With Satya Nadella, the newly appointed CEO of Microsoft now emphasizing “mobile first” together with the already emphasized “cloud first” one is becoming curious about the origins of the concept as well as the meanings attached to it since then:
Mobile First: What Does It Mean? [By Riley Graham for UXmatters, March 5, 2012]
Mobile first has become a popular trend within the UX design and development communities. But, what does mobile first mean, exactly? I first encountered this concept at TechWeek, in Chicago, in the summer of 2011, when I attended a talk on mobile UX design by John Buda, who taught the audience how to write responsive behavior. I was stunned. By implementing responsive JavaScript, it’s possible to tell Web sites to adapt to whatever device a person is using to view a Web site. I had seen Web sites behave in this manner, but until that moment, I hadn’t understood that mobile first is both a strategy and a new way of writing code. I left the conference with some questions, including: What is mobile first? What is a mobile-first strategy? And, why is mobile first becoming increasingly popular? I’ve since come up with some answers to these questions that I’ll share with you in this article.
Mobile First: A Paradigm Shift
Many companies caught on to the mobile-first trend awhile back. Google surfaced their mobile-first strategy in 2010. As you’ve probably guessed from the name of this approach to site design, mobile first means designing an online experience for mobile before designing it for the desktop Web—or any other device. In the past, when users’ focus was on the desktop Web, mobile design was an afterthought. But today, more people are using their mobile devices for online shopping and social networking than ever before, and most companies are designing for mobile. Mobile first requires a new approach to planning, UX design, and development that puts handheld devices at the forefront of both strategy and implementation. The digital landscape has changed, and companies have realized that consumers are now accessing more content on their mobile devices than anywhere else.
Mobile first shifts the paradigm of a Web-site user experience. Instead of users’ viewing desktop versions of Web sites on their mobile device with some adjustments, users are now viewing sites that have been created specifically for their mobile device. This begs the question: how will stationary, desktop computer users view these Web sites? They’ll still view versions of Web sites that were developed for the desktop Web—but designed with mobile in mind. This means designers should tailor site user experiences to the needs of users who are on the go and in multiple contexts. Text must be easier to read and navigate. Photos and maps should be easily accessible, and all content should adjust to display properly on the device on which a user is viewing it.
Digital Strategy
Defining a digital strategy is an essential part of developing a successful product or brand. A desktop-Web user experience strategy differs from a mobile user experience strategy. A traditional desktop-Web user experience is designed for keyboard and mouse interactions, and a strategy for such a user experience should take into consideration the context, the behavior, the audience, the targeted behavior, and the technology channel. The typical assumption is that users are stationary and viewing a browser on a large screen. It’s essential to design desktop-Web user experiences for all users who might access a site—from children to the elderly. On a stationary desktop computer, users can read and understand in-depth content and can type lengthy responses. For games on the Web, users manipulate controls using the keyboard or the mouse.
A strategy for a mobile user experience considers all of the same factors: the behavior, the audience, the targeted behavior, and the technology channel, but the relative importance of these factors shifts depending on the user’s context. Mobile design employs less screen real estate, but introduces greater breadth to a user experience, according with the context of the overall experience. The needs of users change because their context continually changes. Users have a harder time reading in-depth content on a small screen. Without a keyboard, their ability to type is hindered. Mobile devices introduce new modes of interaction such as touch and gestures. It’s possible to play games in a number of different ways, by activating touch targets across an entire screen.
Let’s consider an insurance company’s site as an example, highlighting the differences between a desktop-Web user experience strategy and a mobile user experience strategy. An insurance company wants to build an online experience. The home page of a desktop-Web experience might provide the means for users to call an agent and get a quote as its primary call to action. However, if the insurance company wanted to build a mobile experience, the focus might instead be on users’ context. Users might use the insurance company’s site on the go—to make a claim or get roadside assistance. Therefore, for a site that is optimized for mobile, it would be necessary to reorganize the desktop-Web content.
Why Now?
Currently, many Web sites are embracing a mobile-first strategy, but it’s taken awhile. Why is mobile first finally becoming a popular strategy? Mobile devices are now the primary means by which users are accessing Web sites, and the number of people using sites on mobile devices is projected to triple within the next year. Today, smartphone sales have actually surpassed personal computer sales.
