At this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC), a mega event once dedicated solely to mobile and mobile tech, I found myself amazed at the many technological elements beyond mobile displayed there. Making an impact were the Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality, big data, and, of course, the cloud’s fingerprints were everywhere.
If you ask me, opening up the MWC to these other technologies makes sense, since mobile is not alone in spurring the changes we are experiencing in our life and work. In fact, mobile wouldn’t be half as transformative as it is today if all of these tech forces weren’t converging. I believe the one factor that has had the maximum impact on the mobile movement is cloud technology.
I found most MWC speakers, participants, and exhibitors talking about the cloud. Since the cloud is inextricably tied to mobility and mobile devices, it is at the heart of most of the major technology we currently use. Facebook is one of the best examples of how cloud and mobility have joined forces to make communication simpler. Ditto for Skype and all the other social and messaging platforms that are quickly moving to cloud-based architectures.
Why is cloud at the core of almost every growing tech phenomenon today? Because with the rapid adoption and growth of cloud, new services, software, and products are able to go from idea to production at breakneck speed. Companies can be launched in days and their infrastructure can expand in seconds. What is driving it all? Mobility is the answer. Which leads me to my next question: Is cloud driving mobile, or is mobile driving cloud?
The mobile movement is about being untethered, unrestricted, and more productive. If it weren’t for cloud computing, mobile would be extremely limited. Before the cloud, the lean budgets of the thinkers and doers in the startup community could support fewer apps, fewer tools, and fewer big ideas. The cloud has made all of the rapid advancements we’ve seen over the last few years possible. It has given us the power to do more with less, and for less. As the consumerization of IT increases, people are looking for better, faster, and cheaper tech solutions, and the cloud will help deliver.
The millennial generation, the newest entrants in the workforce today, are further pushing the envelope in tech usage, especially when it comes to the workplace. They expect the same level of tech support and ease of use they have when they are at home. It’s a rather straightforward expectation. If they can access their bank details and make transactions from their tablets and smartphones, why can’t they have easy access to CRM or perhaps ERP at work? The question is triggering today’s organization to opt for cost-effective and easy-to-use cloud services that allow them to make otherwise costly upgrades to their on-premise systems.
Most of the life-altering applications we have grown accustomed to using these days are based on cloud technology. We use the cloud on a daily basis, whether or not we actually realize it. We store our photos on Dropbox, use Google Docs to share files, and connect with our friends and relatives on Facebook. All of these are cloud-based tools and apps that help us stay connected from anywhere, at any time. And it is exactly how we leverage the benefits of mobility through cloud.
It comes down to this: Mobility and cloud are essentially two sides of the same coin, and they are driving each other. Irrespective of this fact, I’m surethe debate will continue in “chicken and egg” fashion for quite a while.
Do you agree? I would love to hear your thoughts on the mobile and cloud conundrum.
This post was written as part of the Dell Insight Partners program, which provides news and analysis about the evolving world of tech. Dell sponsored this article, but the opinions are my own and don’t necessarily represent Dell’s positions or strategies.
Image: Tech Page One
Daniel Newman is the Principal Analyst of Futurum Research and the CEO of Broadsuite Media Group. Living his life at the intersection of people and technology, Daniel works with the world’s largest technology brands exploring Digital Transformation and how it is influencing the enterprise. From Big Data to IoT to Cloud Computing, Newman makes the connections between business, people and tech that are required for companies to benefit most from their technology projects, which leads to his ideas regularly being cited in CIO.Com, CIO Review and hundreds of other sites across the world. A 5x Best Selling Author including his most recent “Building Dragons: Digital Transformation in the Experience Economy,” Daniel is also a Forbes, Entrepreneur and Huffington Post Contributor. MBA and Graduate Adjunct Professor, Daniel Newman is a Chicago Native and his speaking takes him around the world each year as he shares his vision of the role technology will play in our future.