Mobilisation Of Web Content
The classical design for most websites is based around the premise that a single
user is viewing the content from a stationary position using established hardware such as Windows or MAC machines and standard browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari.
If a particular website has not been developed with the mobile user in-mind, then the user experience is very poor to say the least. Some major websites have addressed this issue by producing a mobile-friendly version of their main site, the website detects that the user is browsing from a mobile handset and redirects the user to the mobile-friendly version.
Mobilised Websites
Without going into too much detail, a website optimised for mobile users will provide them with a better experience. Navigation, content and documentation will be easily viewable from the mobile users handset. There will be no loss of visibility or information due to the smaller screen and lower resolution of the mobile handset.
Growth in Mobile Users
More and more web surfers are mobile users who are on the move at regular on a regular basis. The main drivers for this increased mobile usage are as follows:
Improvements in technology
The new mobile handsets on the market such as iPhones, Blackberrys and HTC smartphones are much smaller and easier to use. The screen resolution are now conducive to providing a good user experience with regards web surfing. In addition, they support multiple modes of network connectivity such as Wi-Fi and 3G, thus enabling easy internet access.
Increased Application Development and Online Gaming
The ITunes app store and the android marketplace are examples of where service providers can stimulate demand for applications and games, and by handling the fulfilment process they make it easier for sellers to reach a hungry market. There are thousands of apps available on the iTunes store and millions of applications are downloaded every month.
Domestic Cellular Data Plans
The marketing strategy of many mobile network operators and resellers is to offer bundled services to customers; this is perceived as better value and also provides an element of customer lock-in, tying in the user to 18 or 24 month contracts.
The bundle typically consists of the mobile handset, the voice minutes and a cellular data plan. The data plan is the service used to access the web. Most mobile operators have already invested heavily in building out their infrastructure and have recouped most of this investment through the explosive growth in mobile voice over the last 20 years. For this reason, they are able to offer very low prices for cellular data such as 3G, EDGE and HSDPA as part of an unlimited data plans. Although stated as unlimited, most data plans have a fair usage policy limiting the data downloaded to 1GByte per user per month; as most web pages are a few kilobytes in size, this provides more than enough data for basic web browsing for most users.
Mobilised Websites
Noting the drivers previously mentioned, there is an increased requirement for websites that are optimised for viewing on mobile devices. As an example, consider a website for a local restaurant that publishes its menu in PDF format. The PDF menus are very difficult to view on a mobile device, but by mobilising the menu for viewing on a mobile handset, the menu can be easily seen by the mobile users. This example is true for all local services and not just restaurants e.g. builders, plumbers, dentists etc.
By mobilising the website, local businesses can stimulate business and increase revenues as more mobile users are able to easy and quickly navigate their website to find the products and services they need.
Commercial vs. Consumer Mobilisation.
Whereas consumer mobilisation consists of designing and developing a website optimised for mobile handsets, a commercial mobilisation strategy is very different. Commercial mobilisation includes the ability to mobilise (deliver to a handset) a specific customer back-end application e.g. Task Scheduling, Asset Management, ERP and Project Management.
In commercial mobilisation, a mobile middleware layer sits between the hardware (handset) and the software (customer back-end application) to ensure that business processes can be effectively deployed through a central system, with information being pushed to the handset to enable the business process to be effectively mobilised.
Many mobile middleware solutions provide what is called context aware, where they only push relevant information to a a person. So for example, a bus driver will get information relevant to his pick-up schedule, and an airport worker will get information about the bags to be collected on the ramp.
by: thesidman
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