In addition to the consumption of content on mobile devices, another reason is the arrival of HTML5 and CSS3, which together offer new features that support responsive JavaScript calls. Developers can now tell Web sites to adjust their size and, as necessary, optimize their page layouts for particular devices. The mobile environment allows developers to create rich, context-aware applications. The way people access sites on their mobile devices is yet another reason mobile first has become so popular. The limited screen real estate of mobile devices encourages designers and developers to focus on the most important pieces of content. Thus, mobile devices provide users with a better overall experience for shopping, playing games, and making purchases.
These days, the Internet is moving fast. By the end of 2012, it is projected that, in some countries, mobile networks will deliver one gigabyte of data per second through the Internet. This is 200 times faster than the current speed of the Internet in the United States. This increased speed will better support mobile browsing and Internet access, enabling users to complete many more tasks within a small time period when on the go. Cloud computing has also contributed to the popularity of mobile Web site use. When on the go, people can easily and quickly access large amounts of data in the cloud.
All things considered, mobile first is changing the landscape of the Internet. It is a strategy that we cannot ignore. Examine mobile first as a new approach to designing the best user experiences possible. Considering a user’s context and behavior, as well as nature of your audience helps you to determine the best digital strategy for your product or brand. As new devices continually come onto the market, mobile first—an approach to design and development that considers a variety of devices and contexts—will be pivotal to your creating a successful product or brand.
References
Albanesius, Chloe. “Google’s New Rule: Mobile First.”
PC Mag, February 16, 2010. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
Buda, Jon. “Mobile UX Design.” TechWeek, July 23, 2011. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
Kim, Ryan. “It’s Becoming a Mobile First World.” Gigaom, January 6, 2012. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
Wroblewski, Luke. “Mobile First Helps with Big Issues.” LukeW Ideation+Design, June 4, 2010. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
Wroblewski, Luke. “Why Mobile Matters.”LukeW Ideation+Design, February 21, 2012. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
IBM’s mobile first plan is really about cloud first. That’s all you need to know [by Stacey Higginbotham from Gigaom, Feb 21, 2013]
IBM’s mobile first strategy is not only about mobile, but about IBM’s attempt to remake the entire IT infrastructure at many companies to use the cloud, data, and real-time nature of social networks to serve customers.
IBM launched its mobile first strategy this morning with several media stories and more fanfare than facts. At the core of the strategy is that IBM (and its customers) have realized that mobile is changing the game in terms of how customers expect to interact with businesses, but also that in putting mobile first they need to change their entire IT to take advantage of it.
As James Governor, an analyst at Redmonk, puts it in his very astute take on IBM’s news:
MobileFirst is a really big deal, because it doesn’t come alone. Mobile first means Cloud First. It also means Social First. It also means Big Data First. API-first. You get the picture. When a customer has a problem they think is a mobile problem, it turns out its a Cloud-hosting problem, and so on. Every mobile engagement IBM does with a client is going to have significant pull through in other areas. In that respect IBM’s mobile commitment is somewhat like its Linux commitment back in the day. IBM won’t make money directly selling a mobile operating system (it will leave that space to the likes of Google), but in associated revenue streams and product lines.
That right there is a point I tried to bring up with Paul Bloom, the Research CTO of IBM Telecom last week when we chatted about the announcement. I was excited about how IBM could pull all of those things together — after all, this is the company that makes billions on middleware — but Bloom was more focused on the telecommunications side of things. And IBM does have an impressive telecom heritage with a history of developing everything from the technologies used on the chips inside some networks to the software pulling the networks together. That doesn’t even count the IBM gear inside telco data centers.
Bloom said that IBM has pulled together roughly 10 acquisitions since 2006 that will help with this effort with a special emphasis on WorkLight, a mobile application development platform, and BigFix, which manages distributed endpoints (like thousands of mobile phones!). Building the underlying infrastructure to support the mobile first world is tough.
