Sedition is simmering in the halls of corporations the world over, as the thirst for productivity and new tools grows faster than IT organizations can quench it with supply. 2012 promises to be the most transformative year for end user computing since the release of the IBM PC in 1981. The escalation of 4 trends - each individually interesting but together explosive, will bring phase changes in the way Highly Empowered and Resourceful Operatives work, and offer previously captive employees new options for productive freedom by this time next year.

1. As in IT revolutions past, on the front lines are restless high-performers (executives, technology pros and creatives), whose nature drives them to push the limits of themselves, their tools, and their support networks, and bring their own technology to the office when their employers won't provide it. More employees will bring their own computer to the office than ever before in 2012 - most of them Macs - and if IT won't support them, they'll find another way that doesn't include IT.
2. Cloud-based applications and services such as Dropbox and Projectplace are convincing these folks that they can get better results faster, without IT involved. And these services are priced at a point where it's cheaper than a few skinny soy chai lattes (no whip!) every week, so many employees just pay the tab themselves.

Have you been sitting on the mobile commerce fence? Ready to make the jump? Good for you, but you may not be prepared for the maze of solutions and vendors at hand to help you implement your mCommerce strategy. The number of vendors and diversity of solutions in the market is quite staggering, and the search for the right solution may feel like shopping in a busy Moroccan market, with an overwhelming choice of wares and vendors bargaining hard for your dollars. Leaving with the right purchase is a daunting task.

However, before you rush into evaluating solutions and signing contracts, eBusiness professionals must take a step back and look at the different implementation paths open to them for mobile commerce. These are:

1. Using technology from your existing eCommerce platform vendor.
2. Outsourcing to your interactive agency or systems integration firm.
3. Building it all in-house.
4. Leveraging a mobile commerce point solution.

In my latest report, a market overview of mobile commerce solutions for retail, I look at 14 established mobile commerce point solutions that have particular strengths and a proven record of accomplishment in the retail sector. These vendors between them empower the mobile commerce sites and apps for an exhaustive list of who’s who in US and European retail. The report focuses on the respective strengths of the solutions with respect to the needs of retailers. The vendors we looked at were:

• Branding Brand
• Digby
• Endeca Technologies
• Global Bay Mobile Technologies
• Kony Solutions
• Moovweb
• Netbiscuits
• No Need 4 Mirrors
• Sevenval
• Siteminis
• Skava
• Unbound Commerce
• Usablenet
• Worklight

 Are you winning? No, this is not about Charlie Sheen! I mean, are you one of the “fortunate” ones leading application delivery in a firm that is winning?

Today’s economy is a mix of winners and losers, with winners weighted strongly toward firms, industries, and regions experiencing rapid growth in customer demand for experiences that integrate their lives across multiple digital (mobile, web, …) and physical (retail, auto, …) touchpoints. App delivery leaders experiencing this rapid growth would say it is “the best of times,” except for how hard it is to keep up — the business demands more and more, faster and faster! So “winning” can be a mixed blessing in software, too:
 

Relevant Advice For “Winning” App Delivery Leaders

Lately I’ve been working with the speakers for our upcoming Application Development & Delivery Forum 2011, Sep 22-23, 2011, in Boston*, helping them to prepare their keynote and track sessions, and I’ve been struck by how relevant their advice will be for these “winning” app delivery leaders. This is all by design – we are aiming this event squarely at solving the problems you winners face.

Mobile apps are undoubtedly cool, and executives at leading online retailers have been mandating a presence of their brand in the Apple and Android app stores, but eBusiness professionals must focus on building a cohesive mobile strategy that clearly identifies the case and role for apps within their organizations. Apps are great ways to engage with your customers, but will they deliver incremental revenue above and beyond what the mobile Web is already doing? In her recent mobile commerce forecast, Sucharita Mulpuru explains that mobile commerce is set to transform retail, despite only accounting for 2% of online web sales today. In my new report The State Of Mobile Commerce Apps, I peel back the covers on the hype and take a serious look at why, when, and how eBusiness professionals should approach their mobile app strategy. Some of the issues I explore include:

• The mobile web versus app debate. The debate is irrelevant, consumers are using both in equal measures; however, developing an app for apps' sake is missing the point and will only disappoint your customers. eBusiness professionals must develop unique app experiences that deliver multichannel innovations and raise the engagement of the consumer with your brand.
• Keeping up with the explosion of consumer touchpoints. Having an iPhone app was the priority back in 2010, but in 2011 many eBusinesses are adding Android, iPad, and Windows Phone 7 apps. The opportunity for apps also extends beyond the consumer. Retailers are investing in apps for store associates empowered with mobile devices, in-store kiosks, and interactive TV.