Executive Roundtable: Mobility and the Cloud

Smartbooks, netbooks and now the Apple iPad – new devices and better mobile broadband are pushing a world of anytime, anywhere content delivered over the air. We asked executives from top companies like Verizon Business, Amdocs Ltd. and Motorola Inc. what we can look forward to next, as the industry stands at the intersection of mobility and cloud services. Here’s some of what they had to say.

Rebecca Prudhomme, lead market insight and strategy group and community marketing, Amdocs Ltd:

If we were to recap 2009 ... if we take a step back and look at it in aggregate ... all of a sudden the whole phenomena around app stores exploded, led by iPhone. Almost every service provider worldwide that I talk to is talking about the app game. There’s an understanding that we’re getting to an era of pervasive content where there’s an app for everything. So personalization is becoming a new focus area, because consumers need to be able to find things.

Anywhere access and content across devices, carriers will want to offer this type of capability as a service in the form of digital lockers. We’re not completely there with seamless operability, but we’re starting to get there.

And sure, nearly 180 million smartphones have shipped. But soon mobile-embedded e-readers, GPS, portable devices and the like will take off. Research numbers show just around 2 million mobile-enabled devices will be shipped in 2009. By 2014 that will go to 54 million. There’s huge acceleration and growth there, and it will expand to include digital cameras, camcorders, mobile gaming. The realm of devices will soon be much more varied.

If you think about the traditional service provider value chain, the network = the customer relationship. In some cases they now have to maintain multiple business models and won’t be in front of the customer – they will be more of a partner enabler. The device manufacturer may be more likely to own the relationship with the consumer.

Dan Moloney, president of Motorola Inc.’s Home and Networks Mobility business unit:

In 2010, consumer consumption of video content will continue to grow globally as consumers demand more mobility of content – and finally be willing to pay for it. This broad acceptance of mobility signals a critical need for service providers to drive both content and communications access to consumers across all devices in 2010. A mobility precedent has been set for consumers with the services rolled out in the past year, and now we’re experiencing a mass market craving – and expectation – for rich media experiences both in the home and beyond the home.