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.

Embracing mobile computing….why you should.

Apple’s iPad has reinvigorated what was an all-but-dead tablet marketplace. In just over 12 months, what was a “novelty” toy is fast becoming an essential work tool and extension to business systems. Motorola, Samsung, RIM, ZTE, Huawei have all released competing tablets. Millions of tablets and hundreds of million smart phones have been sold in a short number of years and their sales are growing exponentially. Mobile computing is truly the future of computing – both for consumers and business.

Over the next few years we’ll no longer be talking about phones or tablets or laptops or desktops. We will see a hybrid world of mobile computing with services being offered via the cloud where consumers and businesses will soon be able to access all critical information via their smart phones and tablets.

The most important component of this transition from PC form factor to mobile computing is software. When the laptop was introduced as an alternative to the desktop computer, no major change in software was necessary. The opposite is true with the shift to mobile computing. Mobile computing is leading us into a new era of software, an era where total functionality is expected, in conjunction with an engaging user experience and anytime, anywhere access.

This new software is called apps.

In my very first blog, I spoke about mobile smart phones and tablets being the fastest growing technology in the history of man. Mobile Apps are an extension of this statement. The consumer space has exploded with apps, however many software and services companies have missed the mark on optimizing their offerings for the mobile user. As a result, many companies have shied away from the app marketplace, especially those with enterprise software services. Enterprise software for the longest time has been 90% about functionality and 10% about the user experience.

Smart phones and tablets however have an addictive user interface – complete with interactive touch screen capability, fast processing power, rich graphics, location based services, video and internet all at a users fingertips 24x7. Mobile apps, even enterprise apps must now be about 100% functionality, 100% interactivity and 100% user experience.

Here are some reasons businesses should be embracing mobile computing and the app revolution rather than denying its legitimacy:

1) Security
Security ranks vey high when talking about mobile business apps. The reality is that security on a smart phone or a tablet can be even more robust than on a PC. Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions provide multiple levels of security for mobile business applications, including: pass code to unlock a device, pass code/log-in to access a particular app, the ability for IT to control the device by locking it, locating it, deleting particular files, or even wiping the app from the phone.

Unlike with a laptop, mobile devices are almost always available to IT because mobile devices are always connected to a network (even on some plane that support Wi-Fi).

2) Access to your business 24x7
In the office, on-the-go, and at home, smart phones and tablets are always connected. There is no longer such a thing as a desk job. Even employees with no customer facing duties have embraced the smart phone and apps revolution. Change management for users is minimal as the interactive nature of mobile apps and touch screens make it easy for users to pick up. Businesses should embrace the mobile computing revolution as an opportunity to boost employee collaboration and productivity. With mobility, companies can keep workers connected to critical business information and ensure that decisions reflect the most up-to-date information and needs of the company via real-time 2 way communications.

3) Intuitive UI
Every smart phone has access to email and think about how easy it is to access and use. If email were just a shrunken version of the desktop solution, it would be incredibly hard to manage and use on-the-go. Similarly, accessing your ERP, CRM, BI systems with mobile business apps must be intuitive, engaging, and interactive for maximum acceptance and productivity.

4) Interactivity
One of the greatest advantages of business apps on smart phones and tablets is interactivity. Interacting with content is much more engaging and memorable than simply looking at information. Being able to access information from multiple databases about a client or product can easily be displayed on a single screen with the ability to drill down on further information as required. When a business app is highly interactive and intuitive by design, your employees will use the application with greater gusto in their everyday transactions.

Like it or hate it, the mobile computing revolution has already arrived. Forward thinking companies are taking advantage of this revolution by creating innovative apps, that is, adopting mobile solutions that boost productivity and provide a competitive advantage in their industry. The mobility revolution is delivering new ideas and new opportunities for decision makers to lead their businesses strategies. These include the most common challenges that keep a CEO or MD awake at night, 1) increasing revenue and productivity 2)reducing operating costs 3)minimising negative customer interactions 4)improving business processes 5)delivering to your industries regulation requirements.

Today, some of the most unlikely companies are enhancing their business processes by investing in their future to deliver systems access to multiple smart phones or tablets and at the same time truly differentiating themselves from their competitors.

Do you have a mobility strategy? Are you embracing and benefiting from this revolution or are you praying that it is just a fad?