The mobile cloud opportunity
Today's smartphones are nipping at the heels of some netbooks. At the same time, mobile networks are getting faster. Which speeds are more important?
Some argue that the networks' are because high throughput enables mobile cloud computing. This in turn enables smartphones that are powerful, yet affordable enough for even developing markets.
Apparently so do a lot of other people. By 2014, more than 130 million enterprise customers will be using mobile cloud computing. They'll bring in annual revenue of nearly $9.5 billion, according to Juniper Research.
To get more than a token share of that $9.5 billion, wireless carriers will have to act quickly to position themselves as more than dumb pipes.
Connecting smart endpoints to smart cloud services requires a smart network.
Reduce costs with network-based security
A networks' intelligence is very valuable when it comes to security. Handset-based security requires processing power and memory. This increases the device's cost and thus reduces its addressable market. Or, it reduces performance and thus making it less attractive to business users.
But with Layer 7 switching elements handling security, handsets are freed to focus on tasks that improve the user experience. So by providing a "clean" connection to the cloud, carriers add value and reduce the chances that they'll be marginalized by other players.
Reach broader markets
Mobile networks will play a major role in expanding cloud computing beyond its core enterprise market. For example, even CDMA 1X, GPRS and EDGE networks are fast enough to deliver cloud services that enable smartphone-like experiences.
In those markets, prepaid's dominance—which precludes device subsidies—and extreme price sensitivity mean that most users won't upgrade to smartphones. But shifting the smarts to the network shifts cost out of the handset. This enables cloud computing services to tap a wider market. In the process, carriers could add value in the eyes of cloud providers, instead of languishing as dumb pipes.
In developed markets, mobile cloud computing gives carriers and their business partners more options for launching services. For example, it currently takes about 18 months to develop and launch a handset. So, that means 18 months before the carrier and its partners start getting revenue from the new services that the phone enables.
But with cloud computing, it's easier and faster to roll out those services because they don't require new hardware. Instead, the services can target much of the carrier's installed base, with the new services delivered through the handsets' existing browsers.
