I keep hearing that were in the middle of a mobile evolution, but what I see is really the continual presence of the normal, annual tech revolution, which drives all sectors, not just specific ones.
As of today, more than 60% of us use smartphones, and 15% of us have tablets, and as ever, those numbers are climbing. When I look at 2013, I really identify three specific trends to keep your eye on:
- Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) will continue to challenge enterprises. Mobile malware, up by more than 300% in 2012, will force chief information security officers to rethink their mobile security strategy and look for new tools to stay on top of this challenge. BYOD will also drive new security factors to keep corporate data safe, even on civilian devices.
- Personal clouds will become the center of a mobile users world. Data is becoming more important than the device, and cloud providers will have very sticky customers over the next two to three years.
- Location will be a huge enabler of delivering context related services, combining location and personal preferences with purchase patterns, gender, age, profession and intention, offering a more intelligent user experience than todays basic location services.
These mobile trends create huge opportunities for start-ups. Looking at M&A in the mobile segment, you see many companies creating point solutions that the big players havent thought of, or considered too niche-y to pursue, and thats what I think will drive mobile in M&A for 2013.