The span of time usually associated with the turnover in technology is about how long ago I started my 5 chapter deep-dive into business reinvention from a web or Internet centric starting point.
However after low these many months I have to revisit the work to now include a joint center that is better defined as fixed and mobile web centric business modeling. It is absolutely clear that the combination of app and cloud services development is benefiting from the sudden influx and marriage of independent open-source folks from both the web and mobile industries. Perhaps it is the launch and further penetration of IPhone alternatives the most robust being the Android market. Add the support of Flash in the non-Apple products and that whole Flash game, application and just for fun development community extends further the available content for this new venue.
The synergy between the development of collaboration/project management, merchant service, logistics, customer relationship management, customer service, and sales force management, provisioning, order processing, payment and performance tracking that can be obtained by systems that treat both fixed and mobile devices as equals and in need of continuous sync is perhaps some of the most powerful use of tech integration since the birth of ecommerce websites.
What I like most about this new rush to develop innovative new services, tools and applications that integrate properly into these two platforms is that it allows for many businesses that currently do not use new communications and data driven technologies in marketing and sales to have tools that are engineered to meet their unique channel needs. These are often businesses that, for a wide variety of reasons, are not engaged in or see value in the more mass consumer methods like web, social, digital media, and online B2B networking. They are the ones who resist involvement in business social networks viewing them as “time wasters” (code for I already am wearing too many hats I have no time to sit and “participate in the discussion”) and see no value whatsoever in either web or mobile ability to drive lead generation or sales.
Mobile, particularly smart phones and pads, however are the biggest component in this particular “integration” scheme as GEO allows for both logistical capabilities and location tracking of sales, delivery and other deployed human assets. Add to that mobile CRM, smart phone payment systems (credit card readers, barcode, mobile ecommerce sites), order entry, inventory search and countless yet to be developed apps. Integrate equally robust fixed hardwired broadband connected devices in continuous sync and your road staff just got immensely powerful.
I am increasingly convinced that very nearly all new business models regardless of size or scope will need to begin their business model, strategy development and eventual marketing planning with both fixed and mobile web at the center of their overall communications and channel development. And don’t get me started on when HTML5 takes a firmer hold on how resident video and audio (among other aspects) affects or eliminates Flash or Silverlight as necessary for playing video.
Now I have to go back and rewrite the book…stupid 18 month rule!