Cloud-based mobile devices on the rise

Business users will routinely attend video-conference calls on mobile phones by the end of 2012, says Cisco Research.

According to a survey by Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) Research & Economics Practice which looked at mobile business users to understand current and future mobile cloud needs.

While research has been conducted on mobile and cloud computing as separate trends, to date very little data has existed on the impact of mobility and cloud together.

The survey revealed that By 2012, professional and personal boundaries will blur on mobile devices. Business users are seeking a unified mobile cloud experience to access both professional and personal content from one device to increase productivity and improve work-life balance.

“Developing a portfolio of mobile cloud services now—including mobile extensions of enterprise cloud applications such as video conferencing and collaboration—will be the key to success for service providers globally. It is important to develop an integrated device strategy by utilizing capabilities such as speech recognition and messaging history that lend themselves to the features and functionality of mobile devices.

“The strategy should include the creation of cloud services that address both business and personal use, for example, gaming and social networking. Service providers need to focus on delivering the promise of fixed mobile convergence for business users with seamless voice and data experiences that span fixed and mobile networks,” says Stuart Taylor, director, Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG).

The results also showed that business users are looking to switch back and forth between device types in real time. For example, if they on a call on their mobile device and they walk into the office, the call will seamlessly switch to their office phone.

Using virtual desktop integration (VDI), users are seeking to replicate the desktop experience on their mobile devices, enabling these devices to become true extensions of both work and personal desktops. This will provide more flexibility and improved productivity while on the go.

Cisco Research also notes that we will see a shift from smartphones to thin-client, cloud-based mobile devices. Applications and data will also be stored in the cloud, rather than on the desktop. Survey respondents felt a thin-client approach would enhance security by reducing the risk of losing content and applications in case their devices were lost or stolen.