This week has seen a stack of stories paying testament to the fact that mobility is indeed king. Apple chief executive Tim Cook says the brand’s highly anticipated smartwatch is on track for release in April, closely followed by a dozen more apps from their Enterprise Mobility collaboration with IBM.
Ericsson’s latest Mobility Report reveals that India and China collectively added a staggering 30million mobile subscriptions in Q3 of 2014 alone. That’s 10x the growth in Western Europe. Of these, only 37% are smartphones – highlighting the lag between infrastructure and demand.
In other news, it’s been revealed that France is the world WiFi champion, boasting 13 million hotspots compared to just 10m in the US and the UK’s humble 5.6m
For my other top mobility picks this week, take a look below
- A report by Olive Communications indicates that 2015 is set to be the ‘tipping point’ for investment in mobility solutions. With flexibility and agility now in bigger demand than ever before, the report claims that uptake of smartphones, cloud-based technology, video conferencing and choose-your-own-device will rocket as businesses attempt to meet evolving employee needs.
- Sky is set to enter the mobile market in 2016 after confirming a deal to operate a Mobile Virtual Network using the O2 network. This will enable Sky to match BT’s quad-play bundles – offering 3G and 4G services to customers, alongside landline, broadband and TV services.
- In light of International Data Privacy Day; Silent Circle and Blackphone have released a cautionary video exploring how little the majority of us know about the permissions we are giving away when we sign up to mobile apps and services.
That’s all, folks – but l’d love to hear what you think of this week’s mobility news. Do you agree that 2015 will be the year of mobility for businesses? Will Sky’s entry into the mobile market introduce some welcome competition? Do you ever read the T&Cs of new apps? Join the conversation by tweeting @CiscoUKI or @GrahamFranklin.