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Gartner forecasts money transfer, LBS to dominate in 2012
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Money transfer applications, location-based services and mobile search will reign among the top 10 mobile application categories of 2012 according to a new forecast issued by market research firm Gartner. Basing its predictions on each app category's projected revenue, loyalty, business model, consumer value and estimated market penetration, Gartner anticipates that most consumers will use no more than five mobile applications at a time, with most opportunities coming from niche market apps. "Consumer mobile applications and services are no longer the prerogative of mobile carriers," said Gartner research director Sandy Shen in a prepared statement. "The increasing consumer interest in smartphones, the participation of Internet players in the mobile space, and the emergence of application stores and cross-industry services are reducing the dominance of mobile carriers. Each player will influence how the application is delivered and experienced by consumers, who ultimately vote with their attention and spending power."
Money transfer ranks No. 1 on Gartner's 2012 hit parade, contending the service's lower costs, speed and overall convenience boast strong appeal to users in developing markets. Gartner believes the LBS user base will grow from 96 million worldwide in 2009 to 526 million in 2012, crediting its ability to meet a range of needs spanning from productivity and goal fulfillment to social networking and entertainment--mobile search, meanwhile, is listed third due to its dramatic impact on technology innovation and industry revenue. Fourth on the list: Mobile browsing--according to Gartner, browsers will be available on about 80 percent of handsets shipping in 2012, compared to 60 percent of devices in 2009. Mobile health monitoring is fifth, followed in descending order by mobile payment, NFC, mobile advertising, instant messaging and mobile music.
For more on the Garter forecast:
- read this release
Related articles:
Forecast: Cloud-based mobile apps to dominate by 2014
Forecast: One in six users to own NFC-enabled phones by 2014
Comments
Posted by Motti Kushnir, CMO, Telmap | December 1, 2009 - 4:55am
Gartner’s recent report into consumer mobile applications (apps) raises some interesting questions about the role mobile operators will take in controlling the mobile ecosystem. Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner commented that “consumer mobile applications and services are no longer the prerogative of mobile carriers.” She explains that “the increasing consumer interest in smart-phones, the participation of Internet players in the mobile space, and the emergence of application stores and cross-industry services are reducing the dominance of mobile carriers.”
Whilst we agree that the mobile ecosystem is evolving, Telmap believe that mobile operators are well positioned to maintain their vital position in the mobile ecosystem, and they can facilitate its success, leveraging several assets at their disposal for revenue generation from consumer applications. These assets include the usage of the subscriber data and knowledge operators have at their fingertips, to provide a tailored mobile environment of apps and services to fit particular user segments, markets and geographies. Operators know their markets and subscribers best and can therefore help guide subscribers towards the best local content, best value-add and best customer experience. They can also customize the applications to their subscribers’ preferences, striving for the ultimate customer experience rather than one-size-fits-all experiences. Operators can leverage their extensive marketing reach and point of sale presence, as well as their control over handset distribution and device pre-load app decision process to play a significant role in the distribution of applications and services to subscribers. Excellent customer care initiatives are also important. When in need of customer support, subscribers are looking for immediate attention by a customer care agent that can simply not be provided by an app store front or an anonymous app developer. Operators are also there to ensure that services offered on their networks are deployed across as many devices and platforms within their portfolio as possible, making access and usage of applications and services as easy as possible for the individual subscriber.
All assets mentioned above lead to a trusted operator-subscriber relationship that’s being further cemented by the established, long-term billing relationship these two parties maintain.
Operator’s billing capabilities, enabling flexible charging options which cater for both casual and more regular app usage, as well as seamless billing access to subscribers, are also very appealing to both consumers and app developers.
To summarize, the potential contribution of operators to the mobile ecosystem as well as their revenue potential from consumer applications – especially from LBS, which was ranked no. 2 in Gartner’s top 10 because of its perceived high user value and its influence on user loyalty, is great. The growing threat of Internet players though, means that operators can no longer take a cautious approach to their response. The window of opportunity is closing so they must act if they want to consolidate their position at the heart of the subscriber experience.
Posted by Motti Kushnir, CMO, Telmap | December 1, 2009 - 4:55am
Gartner’s recent report into consumer mobile applications (apps) raises some interesting questions about the role mobile operators will take in controlling the mobile ecosystem. Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner commented that “consumer mobile applications and services are no longer the prerogative of mobile carriers.” She explains that “the increasing consumer interest in smart-phones, the participation of Internet players in the mobile space, and the emergence of application stores and cross-industry services are reducing the dominance of mobile carriers.”
Whilst we agree that the mobile ecosystem is evolving, Telmap believe that mobile operators are well positioned to maintain their vital position in the mobile ecosystem, and they can facilitate its success, leveraging several assets at their disposal for revenue generation from consumer applications. These assets include the usage of the subscriber data and knowledge operators have at their fingertips, to provide a tailored mobile environment of apps and services to fit particular user segments, markets and geographies. Operators know their markets and subscribers best and can therefore help guide subscribers towards the best local content, best value-add and best customer experience. They can also customize the applications to their subscribers’ preferences, striving for the ultimate customer experience rather than one-size-fits-all experiences. Operators can leverage their extensive marketing reach and point of sale presence, as well as their control over handset distribution and device pre-load app decision process to play a significant role in the distribution of applications and services to subscribers. Excellent customer care initiatives are also important. When in need of customer support, subscribers are looking for immediate attention by a customer care agent that can simply not be provided by an app store front or an anonymous app developer. Operators are also there to ensure that services offered on their networks are deployed across as many devices and platforms within their portfolio as possible, making access and usage of applications and services as easy as possible for the individual subscriber.
All assets mentioned above lead to a trusted operator-subscriber relationship that’s being further cemented by the established, long-term billing relationship these two parties maintain.
Operator’s billing capabilities, enabling flexible charging options which cater for both casual and more regular app usage, as well as seamless billing access to subscribers, are also very appealing to both consumers and app developers.
To summarize, the potential contribution of operators to the mobile ecosystem as well as their revenue potential from consumer applications – especially from LBS, which was ranked no. 2 in Gartner’s top 10 because of its perceived high user value and its influence on user loyalty, is great. The growing threat of Internet players though, means that operators can no longer take a cautious approach to their response. The window of opportunity is closing so they must act if they want to consolidate their position at the heart of the subscriber experience.
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