Making Money in Mobile Requires Companies to Expand

Our thanks today go to Steve Marks from Digital Content Zone for this article on how companies are adapting to make money from the rapidly expanding mobile market.

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Already a trillion dollar business, mobile computers (smartphones and tablets) and their related wireless data plans are spreading faster than any other consumer technology that has ever been on the market before. The question relating to this growth is how companies evolve, keep up with, and take advantage of the mobile boom.

In other words, companies have been adapting to make money from the rapidly expanding technology. Clearly, the wireless carriers are the major beneficiaries of this expansion, taking the largest share of revenue relating to mobile usage. Firms like Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Intel are all capturing a great deal of profit too, since their products are not limited to any single mobile network.

While other companies may find it hard to gain such a huge market share of the mobile industry, they must figure out how to leverage the mobile industry to benefit the growth of their companies. There are a number of examples of how such companies are adapting to mobile technology, typically in the form of apps and services to reach new customers, or simply to create better relationships with their current ones.

Take a look at how several industries and companies are adapting to a mobile strategy…

Construction Industry

Construction companies stand to benefit from the continued advance and improvement of mobile technology. By adopting a mobile-centric strategy, they are better able to increase their job profitability and efficiency. The use of mobile technology in the field often improves accuracy and efficiency on-site.

Mobile technology makes it possible to accurately capture labor and equipment hours in the field, which is a key component in tracking costs associated with a particular project. Foremen and project managers are able to make necessary changes and course corrections immediately, based upon the ability to instantly analyze daily production on a mobile device.

Having this information on demand can make the difference when it comes to a project being completed on time and on budget.  There are a number of case studies done by RIB Software AG, an innovator in the construction business. One example involves Europoles GmbH & Co. KG.  Last year the company began using software to increase efficiency of managing their construction projects. In a relatively short space of time, the company has already saved at least 1,000 hours in generating invoices as well as speeding up the submission of tenders.

Mobile technology can also assist mechanics to efficiently repair equipment by receiving work orders on tablets, helping them begin the necessary repairs immediately. Furthermore, as with workers in the field, the technology can capture mechanics’ hours accurately, keep data on parts available in stock, and provide real-time data on work orders and their completion status. The communication between the shop and the field is made seamless for managers to make decisions about particular projects, reducing delays and helping ensure that projects are finished on time and at cost. The fact is that implementing mobile technology strategies across all departments within a construction company can help it grown and expand, setting the business up for greater success as it is able to compete more efficiently.

Gaming Industry

Nintendo and Full Tilt Poker are two examples in the gaming industry that demonstrate a willingness to expand into more mobile-centric strategies. Through rapid growth worldwide, mobile games are advancing their share of the total games market. Consider the fact that more than a billion people worldwide played games on mobile devices in 2014…

The Asia-Pacific region had the largest mobile gaming market in 2014, but all markets are exhibiting the same type of phenomenal growth. In response to this, Nintendo has strategically partnered with DeNA, a publisher who specialises in mobile gaming, as a way to capitalise on the mobile gaming market. The partnership aims to develop original games titles and applications for mobile devices. Their plan envisions bringing together mobile devices and PCs with Nintendo games consoles.

For lovers of exclusive Nintendo characters, their favourite characters will soon be available in games on mobile devices, with DeNA assisting the company in revamping their online services and tying all consoles and systems into more of a unified ecosystem.

Just like Nintendo, Full Tilt Poker identified a need to link their once-exclusive PC-based online poker games with a mobile component that would allow people to play poker on the go. They also expanded their PC offerings when they introduced Full Tilt Casino. It was their intention to create a mobile app that provides the most comprehensive gambling offerings anywhere in the online and mobile world.

Furthermore, realizing that more and more people, especially gamers, are using mobile devices to enjoy their favourite games, expanding to mobile was a way for Full Tilt to provide the same high quality player experience, integrity, security, safety, and support that existing customers already expect from the company, and that will entice new customers to stay.

 Other Companies Going Mobile

Spotify, the popular streaming music service, was at one time only accessible by way of Spotify’s desktop or browser-based program for free, while only those people who paid a membership fee could access the service via other devices. With the expansion into mobile Spotify changed its tune, making a mobile app for iOS and Android tablets and smartphones free of charge. The company realized it needed to make the change in order to expand its potential base of listeners as the absence of a free mobile app was hindering the company’s growth and its ability to compete with Apple and others to dominate the music streaming industry.

Banking companies are another example of expanding into mobile via apps. For instance, in the United States, active users of mobile banking grew from 4.9 million in 2008 to fifty-three million in 2013. The mobile services that most banks have created go beyond just reviewing an account balance. Mobile banking app users are able to transfer funds, pay utility bills, deposit checks, apply for loans, send funds to other people, and much more.

Investing in mobile services has also helped smaller financial institutions such as credit unions and local banks to compete with larger national banks in the US. America First Credit Union is one such smaller institution helping customers carry out mobile banking twenty-four hours a day, almost as if they were banking at a national bank with branches, ATMs, and services in cities all over the country. The company’s mobile services manager, Brice Mindrum, says the upfront costs are expensive to get into mobile banking, but the benefits and enhanced customer services are what allows the institution to thrive and move forward in a mobile world.

Mobile Industry Review would like to thank Steve Marks from Digital Content Zone for assistance with creating this article and its content.