Will Mobile Cloud Computing Ever Take Off?
Sophia is the mother of Emily, a 6-month old baby. She is a software engineer and works from home for a reputable software firm. While working in her home-office, her iPhone beeps to indicate that a message has arrived. She checks the message that reads, “URGENT! Emily is out of her crib.” Sophia thus rushes to Emily’s room and puts her back into her playpen. The Wi-Fi presence attached to the crib sensor transmitted the status of the baby to her iPhone application.
This is a hypothetical scenario, but the technology mentioned is not. Smartphones, laptops, tablets, VoIP phones and other off-the-shelf Wi-Fi devices have completely changed the way we live.
According to a report from IT research firm Gartner, cloud computing, social media, mobile technology and the ubiquity of information are converging to form a “nexus of forces” that transform user behavior, revolutionizing business and society, disrupting old models and creating new leaders.
Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) is a mixture of networking, cloud computing and mobile computing. It is a rapidly developing segment of the mobile market.
Why is mobile cloud computing growing?
Smartphones, versatile all-in-one communication devices, have nigh replaced watches, cameras, alarms, music players, books and even laptops.
The Deloitte’s State of the Media Democracy study states that 42 per cent of America’s 14-and-upward population is now a smartphone owner. Similar to Swiss Army Knives, smartphones are used to perform texting, calling, taking pictures & making video clips, gaming, playing music, internet browsing and sending emails, making transactions for work or personal use.
When the term “internet everywhere” is becoming a reality, smartphones, cloud computing and web access are going side by side. New technologies like cloud computing, virtualization, and mobility have created interest among companies of all sizes, enabling them to protect crucial information and recover from potential disasters such as floods or fires.
Benefits of mobile cloud computing:
- 1) Mobile cloud computing offers access to a wide range of applications on a need basis.
- 2) It eliminates the need of being tied up to a single cell phone service provider.
- 3) Mobile devices do not have sufficient storage capacity. Mobile cloud computing enables users to store/access large amounts of data in cloud. So, computing and storage will be in the cloud and the presentation of product and/or service will be on device.
- 4) Running applications in the cloud is an effective way to improve reliability. When the mobile device is lost or destroyed, the data stored in cloud is preserved.
- 5) Service providers can easily add and expand an application.
- 6) Other benefits include mobile commerce, mobile learning, mobile healthcare, mobile gaming, photo sharing, keyword and video searching.
Tech-savvy users are empowered by the cloud as it offers more flexibility and enables them to determine their usage pattern. Certain sectors like media, technology, entertainment and “knowledge industries” have shown wide adaptation of mobile services. Find out cloud technology’s high availability features and its other advantages, visit GMO Cloud’s feature page.
Obstacles facing mobile cloud computing:
Smartphone usage is increasing at rapid pace, but a large number of people are still using feature phones. These lower-end phones will not disappear any time soon, and phone manufacturers might come up with smarter built-in web browsers that can hinder the growth of mobile cloud computing.
The main issues with mobile cloud computing are non-availability of wireless bandwidth and fluctuations in network service delivery. Adaptive network monitoring is another major roadblock for this technology.
The above mentioned challenges are not easy to overcome, but service and network providers are working to improve a user’s mobile cloud experience. The future for mobile cloud computing is surely bright, but consumers will have to be patient with some of its shortcomings, soon to be addressed.
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About the Guest Author:
Mandira Srivastava is a fulltime freelance writer who specializes in technology, health and fitness, politics, and financial writing. Equipped with degree of mass communication and having worked for both private and corporate clients, I have experience meeting a wide range of writing requirements and styles.
