Technology companies often gamble everything on the future of killer apps and by coincidence in the world of mobile commerce, "Gambling" is one of the biggest killer apps to be developed in recent times.

Shiladitya 'Sunny' Ghosh*, Consultant, NetGalactic Europe

sunny@netgalactic.com

Software corporations are found and have grown in this field of killer apps and it's a key-driving element for technology to flourish for the future. It is quite interesting to watch the application market shaping up in the Mobile Commerce arena.

Killer Apps

In 1979, Apple II launched the first electronic spreadsheet, VisiCalc and soon it was realised that no longer it was necessary to go laboriously calculating over each cell while making a financial report. Since then, it has been an undisputed leader in the market. The next major breakthrough from Apple came with the PageMaker in the desktop publishing market. The market still exists today with the design firms dominated by Apple Macs.

On the other hand, Microsoft has never had a killer app. Instead, it has taken the world of desktop by sheer quantity and flexibility of users to use packages. The question is 'Which model will flourish in the m-commerce market?'

The telecommunication companies in Europe have also invested heavily in the infrastructure of networks for future business and new technologies. They will have to spend probably another GBP 20 bn on infrastructure along with huge investments in mobile handhelds too. For all these companies, "Killer Apps" are not just another terminology, but sustenance and a revenue model for years to come.

The combination of service and apps can bring a major breakthrough in the working plan. The m-Content market for instance, is being predicted to grow globally to GBP 20 bn by 2004 end, compared to GBP 1.5 bn in 2001. Revenue from wireless games in US and Europe is predicted to grow to GBP 4 bn in 2005. Funky, personalised interactive features, which can be delivered anytime, anywhere, can make all the difference in the world of m-commerce.

Though the industry is making its projections over wireless gaming, gambling and consumer-relevant needs, the next generation of mobile phones open up the prospect for a continuous connected mobile workforce to the company network. Firms such as www.unimobile.com, www.yadayada.com, the leading wireless players are already geared to handle such request from enterprises across the globe.

Companies like Avant.com (www.avant.com) are allowing web content to be viewed in mobile devices, thus extending the site's reach to mobile users. Newspapers such as Business a.m. (www.businessam.co.uk), the leading Scottish newspaper, are now harnessing the power of the Internet and the mobile net together in reaching a larger audience.

Telecom

M-Commerce is offering the potential of changing all economic and business models. For instance, the telecoms are shaping & converging with the technology market and is right in the middle of an increasingly competitive sector. At the same time, the industry is demanding continual development in voice and data, each of which requires its own separate infrastructure, throwing the industry into a period of radical changes. It's clearly understood that the future lies in voice and data convergence. The single fibre-optic network is capable of handling both the ends.

Imagine a customer sitting at home, staring at his computer, as he attempts to fill an online form for an insurance claim. Hit by a question, he picks up the phone and dials the number that he sees on the screen. An employee of the company attends the call and views the same half-completed form in his computer screen. Together, they work the form up with accurate information and the document is then routed to the concerned department. Talking over the phone and sharing the same data from different networks in real-time is certainly the future.