Mobile is still the most powerful driver of change in consumer behaviour ever and will remain at the centre of new connected experiences.
That’s the view of Thomas Husson, Research Analyst, Forrester Research, who believes that mobile will play a key role in maximising the potential of the Internet of Things.
“While there is a lot of discussion about mobile simply being a subset of the broader IoT revolution, I believe mobile is the key to unlock IoT,” Husson says.
“We will hear a lot about this theme at Mobile World Congress (MWC).”
As always, this will be the Asian device fashion week for the new spring/summer collections, such as Samsung’s Galaxy S7, Huawei’s P9, and HTC’s One M10.
However, this year we’ll see more device commoditisation than true innovation,” Husson adds.
Forrester enterprise mobile analyst Dan Bieler agrees there will be less hype around mobile device launches at MWC '16 and more focus on IoT, including how to manage and protect customer data.
“Ultimately IoT is not about things but about data,” Bieler explains.
“Smart consumer product manufacturers and telcos must design policies to defend privacy regulation for connected objects such as wearables.
“I will be listening carefully to providers like BAE Systems, Vodafone, and Ericsson to better understand what privacy solutions are emerging and what are the new business models for external data monetisation.”
Whilst MWC is still mostly gathering vendors and tech managers, Husson believes there will also be plenty of relevant announcements for marketers on how mobile will be a key driver of cross-channel marketing, commerce and payment initiatives.
“Expect greater emphasis on identity, privacy and security,” he adds.
“Also, expect demonstrations on how mobile will start enabling brand innovation with Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial intelligence (AI).”