Connecting federated apps via APIs and across different platforms is a problem CIOs and developers are just now trying to solve. And making sure those pieces are then delivered in a beautiful and timely fashion to a massive number of different devices with different operating systems and capabilities is like asking a chef to make a meal that will appeal to every human on earth. That IBM is going after this is not unexpected, but it is a tough order.
Mobile enterprise for beginners: What I learned in 2013 [IBM Mobile, Dec 27, 2013]
Throughout 2013 I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with IBM Redbooks Thought Leaders from around the world who are experts in mobile enterprise. They include information architects, application developers and designers, software engineers, IT specialists, education developers and many more. I am an eager learner, so having the opportunity to collaborate with so many mobile leaders has been an honor. Let me share a few of the things I’ve learned this year as a beginner to the world of mobile enterprise.
1. Acronyms are all over the place.
MDM, MAM, MEAP, UX, M2M…the acronyms in mobile enterprise seem limitless. Thankfully our mobile experts have written helpful posts to explain some of the most common terms in mobile.
If you’re new to mobility and confused by all the acronyms, check out Arvind Rengarajan’s “Mobilepedia: The hitchhiker’s guide to acronyms in mobility” and David Judge’s “Learn 10 key mobile terms in five minutes” for quick reference. Both provide an excellent overview of the prevalent keywords and acronyms in mobile, and they can help you to start familiarizing yourself with the significant mobile concepts.
2. BYOD is more than a buzzword.
Speaking of acronyms, bring your own device (BYOD) has been one of the hottest topics in mobile enterprise discussions in 2013. BYOD refers to an IT policy that allows employees to use personal devices to access enterprise data and systems. Essentially it means that you can use your own smartphone or tablet for business purposes, should you so choose.
As Saurabh Pandya points out, BYOD can save companies money and be a huge benefit to workers since it gives them the freedom to choose their preferred devices and comfortably access work email and other resources while on the go.
But of course BYOD raises security concerns too, so it’s essential that enterprises establish mobile device management (MDM) policies that strike a good balance between accessibility for users and security for the organization. Michael Ackerbauer’s post on finding your BYOD sweet spot helped me better understand how crucial this balance is.
Is it time to update your mobile strategy for BYOD? Check out Gregg Smith’s advice in “Modernizing your mobile strategy for BYOD” about assessing your environment, defining your requirements and mapping out a plan.
3. Mobile strategy is a must-have for enterprises today.
By now you probably know that every company needs a mobile strategy, but what should it include, and how are leading companies today utilizing mobile technologies?
Recapping the research findings released this year by the IBM Institute for Business Value, Adrian Warman explains that leaders use mobile:
to change the way they do business
to drive information engagement
to unlock and enable opportunities
to secure the enterprise, and
to get results.
Adrian emphasizes the importance of four simple themes—transform, engage, build andoptimize—that can help businesses energize their mobile strategy and become mobile leaders.
What specifically should companies think about as they develop a mobile plan for the new year? Another post by David Judge highlights six important considerations for your mobile strategy—everything from MDM to mobile security to analytics. And they are just as relevant for 2014 as they were this past year.
4. Mobile is here to stay, and mobile first is the way to go.
There’s one mobile statistic that I’ve heard more than any other in 2013—that 91 percent of mobile users keep their device within arm’s reach 100 percent of the time. No doubt, mobile devices have become an integral part of our daily lives, and they are now indispensible tools for business. As Anna-Maria Holdenried points out, they are changing the way we work and will present both challenges and opportunities for enterprises as the future unrolls.
Mobile first refers to a design concept that prioritizes mobile online experience, and John Reddin does a great job of explaining the importance and value of mobile-first design. He argues that, given the prevalence of mobile devices today, “mobile design cannot be an afterthought” and “instead it should drive the entire application and web design process.”
But perhaps as we move into 2014 mobile first is becoming more than a design approach—perhaps the concept now encompasses a wider enterprise strategy. I’ve certainly learned a lot this year about the popularity and prevalence of mobile—about how mobile is facilitating business around the world and how preparing for the future of mobile is a crucial element of any enterprise strategy. Welcome to a new year and a new era for mobile!
What did you learn this year, and what are you hoping to discover about mobile enterprise in 2014?
