SOA in Real Life: Mobile Solutions part of the Industrial SOA article series

Abstract: Any place, any time: the old promise from the dotcom age has never been more relevant. With the release of the iPhone, Apple set off a huge amount of hype. Many people now have a laptop with broadband Internet connection and/or WLAN or UMTS Internet access. Yet these devices are still too large, too awkward, and take too long to boot up to be usable at any time. On the other hand, almost everyone has a smartphone these days, making them more mobile than ever in today’s economy.

Smartphones are enormously practical and are becoming more and more powerful. They are generally very easy to operate, can be used almost anywhere, and the mobile web is becoming both faster and cheaper. App stores are shooting up everywhere and new functions can be installed with a single click. As the saying has it: "There’s an app for everything."

The use of built-in sensors provides for entirely new possibilities such as Google Maps integration, location-based services, augmented reality, etc. Built-in cameras are becoming more and more powerful and are often used as a second compact camera. Video telephony is becoming more common – not just on Skype, now long-established, but also through Apple Facetime. The speed of innovation is tremendous.

Use Cases

A very high percentage of apps are games, followed by information systems that are mainly of interest to private users. These information systems are making increased use of the built-in functions on the mobile device. For example, the system identifies my location via GPS and can provide me with information via a personalized localization. Using the integrated camera one can scan a barcode and run a price comparison through the system. Previously unthinkable "Star Trek" technology is now (almost) a reality. Soon we will have combined tricorders/communicators/tablets in a single device.

More and more companies are viewing mobile solutions as a means by which to accelerate processes, incorporate external partners more easily into processes, and lower their own process costs. We are already using numerous examples for B2C services such as booking flights by cell phone, tracking packages, and finding out delivery dates and opening hours. To optimize these functions for your own company, creative ideas are required: How can I increase customer loyalty? While B2C applications are already spreading very rapidly and probably represent the core business of all non-game apps, B2B is developing only slowly. One of the central questions here is how additional services can be offered to the business partner. According to Gartner, top growth areas include location-based services, social networks, mobile search, mobile commerce, mobile cash, context-aware services, object recognition, mobile instant messaging, mobile e-mail, and mobile video. Read the complete article here.

The articles are and will be published at OTN and the Service Technology Magazine.

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