Mobile Applications Take to Cloud Computing
Mobile application developers increasingly turn to cloud computing to circumvent the major challenges that face them:
- The plethora of handset models and software configurations.
- The limited processing power and battery life of mobile devices.
- The inherently low-bandwidths of mobile networks.
In cloud computing, processing happens at the server rather than the handset. So, mobile applications can offer higher performance speeds and a greater degree of sophistication. This increases the scope of mobile applications.
Because cloud computing helps increase processing power, mobile applications can be used for collaboration, sharing, remote access and more. Also, mobile application developers are no longer hamstrung by the platform on which their applications will operate. Innovations such as cloning a smart phone on a server aim to increase productivity even further.
In fact, the power of mobile cloud computing is so pervasive that ABI Research predicts that the number of mobile cloud computing subscribers worldwide will grow rapidly from 42.8 million subscribers in 2008 to about 1 billion in 2014.
Challenges equal opportunities
However, this opportunity for growth is not without its challenges. Service providers' primary concerns are connectivity and speed, the cornerstones of the mobile cloud computing paradigm. Next, will the cloud computing infrastructures be able to handle the increased demand?
But these challenges are also opportunities for telecom service providers. At the very least, an exponential increase in mobile cloud computing would mean higher traffic, which could increase revenue for service providers. Service providers should be compelled to upgrade their mobile networks to meet demands because subscribers are predicted to increase five-fold. This need is accelerating the deployments of LTE and WiMAX networks.
To support mobile cloud computing applications, service providers can offer integrated networking, storage, and infrastructure. They can also address concerns over security and reliability and offer self-service solutions to help manage their services and devices. By offering layered pay-as-you-go models, telecom service providers can make mobile cloud computing more affordable and profitable. Over the next few years we'll evaluate the results of deploying these approaches in the market.
Indeed, many leading telecom providers have already devised growth strategies for mobile cloud computing. The question is not if, but when mobile cloud computing will gather critical mass. And the answer, it seems, is much sooner than later.
