Today, the rapid adoption of personal computers (PC) and wireless data devices, coupled with the growing ubiquity of the Internet as a medium through which to conduct business, is significantly changing the nature of the transactions and payments upon which commerce is built. Based on a value proposition of unparalleled convenience, the mobile Internet is set to surpass even the wired Internet as a medium over which buyers and sellers transact. Disruptive technologies seldom deliver on their promise as quickly as the market expects them to, but when adoption does set-in, it is always much larger and ramps at a much steeper rate than anticipated. The Internet reached its point of inflection in the mid-1990s, and forecasts indicate that the mobile Internet will ramp quickly in the months and years ahead. Around the world, billions are already being spent on improving the mobile platform and underlying wireless data infrastructure. The result is that we are rapidly moving beyond mere content.

Meanwhile, leading strategy firm McKinsey forecasts global m-commerce transaction revenue to exceed $200 billion by 2005. Not surprisingly, a significant number of intermediaries are now emerging to enable buyers and sellers to complete m-commerce transactions with each other in the wireless world. Key to making these m-commerce transactions successfully enhance the relationship between buyer and seller will be to ensure that the underlying facilitating technology remains invisible to both parties. For m-commerce service providers, selecting, testing, and refining an m-commerce offering today is critical to competitive advantage as adoption rates climb steeply.

Drivers in the growth

The need for faster, decentralized decision making
The need to be closer to customers, prospects, and partners
The availability of better mobile computing technology
Mobile workers spend time working, less time commuting
Mobile workers report less stress, greater job satisfaction
Mobile workers make fewer healthcare/accident claims
Using mobile workers opens up a much larger recruiting pool
A distributed workforce can reduce travel costs
Mobile workers decrease the need for expensive office space
The increasingly global economy
Increased responsiveness to customer service needs

To succeed, the efforts of the service provider need to be squarely focused on delivering value-added m-commerce services that enhance buyer – seller interaction resulting in increased dollar value and volume of transactions. Consequently, the underlying m-commerce service delivery platform must comprise a highly scalable and secure wireless transaction enabling technology and modular delivery solution – one that provides the ability to continually add and evolve new services and support new devices and technologies that optimise service delivery. By adopting and implementing such a platform, service providers can focus on executing their business model rather than continually struggling with technology challenges.

"The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no use to us. "

Western Union internal memo. 1876

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