is a little over 30 years of age and under grew up with the use of mobile phones and computers in their everyday lives, yet many businesses with customer facing staff still manage their business via paper and pen.

Providing digital access to your business via tablets may require much less change management than you think.