Mobile first at IBM Impact 2013 [IBM Mobile, May 8, 2013]
“Mobile first” was a resounding message of IBM Impact 2013. In the general session on day 1, Robert LeBlanc of IBM gave these five key imperatives for businesses to embrace:
Put mobile first.
Reinvent your business design and process.
Adopt a flexible and secure integration model.
Be insight and data driven.
Build on open architectures.
Why put mobile first? LeBlanc says that the next generation of users will expect it, and the numbers are compelling. Take a look at the emerging market in Africa, for example. In Africa, 90 percent of all phones are mobile devices. Eighteen million people use mobile phones as a bank. Mobile money transfers will hit $200 billion by 2015.
LeBlanc said that doing mobile first is not just about exposing the data and interfaces of your enterprise systems to the mobile user. You must look at your enterprise from the mobile perspective in—which will require looking at your processes differently and looking at how users interact with those systems. This is an age where mobility comes second nature. Therefore, the logical next step is to reinvent your business design and process around this new paradigm.
“The Internet of Things”
Vijay Sankaran of Ford provided a great illustration of this idea when he presented a new concept car, the Ford Evos, with Robert LeBlanc at the general session. LeBlanc called it a “rolling data center.” It is designed to provide “seamless connectivity” between the user and their “personal cloud.” With this kind of technology, trading stocks at 70 miles per hour can become a reality. Sankaran described how Ford worked with IBM to develop this vision, but he did not talk about the engine or horsepower (that is the old paradigm). The focus was on the user’s interaction with the vehicle. I think that we will see this design approach being taken with a lot of other kinds of “things” moving forward—not just mobile devices but appliances, buildings and our homes.
Other imperatives were reflected in Target’s story. Keith Tanski and Kim Skanson of Target described how important it was for their retail business to provide a seamless customer experience across multiple channels. A shopping session can start on the web, continue in the store and conclude on a mobile device.
The challenge to retailers is trying to keep up with these kinds of expectations and the fast-moving mobile endpoint. Skanson used the analogy of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. This Victorian-era mansion was built over a period of 38 years by 147 different builders, without blueprints or a clear end result in mind. It has 160-plus rooms with 950 doors, some of which lead to nowhere. This is not unlike the problem of dealing with traditional systems. You cannot simply tear down old systems while they are still running critical processes. The answer is to adopt a flexible, end-to-end integration model, leveraging reusable components. Target is using a combination of IBM middleware products, such as IBM WebSphere Commerce and IBM Integration Bus, to accomplish this.
That only covers part of what I saw at the general session on day 1 at IBM Impact, and I’m certainly not done talking about putting mobile first. There were other interesting speakers, new product announcements and an interview with Forest Whitaker. You can watch the full replay here.
Designing for mobile first [IBM Mobile, April 17, 2013]
There are now over one billion smartphones in use across the globe. This figure is expected to double by 2015. Tablet sales are also exploding. The software landscape is changing, so shouldn’t our design strategy change too? Modern users expect their services and information to travel with them and in a form that scales appropriately to their platform of choice.
While desktop and web applications excel at offering a high degree of detail and customization, mobile and tablet applications must present a more task-focused design, yet with a consistent and familiar feel. Designing for mobile can bring new design influences back to the desktop, making your overall product better. Stark evidence of this can be seen in the latest wave of web applications and desktop operating systems, which are steadily moving toward a mobile first strategy.
When designing for mobile first, we should follow some emerging rules of thumb.
The design should be context aware and predictive.
If the user reads though two pages of a document, we should assume they will read the third. If it’s evening time and the user has left the office, we can assume they are traveling home.
User interface navigation should be clear and follow a similar pattern across all platforms.
The user should already know how to use the desktop application simply because they’ve already used the tablet version. The reality is that any large-scale product will be comprised of use cases that are more suited to desktop (data entry, file manipulation) and others more suited to mobile (location-aware, audio/video capture, opportunistic). A mobile first design should capitalize on this, enriching the experiences that make the most sense on mobile rather than trying to fit a square into a circle.
