Facebook Home, Firefox OS add to Device diversity, Netty, Playframework, NodeJS surface as true competitive thread to Mobile Middleware. AND What ? - FDA needs to approve my app?

Team,

A very powerful, intense  week. I got to meet many many clients, and be  a part of  their discussions around their mobile ambitions. I got to learn a lot from their dilemma and challenges and that leads me to believe that these nuggets of information can be used to learn the landscape and include in our platform the value that our clients seek.  There were also various exciting announcements from Facebook, Firefox and others, which makes this evolution  interesting and confusing. Let us look at this closely.

Facebook Home --  Facebook will launch with TC a mobile device called First( for $99) and this HTC First device will be a Facebook Optimized device, targeted for 500 million + facebook users and growing. The idea is to close the gap with Social + Mobile, and while this was already been addressed with Social apps on mobile devices, this is an  attempt to integrate the Facebook experience on a device. The industry has been speculating the growth and business value of this, but to us I think this imposes a new discussion with our clients on the impact to their Mobile Eco system.

Firefox OS – New Mobile OS and a device in future. Firefox OS is just one of many alternative OS' hoping to shake up the mobile scene, which is already crowded. Firefox will also work with ZTE for a Firefox OS device with  features as a newly integrated payments system and other features.

The Point: Facebook and Firefox  are after the larger global market with low costs device and open systems. Their entry to the Mobile OS is one in a glut. With a rich and rather confusing device diversity ( I’d like to call it mess)  enterprise now has these to consider in their application development. While Facebook is after  Mobile advertizing market ( 7.3 Billion and 13% is already Facebook’s share and led by Google) and Firefox OS is after the adoption, I must say this adds interesting conversation  with our clients.

MobileFirst Value: Fortunately, I see this as an immense opportunity  for our Mobile Middleware and overall value proposition of MobileFirst. I have always said to our clients that the value of mobile middleware is to provide security, integration and control and allows clients to reduce the burden of keeping up with all the changes in the Mobile OS’ world. After all Mobile Middleware – or IBM Worklight as a platform enables the ‘write once and run anywhere’ model AND the platform provides the device specific optimization and if  Facebook and firefox were to take off our platform would just have to include these device specific optimization in the mix. – One thing our clients do not have to worry about. – This is powerful and Value.

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Lastly, while we are on this Mobile Topic, I head an interesting bit a confirmed this with some healthcare information providers.

Apparently any application that is involved with any level of diagnosis  such as Blood pressure monitor, Breathalyzer or temperature or even glucose monitor, would need FDA approval. YES. Here are the guidelines:

http://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/deviceregulationandguidance/guidancedocuments/ucm263280.htm

Here is an idea – a business idea – Why not create a wizard that encompasses these guidelines  to create a app that matches all criteria and that way our clients do not have to worry about it. Yes I agree there is a certain sense of liability, but we can include some feature in IDE plug-in that provides that prescriptive (no pun intended) approach.

We do with other standards such as  HIPPA and SWIFT etc.

Just a thought.

Have  a great week! As always I’d be interested in your thoughts!

:)

Nitin