Posted by Brett Cortese in mobile apps, digital solutions

They’re on smartphones, tablets, and touchscreens. Are you?

The variety of connected devices and ways in which people use them is expanding at a dizzying rate. It’s creating almost unimaginable multichannel opportunities for businesses to interact with customers, expand revenue streams, even create new ones.

Take a look at these examples.

“eBay Inc. has made big news in the world of mobile commerce, becoming the first online merchant to break out m-commerce sales, and with good cause. Its mobile app for the iPhone and its m-commerce site, m.eBay.com, have generated $380 million in sales so far this year.”
eBay’s mobile channel has generated $380 million in sales this year
September 25, 2009

“Bank of America now has over 3.5 million customers and represents over a third of all U.S. mobile banking customers… They support over 850 handsets via their mobile web application while providing native applications on iPhone, RIM, and Android platforms in addition to SMS banking… [They] described the technical support impact of mobile banking as a ‘non-event’ that was ‘seamless to support.’”
Mobile Banking ROI Tips from Bank of America
October 22, 2009

“A new study by Juniper Research is forecasting that nearly 15 billion tickets will be delivered to mobile devices worldwide by 2014, compared to just over two billion this year. The transport sector is leading the way, according to The Mobile Ticketing report, with SMS, bar code and app-based services offered by rail and metro providers and airlines …Southwest Airlines iPhone app is one example… The app allows users to book a flight, check in for the flight, check on flight status and book a car reservation.”
15 Billion Mobile Tickets Forecasted to be Sold by 2014
February 3, 2010

All these solutions have one thing in common: a powerful combination of solid user experience on the front end that ties into enterprise-level applications and databases on the backend. This gives these companies the opportunity to make customers self-sufficient and mobile in ways that positively impact the business.

This represents a dramatic change in the concept of what has been traditionally called an “application.” No longer merely standalone software on the desktop, today’s digital solutions are enabling tools that users carry with them and use anytime, anywhere. More importantly, as these examples portray, they go well beyond one-off cell phone apps, connecting deeply into the business processes, systems, and existing technology investments of major enterprises.

Of course, putting together a solution like this has its complexities. There are a lot of platforms, devices, and technologies to figure out: Flash, AIR, HTML5, Ajax, Java, Silverlight, iPhone, iPad, tablets, touchscreens, smart TVs, to name a few. Likewise, tying them into an enterprise’s mid-tier architecture is necessary. As is leveraging legacy systems, which represent a major investment for most organizations.

While the challenges can be overwhelming, the good news is, if you’re excited about creating a digital solution like this for your enterprise, there are answers—we can help.

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