There are countless statistics showing that mobile traffic across all sorts of industries is exploding. Those who capitalize on the mobile wave will yield the most success. Designers must forget some of what was previously expected. Fast Internet, an always-on power source and a large screen are no longer guaranteed and cannot be expected. Connectivity from anywhere, anytime, with data about location, proximity, contacts, calendar and a phone can be expected. Rule 101 of design still applies: know your user.
Mobile design cannot be an afterthought; instead it should drive the entire application and web design process. The easiest way to design for mobile first is to craft the experience for tablets and create modifications for desktop and phones. Mobile designers must rethink how mobile users interact with software. The usage patterns are more transient in nature. Think bus stops, sandwich queues, commuter trails, bedtimes—these are when your users will rapidly flick between apps and web pages. Your job is to grab their attention. Polish is key—if an app only does one thing, but does it right, people will use it.
At IBM, we too believe in putting mobile first. Our recently announced portfolio IBM MobileFirst clearly demonstrates this. Our goal is to provide businesses with a true end-to-end set of mobile solutions that combines security, analytics and app development. Coupled with our unique set of business services and deep mobile expertise, we enable everyone to transform their business model and become mobile first.
IBM Placed in Leaders Quadrant by Leading Analyst Firm for IBM MobileFirst [press release, Aug 12, 2013]
Israeli Automotive Company Selects IBM MobileFirst to Transform Customer and Employee Experience
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Gartner has positioned IBM as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for Mobile Application Development Platforms.[i]
The new report places IBM in the Leaders Quadrant, as measured by completeness of vision and execution ability of IBM Worklight, IBM’s mobile application development platform. Acquired by IBM in February 2012, IBM Worklight is a member of the IBM MobileFirst family of solutions. In just one year, IBM has advanced from the Niche Quadrant to the Leaders Quadrant.
My insert here: IBM Worklight [EuropeIBMSkills YouTube channel, Feb 5, 2013]
This Webinar will introduce IBM Worklight, architecture and features. Worklight is designed to let you create hybrid Mobile applications using HTML5, Javascript and CSS as it’s business logic coding languages, packaged in a native mobile container to make it possible to run your application in a disconnected mode. Worklight also comes with a feature rich server component to solve business oriented application challenges such as security and authentication, backend service integration, unified push mechanism and much more.
Today’s announcement follows a string of strong showings for IBM MobileFirst services and software capabilities, including IBM Worklight, in Gartner Magic Quadrants this summer. In July, IBM was named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Application Security Testing.[ii] IBM is also named a visionary in Magic Quadrants for Managed Mobility Services[iii] and Mobile Device Management[iv].
According to the report, as this market reaches early mainstream status, Gartner expects Leaders to be profitable, and to present lower risk and consistently high project results as the market begins to consolidate and competition grows. Leaders must not only be good at cross-platform development and deployment, but also have a good vision of the multichannel enterprise, support for standards, a solid understanding of IT requirements, and scalable channels and partnerships to market. Leaders must provide platforms that are easy to purchase, program, deploy and upgrade. Leaders can focus primarily on either business-to-consumer or business-to-enterprise, but vision and execution scores are higher for vendors that can cover both use cases today.
“IBM MobileFirst, which includes IBM Worklight, represents the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of services and software to help clients benefit from the emerging mobile economy,” said Phil Buckellew, vice president, IBM Mobile Enterprise. “Today, with 90 percent of mobile users keeping their device within arm’s reach 100 percent of the time, businesses need assurance that mobile apps can be deployed instantly and across a range of mobile devices including iOS and Android phones and tablets. This is where IBM Worklight and the IBM MobileFirst portfolio excel.”
Colmobil drives greater customer service and improved efficiency with new mobile app
As part of this news, IBM is announcing that Colmobil, a leading automotive company in Israel, sole representative of Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Mitsubishi, is using IBM MobileFirst solutions to boost efficiency and improve customer service. From garages to waiting rooms, Colmobil’s new mobile app unlocks the data stored in its systems and makes it accessible for employees and customers from any mobile device, including smartphones, tablets, display screens and kiosks.
