Let us talk Mobile

Let us talk Mobile..

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To be a spectator ( we do have front seats) or lead the change!! - Welcome 2013!!

 Wishing you a very Happy New Year - 2013. Leaving a busy 2012 behind, I personally am excited to welcome 2013, partly because it is "new" and party because we can learn from 2012 and focus on  the 'collective'  outlook of 2013.

    Personally 2012 was a great year for me, my travels took me places,  which enabled me to learn how technology around us is changing lives and witness the impact first hand. Which makes me to believe that we are certainly in interesting times and have an opportunity to not only be a part of this revolution but also lead with our collective input. I think...the choice is ours to either be a spectator or tighten the belt and lead the Change.

    Below are a  few high points of 2012, which in my humble opinion will set the stage for growth momentum in 2013…Application Infrastructure outlook of sorts!

1.    Black Friday seems to be building up frenzy and tops the sales from previous year, not just the US but the rest of the world too. This Black Friday weekend in 2012 businesses raked in more than $59 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. --- Want to guess how much was Mobile generated business?

2.    Retailers looking to cash in should make the most of Black Friday weekends --- in many case this one weekend accounts for 20% of overall annual sales. Online sales on Cyber Monday jumped 30% from the same day in 2011, according to data from IBM's Digital Analytics Benchmark. So what can our client's learn from this? consumer orientated businesses that overlook mobile may be quickly falling behind the competition. Nearly one in four shoppers used a mobile device to visit a retailer's website on Black Friday, according to IBM  Study - Answer 20% of all sales were on a mobile device!

3.    A huge differentiator in this year's shopping season is the level of intelligence many retailers have about their customers. With loyalty programs and deep analytics, many retailers know precisely the types of customers who will be drawn in by certain offers, and what other products those consumers are likely to buy. - To be this sounds like a value proposition that the industry will build upon in 2013!

4.    Mobility… Mobility… Mobility… that seems to be the Buzz. But with new  systems of engagements emerging how do we engage in a meaningful manner, is having a mobile app adequate? I think the answer to that is a resounding "NO". We should be engaging in Mobile application design discussion, and engage in an activity that allows us to paint a story where we have an  enterprise design imperatives that maps to application design imperatives.

5.    We ought to also consider the challenges of this emerging and viral engagement paradigm with social and mobile, that the reputation is ephemeral and security is paramount. Shoplifting is all time low because of declining 'brick 'n' mortar' business models, so where do these shoplifters go?  --- U guessed it, they all are lurking on-line, and embarking on new avenues  enables by the emerging trends. Inference : Mobility…Mobility…Mobility implies focus on security…security..security!

6.    I started with Retail, but the trend  is rampant in all trades that are engaged in buying, selling and transacting in this ecosystem. There are ancillary services emerging from new shipping, returns to even new payment networks ( such as NCX) that is bound to change we do business in 2013 and beyond.

7.    Banking Industry, be it consumer banking or investment banking the innate need for anytime anywhere transaction processing by consumers will drive the need for secure, resilient and real time processing of the back-end systems that were never designed to handle this level of engagement frequency.

I can go on…but you get the picture.  My point is we ought to think 'Real Value' -

    I have been discussing this with my peers, my mentors and a many clients, and as we begin 2013 I think we have to focus on "value" in our rhetoric. It should not longer be about cheap labor costs, or free software, but about the total cost of solution. I think we should seek consultative engagement model (where we take these industry and technology insights) in helping with the enterprise design points which lends itself to a sustainable and cost effective solution.  I have always believed a good design pays for itself.

So  to reiterate, my opening point, we  have  a choice to either be a spectator ( we do have  front seats) or lead the change….The Choice is the leadership and ours to make is ours to lose!

As always I curious to hear your thoughts and Observations!!

Have  a great new year!!


:)
Nitin Gaur