Depending on which research report is cited, the number of mobile devices will grow upwards of 150% in next 3 years alone (we would probably take the over on that number if this were Vegas). In fact, it was reported on Feb 9 that the number of smart phones sold worldwide in Q4 2010 outnumbered traditional computer sales for the first time in history.  Look around you and its easy to see this potential as its become increasingly difficult to delineate mobile vs. non-mobile. We might even argue that almost everything new being developed or built going forward, to some degree is mobile and certainly to a larger degree connected. As a company that prides itself on flexibility and mobility in our business, 3 of our Universal Mind offices - Golden, CO; San Francisco, CA, and Grand Rapids, MI - have a grand total of 0 desktop computers and 0 land-line phones. Yet the number of mobile devices averages 3-5 per person across the company - excluding personal devices.

In larger enterprises, we’re seeing similar trends. Sales forces are enabled with a phone and a tablet device, long forgoing the desktop computer and even replacing laptops. A trend likely to grow as RIM launches its Playbook tablet in the coming months. Mobile is the growth arena of the technology industry. Opportunities to extend customer and stakeholder touch points through mobile channels grow each day. New apps and technologies are launched which drive efficiencies, access, entertainment, and interaction.

Despite the explosion of mobile opportunities, mobile strategies for many organizations remain relatively nascent as do business models to deliver on those strategies. Choices of devices abound, platforms are fragmented, feature/functionality/upgrade roadmaps need to consider a constantly changing landscape. And maybe most importantly, experience can vary greatly across devices and environments.

We’ve found that the challenges of defining mobile strategies can create numerous pain points such as cost overruns, delayed releases and under performance. Several approaches that we’ve seen impair a mobile strategy include:

• mobile is a rework of another initiative such as a web site, and not viewed as strategic
• technology choice is made first (i.e. "we need an iPhone app")
• mobile presence is seen as a publicity tool or simply a have-to-have
• “we already know our customer base” assumption based on another solution
• does not include a business case, or has a business case that has not been validated
• unique device characteristics and capabilities are not considered
• competitor or competitive offerings are imitated
• attempting to used canned solutions when a custom experience is desired

As a result of one or a combination of the above, the opportunity to embrace mobile is often missed.

Along with fully understanding the strategic opportunities enabled by mobile, revenue source, cost saving opportunities and customer experience impacts are also necessary components to the business model discussion. Advertising, Subscription, Up front purchase, Pay per use, In-App purchasing, and Free-mium are common revenue models. Cost savings may include organizational efficiencies in handling times, reduction in software investment, infrastructure or real estate savings, and performance improvements. Improved acquisition, retention or loyalty of customers are opportunities among many others.  

How do these fit together, is the return on investment (ROI) of a mobile investment justified? How do you know or validate the ROI? In the mobile space, these topics are exacerbated by device versions and platform discussions. Understanding the impact of these areas on your strategy is difficult when technology selection is the starting point, which is too often the case.

In our discussions with clients around mobile opportunities we first and foremost focus around strategy and experience working together.  We believe a few guiding principles can help improve delivery of a mobile initiative:

• Fuse strategic and experience objectives from the outset. What problems or gaps in user needs are we solving, and are there potential economic impacts to solving these with mobile?

• Invest in a user-centric approach. Its very easy to begin by reviewing competitive offerings, or other functionality that might be cool and interesting. Keep these in mind, but begin with your specific users as those features may be solving completely different needs and goals for other users

• Limit hand-offs throughout the process. Tremendous efficiency and quality can be gained by eliminating hand-offs between teams. Understanding pricing, advertising, business model, experience design, development, updates and expansions involve a diverse set of skills and potentially diverse set of relationships. Too often we see technology projects hit cost overruns and miss deadlines due to hand-offs that cause revision, rework, and redesign.

• Consider the mobile device as part of a larger ecosystem of opportunity. Plenty of mobile initiatives can be stand alone products or services. However, as our world becomes increasingly mobile and mobile devices increasingly personal, there are numerous opportunities for interaction.

• Understand the implications of multiple platforms. An area where we’re seeing particularly strong demand is from organizations looking to improve delivering a consistent experience across platforms and devices, regardless of location. Multiple platforms can equal greater opportunity but also be a challenge and headache if considered after the fact.

• Tailor the experience to the device.  Not all devices are created equal.  A phone may not necessarily have the same experience as a tablet, which may not have the same experience as a TV-based app.   Some tablets or phones have hardware buttons, others have soft-keys, some support peripheral components, others do not.  Not every implementation has to be identical even though they accomplish the same core tasks.

Understanding the intricacies and pitfalls of these considerations will improve quality and efficiency throughout the initiative. In the end, the strategy, experience and technology must work together to make the mobile initiative successful.

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