Using the new app, mechanics, team leaders and department managers can easily view progress of every vehicle the company is servicing and make better informed decisions to improve workflow. In addition, customers are provided real-time information regarding status of vehicle treatment from LCD screens in the waiting room or on the go via mobile devices.
“By teaming with IBM MobileFirst, we are now able to bring meaningful data to the right people, anytime, anywhere and in an easy to navigate format,” said Gil Katz, vice president of business technology, Colmobil. “With this mobile initiative, we have succeeded in our goal to revamp both the customer and employee experience. Not only have we increased the ratio of vehicles that are ready at the time promised to customers, we’ve also been able to improve mechanics on the workshop floor.”
Using IBM Worklight, Colmobil was able to build a single mobile computing platform that eliminated the complexity of various business processes, devices and operating systems. The mobile solution also provides Colmobil with a highly integrated and secure platform that allows for flexibility in a fast moving technology market.
To download a copy of the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Mobile Application Development Platforms, click here: http://ibm.co/13TU2Dm
About IBM MobileFirst
As the first new technology platform for business to emerge since the World Wide Web, mobile computing represents one of the greatest opportunities for organizations to expand their business. Based on nearly 1,000 customer engagements, more than 10 mobile-related acquisitions in the last four years, a team of thousands of mobile experts and 270 patents in wireless innovations, IBM MobileFirst provides the key elements of an application and data platform with the management, security and analytics capabilities needed for the enterprise.
To learn more about IBM MobileFirst solutions visit the press kit orhttp://www.ibm.com/mobilefirst. Follow @ibmmobile on Twitter, and see IBM MobileFirst onYouTube, Tumblr and Instagram.
IBM Pulse 2013 Keynote: IBM MobileFirst [IBM MobileFirst YouTube channel, March 7, 2013]
IBM General Manager Marie Wieck, and Steve Smith from TBC Corp. talk about the opportunities to use IBM MobileFirst products and services to drive innovation, better customer experience, and increase revenue.
IBM Unveils the Most Comprehensive Mobile Portfolio for Global Businesses: IBM MobileFirst [press release, Feb 21, 2013]
IBM Doubles Investment in Mobile for 2013; Combines Software and Services Expertise to Help Businesses Succeed in Today’s Mobile World
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today unveiled IBM MobileFirst, the most comprehensive mobile portfolio that combines security, analytics and app development software, with cloud-based services and deep mobile expertise. Using IBM MobileFirst solutions, businesses can now streamline everything from the management of employee mobile devices, to the creation of a new mobile commerce app that will transform their entire business model.
Today’s move by IBM builds off of its experience helping nearly 1,000 customers become mobile enterprises, and takes advantage of its thousands of mobile experts and 270 patents in wireless innovations. Additionally, IBM has made 10 mobile-related acquisitions in the past four years alone.
IBM today is also announcing an expanded relationship with AT&T to provide developers with tools to create faster, richer mobile apps and services for customers. For instance, organizations can now quickly incorporate payment and messages into their apps.
“To date, mobile computing has been dominated by discussions of new smartphones, operating systems, games and apps,” said Robert LeBlanc, senior vice president, middleware software, IBM. “But enterprises have yet to tap into the potential of mobile business. Just as the Internet transformed the way we bank, book vacations and manage our healthcare, mobile computing is also transforming industries. As these devices become ingrained in everything that we do, businesses are now in the palms of their customers’ hands. IBM MobileFirst is designed to make the transformation to becoming a mobile enterprise a reality.”
Through IBM MobileFirst, IBM is providing companies with the essential tools to take advantage of new business opportunities being enabled by mobile. To be successful in embracing mobile for driving revenue growth, clients must have an integrated strategy for mobile, cloud, big data, social business and security. Today’s announcements from IBM help clients harness these complex technologies to drive innovation and growth. Daegu Health College and the Dutch City of Eindhoven are prime examples of how IBM is helping clients transform using mobile.
