It is hard to think about mobile development apart from the buzz it generates. I wish I could tell you that the majority of mobile strategies start with a well-thought-out plan of how to use the medium to meet the needs of users or further the goals of the business. The people at the majority of companies I visit, those I meet at conferences, those writing articles online, and even a few mobile experts claim that mobile is the next big thing, but few can explain why. This is something I have struggled with myself over the years.
We know that mobile devices are proliferating around the world like mad. We know we can perform a lot of different tasks with them. But what makes them the killer device of the next year, decade, or generation? If you’ve been in the business as long as I have, you know that mobile has been the “next big thing” for at least the last 10 years. We’ve gone through crazy ups and downs and seen periods of massive innovation, followed by depression, then innovation, then depression; the sad cycle repeats itself.
To date, the majority of the mobile industry outside of the operator has been unable to sustain a true long-term growing business. Instead, it has jumped from one bubble to the next, trying to time the leap so as not to be the one left to pop it. This is the perfect example of an investment-funded industry. Being unable to create a long-term sustainable business model on its own, innovation relies on selling the “next big thing” to investors instead of selling what people really want.
To understand how to design and develop mobile products that benefit users, and therefore long-term business, you need to answer the question, “Why Mobile?” Unfortunately, you can’t just answer the question with one simple and pithy answer. Mobile is not only a new medium, but also a new business model entirely. There is opportunity aplenty, but the trick is learning how to harness the market to the benefit of the business.
Therefore, I suggest that you look at mobile in the same terms that visionaries like Richard Branson and Steve Jobs might look at it: building a successful long-term business around the underserved needs of real people. Invest in the opportunity to capitalize on the current needs and define what the market can be.
Being a visionary doesn’t have to be rocket science. Taking the leap into the mobile market doesn’t have to be risky; it simply requires an honest look at what exists, what users want, and then taking the next logical step. This chapter helps you answer these questions: