Top Mobile Trends 2014

Once again weve dug through reports and

forecasts from the top research firms and

thought leaders for the coming year. In this

presentation weve summarised the key trends

and predictions including our own thoughts and

recommendations to those of the worlds top

research institutions. Our goal is to help guide you

make the most out of your mobile plans in 2014!

During 2013 we used every available opportunity to talk about

the importance of use case centric service design. Identifying and

focusing on the core use cases based on context, and then building

the best user experience around these.

the experience can be truly customised, based on other relevant information

and behaviour- Golden Gekko

Related to this, Yankee Group predicts that marketing investment

for mobile customer experience measurement will take center

stage.

1. Context matters

behaviour. Google Now is a strong example of this. The importance

of context means that responsive design will frequently fail as the

approach focuses too much on providing the same service across

devices and not enough on the user needs.

What we think

Forget about what device your customer is using and focus on

serving the core needs for each user in the context they are in. Once

you know the use case, work rigorously to deliver the optimal user

experience through ongoing user testing. Over time the experience

can be truly customised, based on other relevant information and

For a retailer, the core use case will differ if the customer is in the store vs outside of the store or shopping from home.

Ovum says that Apps will drive the next phase in the evolution of

enterprise mobility, creating new ways of working, and transforming

existing business processes. In 2014, enterprise mobile apps will

become a core part of the enterprise IT application stack.

2. Apps still winning vs. mobile web

Smartphone users spend 87% of their time using mobile apps. iPad users spend 76% of their time using mobile apps- Nielsen

being implemented. Downloadable apps will continue to dominate

in the consumer and enterprise space with a combination of Native

apps and Hybrid apps (using HTML5).

What we think

Its clear that consumers and enterprise users prefer apps when it

comes to utility services. They are faster, more reliable and easier to

use, with users not particularly concerned with which technology is

We know iPad outsold laptops during 2013: While users were on their iPads [...], they were three times more likely to be using apps than the mobile Web. - Nielsen

In Top Technology Trends for 2014 and Beyond, Forrester states

that a great digital experience is no longer a nice-to-have; its a

make-or-break point for your business as we more fully enter the

digital age. Some CIOs are losing their influence over the decisions

in these areas as digital experience agencies are engaged by CMOs

and CTOs to a greater extent.

3. Do, differentiate or die

customers impressions of a business are established through digital engagement, forcing businesses to recognize that software is the brand.- Forrester

with business applications give enterprises the opportunity to reduce

operational costs, as well as improve profitability and competitive

edge. The time is now.

What we think

Uber, Starbucks, Amazon, Booking.com and others have shown

that its possible to shake up an entire industry by providing a

differentiating and winning mobile experience. These organisations

are driven by user experience more than anything else.

This goes for Enterprise apps as well. Forrester reports that 90% of

businesses will have corporate apps by 2014. Enabling employees

CMOs need to differentiate their businesses by providing customized mobile solutions to their customers.

Ericsson concludes that smartphones have completely changed the

way we communicate and use the Internet. IDC predicts that the 3rd

Platform will deliver the next generation of competitive advantages

that will significantly disrupt market leaders in virtually every industry.

We are currently entering a new phase of rapidly-diversifying smartphone use -

and people are looking for apps across all sectors of society.

- IDC

4. Apps changing the way enterprises work

to Forrester, 29% of employees are anytime, anywhere employees

with 53% using 3 or more devices for work, 37% working from 3 or

more locations and 82% using 7 or more apps to work.

Employees are ready, now the enterprise needs to catch up and take

advantage of this opportunity. From eliminating paper processes

to improving content distribution and capturing real-time data, in

2014 enterprise apps will begin to transform businesses landscape,

overhauling operations and driving growth to their top and bottom

lines.

In 2014 you will see all larger organisations deploying enterprise apps.

What we think

During 2013, many enterprise mobility solutions delivered value

beyond our wildest dreams. In one case, 12 months and hundreds

of thousands of dollars in investment paid off in less than 1.5

months. Every organisation should review their opportunities in

mobile enterprise solutions whether they derive from appstore apps

or custom developed solutions. Read our blog about how to identify

and implement your quick wins.

The nature of how employees work has changed and enterprises are

dealing with a new savvy, always-connected workforce. According

Juniper says 2014 will be a watershed year for wearables with

Google Glass, Samsung smartwatches, Apple iWatch and other

devices - but privacy will be an issue as google glasscamera

becomes more and more ubiquitous. Smartwatches will also raise

concerns as they will track users biometric data such as heart

rate, respiration, skin temperature. If connected to the smartphone

used at work, there could be potential misuse of this data through

mobile device management programs. The trend of BYOD and MDM

programs is mostly present in the US.

5. 2014 is not the year for wearables

wearable devices represent a nice to have and not a must have for consumers- Juniper

Glass) and watches (Pebble, Sony and Samsung), 2013 was a

pilot year. Google Glass will prove more useful within enterprise

than for consumers, and the watches will be a niche extension to

smartphones.

2014 will continue to be an evolution and not a revolution as long as they remain gadgets for geeks and dont fulfil a real need.

What we think

Wearables appeared on Merry Meekers 2013 trend report as

well as many others. In some areas such as sport, wearables are

already going mainstream with Nike Fuel Band and movement

tracking devices. In other areas including glasses (primarily Google

CNET primarily talks about the top mobile trends impacting

consumers and believes that LG re-emerges as a hot Android device

maker in 2014 with the Google Nexus lineup and other new devices

coming. HTC on the other hand will continue to struggle due to lack

of differentiation and additional offerings in the consumer electronics

division. For Blackberry things will get worse before they get better,

but with the refocus on enterprise users and partnership with

Foxconn, they are expected to survive beyond 2014.

6. LG strikes back while Blackberry and HTC continue to drop

The big change for BlackBerry is its shift away from the consumer handset business in North America and a greater focus on its

enterprise and messaging software business- CNET

role for Blackberry to play as an enterprise device supplier and the

only one with a proper keyboard, as well as Microsoft, based on its

leading enterprise IT role. Expect a lot of surprises!

Innovation keeps thriving from competition and we will see more surprises from newcomers and established players.

What we think

We will continue to see innovation in the low-end segment from

Lenovo, Huawei and ZTE and in the high-end from Apple, LG, HTC,

Sony and Motorola whereas Microsoft/Nokia and Samsung will

continue to play in both segments. We also believe that there is a

The majority of e-mails are now opened on a mobile device making

it critical to optimise all e-mails and website links for mobile. The

desktop PC will become a secondary consideration.

7. Email will become a mobile first channel

The amount of email opened on mobile is projected to continue

increasing, and the decline in PC sales should

accelerate the trend- Gartner

What we think

Most newsletters, CRM generated e-mail updates, personal e-mails,

etc are not yet updated for mobile because to be honest, its not an

easy task. The same is true for campaign landing pages as redirects

are seldom implemented correctly, but businesses must address this

or they will lose out on business.

2014 will be the year when organisations take this seriously.

With iBeacon and other technologies that allow precise, low-cost

indoor tracking in stores, retailers will begin to target shoppers in

real-time, with releva