IBM MobileFirst includes:
A Broad Portfolio of Mobile Solutions
IBM’s mobile solutions portfolio provides the key elements of an application and data platform with the management, security and analytics capabilities needed for the enterprise. In addition to meeting mobile-specific requirements, the portfolio provides for rapid integration between social and cloud services as well as back-end technologies that help secure and manage strategic business processes. Key aspects include:
IBM MobileFirst Platform – New updates include expanded capabilities of IBM Worklight to simplify deployment. It also features single sign-on capabilities for multiple applications. A new beta of the Rational Test Workbench for mobile helps to improve the quality and reliability of mobile apps.
IBM MobileFirst Security – IBM extends its context-based mobile access control solutions and expands mobile application vulnerability testing with support for Apple iOS apps with thelatest release of AppScan.
IBM MobileFirst Management – New updates to IBM Endpoint Manager include enhanced support for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs and increased security standards that are critical to governments and regulated environments.
IBM MobileFirst Analytics – IBM is expanding its Tealeaf CX Mobile solution to give enterprises more visual insight into mobile behaviors so they can better understand where improvements are needed and create exceptional and consistent consumer experiences across mobile devices.
To provide organizations with maximum flexibility and accelerate their adoption of mobile computing, these solutions can also be delivered through cloud and managed services.
A Deep Set of Mobile Services for Clients
Enterprises are embracing the mobile revolution at a rapid pace. IBM has thousands of mobile experts to help clients understand how industries will be transformed in a mobile world, based on client engagements across more than a dozen industries. The IBM MobileFirst portfolio features several services to help clients establish mobile strategies, design and implement mobile projects. These include:
IBM MobileFirst Strategy and Design Services – Clients can tap into IBM expertise to map out a mobile strategy for employees and customers, and key experience design skills from IBM Interactive to build compelling mobile experiences. IBM’s new Mobile Maturity Model can assess how a business is progressing towards becoming a mobile enterprise, while new Mobile Workshops help clients develop applications, architect infrastructure and accelerate their mobile progress.
IBM MobileFirst Development and Integration Services – IBM offers services that help organizations roll out a mobile infrastructure and manage mobile application portfolios and BYOD environments. Enhanced Network Infrastructure Services for Mobile provide IT network strategy, optimization, integration and management. Mobile Enterprise Services for Managed Mobility help manage and secure smartphones, tablets and devices across a business. Mobile Application Platform Management helps speed deployment of mobile infrastructure to develop mobile applications more easily and quickly.
An Expansive Set of Mobile Resources and Programs for Business Partners, Developers and Academics
According to IBM’s recent Tech Trends Report, only one in 10 organizations has the skills needed to effectively apply advanced technologies such as mobile computing. To help overcome this skills gap, IBM is rolling out a series of resources to help its ecosystem of developers, partners and academics tap into the mobile opportunity and augment existing skills or develop new ones. For instance:
Developers – IBM today is announcing a relationship with AT&T that will enable developers to enhance mobile apps by using IBM Worklight to access AT&T’s APIs in the cloud. Now, developers have another tool with AT&T to quickly and easily create apps with rich features such as speech recognition and rapid payment.
IBM is also rolling out new technical assets on developerWorks and CodeRally, a developer game community.
Business Partners – With Ready for IBM MobileFirst, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) can also embed mobile technologies into their solutions and Software Value Plus now provides mobile certifications, workshops and incentives for resellers and systems integrators.
Academics – To help train the next generation of mobile developers, IBM is offering new faculty grants for curricula development. IBM is also making IBM Worklight available, free of charge, for the classroom and via online training to teach both students and faculty to develop for mobile environments.
IBM Global Financing, the lending and leasing arm of IBM, can also help companies affordably transform into mobile enterprises. Credit-qualified clients can take advantage of simple, flexible lease and loan packages for the IBM MobileFirst portfolio – some starting at as low as 0% for 12 months with no up-front costs – allowing businesses to acquire essential technology and services while managing cash flow more effectively.
Join IBM’s 30 minute announcement broadcast on February 28 at 12 noon EST, live from Mobile World Congress. Sign up at ibm.com/mobile-enterprise/events.
Filed under: "smart" feature phones, consumer computing, consumer devices, design, smartphones, tablets Tagged: Big Data first, Cloud first, IBM MobileFirst, IBM Worklight, mobile enterprise, mobile-first, mobile-first design, mobile-first strategy, social first