Move towards multiple devices, million of users sets stage for significant growth
Editor’s Note: With 2016 now upon us, RCR Wireless News has gathered predictions from leading industry analysts and executives on what they expect to see in the new year.
Since Martin Cooper invented the cell phone in 1973, technology has certainly come a long way. The ways in which we connect and communicate have been shifting across consumers and all industries, including healthcare, retail, banking and financial services among many others. Because of this change, new revenue streams are opening up in the mobile tech world. Developments and innovation continue to accelerate with “smart” automation across devices and objects, more sophisticated, secure services are becoming increasingly present.
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Here are a few mobile predictions we envision will take hold in 2016 and beyond:
A prioritized focus on hacker intelligence
Hackers have become more intelligent than ever in their effort to break technology around us. Mobile communications is a prime target for hackers who desire to steal critical information and business infrastructure. In 2016, businesses will take greater precautionary measures to protect their networks, data and customers. More levels of end-to-end encryption solutions are being added to systems and services, particularly those online and with over-the-top applications. Enterprises and developers are doing more to strengthen security, which is evident with the implementation of two- and multi-factor authentication and one-time passwords, particularly with financial applications and online services where data is the core transaction.
Communication services providers also need to take greater measures to protect their networks and safeguard subscribers, especially as hackers take great measures to attack networks. Loopholes in signaling protocols (such as SS7) have recently been exposed; meaning hackers are able to steal money, listen-in on conversations, monitor messages, determine a user’s location, manipulate network and subscriber data, and generally disrupt services. As the digital space continues to advance, emphasis must be faced by organizations to build security into all business processes from conceptualization to development.
A completely connected society
A recent enterprise survey from Ovum reports more than 35% of respondents were already using or deploying machine-to-machine and/or “Internet of Things” technology. This trend is set to continue into 2016, with the expansion supported by new digital technology such as WebRTC, for better global, unified, real-time communications. The study also reports that IT organizations have realized this shift and, by next year, the overall number of organizations that have adopted optimized mobility applications is set to quadruple. Expanding access points across more applications make more information available at the touch of a button. From traditional mobile devices, wearable’s, home electronic devices, automotive devices and environmental platforms, the IoT and M2M is slated to take hold and present new business opportunities.
Customers will always be at the forefront
Throughout 2016, businesses worked to implement more convenient ways for customer interaction, with the use of rich messaging, video and click to communicate technology for business and customer interactions. In 2016, mobile services will place more emphasis on smarter communications and more personalized client interactions through technology advancements like WebRTC.
Banks and retail stores, for example, with take interaction more digital providing customers with the full one-on-one experience via the company’s mobile app or website. With user context at the core of such offerings, when a customer clicks the app to communicate, it can be routed to personnel in the customer branch or store who may know the customer or diverted to an agent in a call center. With a bank, when a session comes through, the customer is already authenticated and the agent can access the customers’ transaction history so they can address queries or resolve issues in real-time. Bringing the most appropriate agent and contextual information translates to a faster call resolution and personalized service for the user, without having to visit a physical branch or store.
Death of the mobile Web browser and rise of the ‘big’ apps
Many mobile apps today are not mobile-friendly. Brands are not fully utilizing the mobile experience, and with the rise of in-app Web browsing, mobile Web browsing is quickly on its way out. In 2015, native apps provided users with a better, more sophisticated and targeted experience, while still enabling them to move from window to window. Looking ahead, the mobile app industry will see even more growth with increased connected devices and rapidly evolving technologies. With more than 35,000 successful apps available to mobile users globally, “big” apps can continue to grow their communities by adding a more integrated and interactive experience with technology such as WebRTC.
Exploding data calls for massive network capacity
By 2020, an estimated 5 billion users will be connected to five devices each. With this rise, the need for a platform that can maintain performance as well as high standard of consumer experience is now a major priority for operators. Huge amounts of capacity will need to be provided through a flexible mobile broadband device as rich content explodes across mobile devices. What’s more, as “smart” users continue to increase, operators must also continue to develop their services, as maintaining a cellular platform of that size is extremely complex. The discussions around “5G” and “6G” will be enhanced by key performance requirements (driven by increasing consumer demand) such as virtually zero latency to support tactile Internet, M2M control, artificial intelligence and augmented reality. Following 2015’s move towards network functions virtualization, operators and service providers must also continue to embrace this idea of “virtualizing the network” as the new architecture for better service delivery and operation.
2015 was a year of digital transformations within the mobile field. 2016 is only anticipated to build off of those transformations – and fast. 2016 will be a year of change, development and growth across the mobile ecosystem. What are some trends you think will take shape in the coming year?
