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Google and Motorola – “Handheld computing” and its implications to the Mobile Operator

by RichardArthur on 08-17-2011 02:43 PM - last edited on 08-17-2011 02:43 PM

The purchase of Motorola Mobility by Google got me thinking about a trend line we’ve been on since the advent of the iPhone.    Increasingly the mobile smartphone market, especially the operating systems these run on, is owned by IT players.  This shift is interesting because it reflects the broader shift in how people think about and use their mobile phones.   Indications are that Smartphones are fast becoming handheld computers first and voice phones second.    What are the data points, and what are the implications of this shift for Mobile Operators?

 

Less than four years ago the dominant operating systems were Symbian, RIM and Windows Mobile (Gartner 2008 units shipped).   In 4, 5, and 6 place were iOS, Linux, Palm OS.   Three years later it’s Android, Symbian and iOS (Gartner).  With Nokia having pulled the plug on Symbian the change out at the top is nearly complete.   RIM is now in fourth place, but Microsoft and HP (with the rebranded WebOS) are potential contenders.

 

By 2015, Smartphones will represent almost half of phones shipping with IDC (IDC, March 2011) predicting almost 1B Smartphones shipping representing close to 45% of the overall shipping phones.   The same analyst predicts 340M PC shipments in 2015.    By then Smartphones will have by far replaced PCs as the main means of accessing internet and web services -  thus becoming critical to meet much of the world’s computing needs.

 

So with almost half of phones shipping being Smartphones, and most of these running on IT-supplier operating systems, the move to handheld computing vs. phones will be at its tipping point.   So what are some implications for Mobile Operators?

 

  • Voice will become an add-on service to data, and will no longer be the cash cow supporting investments in data services and infrastructure
  • Compute services – internet/web applications, cloud-based services plus storage will be more critical to key customers than voice:  differentiation will be required in these domains.
  • IT vendors will own their customer base: Google, Apple, maybe Microsoft, HP (Palm), maybe others:  Facebook, Linked In

 

Will Mobile Operators be forced into significant partnerships with IT vendors to gain differentiation, and to co-finance data services?    Is dramatic industry consolidation inevitable?   One thing is clear, current data service revenue trends (declining cost per bit and prevalence of flat rate) don’t point to an easy substitution of data service revenue for Voice revenue.

 

What are your thoughts?  Let me know…..

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About the Author
  • Alain Decartes has over three decades experience working in the Telecommunication and IT Sector. Here he has had roles in a variety of sectors including the Value Added Service, Cloud Services and Apps Store market worldwide. He has strong skills in international sales, marketing and business development. Alain is HP Software’s worldwide Industry Solution Marketing Lead for the Communications, Media and Entertainment (CME) industry and sub-segments. In the past, Alain has held senior roles with Unisys, Comverse and Prodata Belgium. He is a popular speaker, moderator or chair at worldwide industry conferences. Alain has been a Board member at the International Association for Enhanced Voice Services. He has also won a number of Industry accolades including The Messaging Industry Association Special Recognition Award. Alain received a Civil Engineer in Telecommunications degree from the Faculté Polytechnique de Mons in Belgium.
  • Sigge Andreasson is Worldwide Solutions Marketing Manager for OSS Transformation, CMS at HP. Sigge has more than 25 years of experience in the telecom and software industries, and has held a number of different positions during his career with HP, spanning telecom engineering, pre-sales and marketing. Sigge holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.
  • Marco has over 15 years’ experience working on strategy and innovation projects for major clients in the Telecom and Media Industries. He helps clients to improve their business performance through the adoption of strategically-driven technology solutions.
  • Marie-Sophie Masselot is bringing her thought leadership in business transformation in the telecom arena, thanks to her latest role as the marketing lead for the HP Solution Consulting Services practice worldwide. She is coming with a technical background as computer sciences engineer, having held different positions from software development through supply chain or sales support in telecom companies.
  • Marie-Paule Odini is a seasoned HP executive, bring over 25 years of telecom experience. She has deep expertise in both the networking and IT environments, bridging voice and data. Marie-Paule is the HP CTO for Europe, responsible for the Communication and Media Solution organization, focused on customer innovation and emerging trends. She leads the technology discussions for M2M, Analytics and Cloud. She seats on ETSI and other standard bodies. She is a frequent industry speaker and editor in professional magazines, blogs on HP Telecom IQ and tweets on CMS twitter account. Marie-Paule’s prior responsibilities include managing HP’s worldwide VoIP program, HP’s wireless LAN program, and HP’s Service Delivery program. Since joining HP in 1987, she has held positions in technical consulting, sales development and marketing in Europe and in the Americas. Those roles have focused on strategic and operational responsibility for Networking, IT and operations. Marie-Paule holds a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Utah State University and business education from INSEAD, Paris. Prior to joining HP, Marie-Paule spent five years with France-Telecom/Orange research and development labs, defining architecture and value-added services launch for corporate customers. She also worked with standard bodies and industry forums at that time. She enjoys skiing and outdoors in general.
  • Oded Ringer oversees HP's worldwide offering of Management Services for Telecom operators. Oded brings over 20 years of global experience in the Communications industry at companies like Alcatel-Lucent, TTI-Telecom, Ness-Technologies and Goldman-Sachs in various roles of business, management, strategy and technology
  • Richard Arthur has enjoyed the last two decades of the wild ride that has been the communications industry since deregulation. He is currently leading the Services and Solutions Marketing team in HP’s Communication and Media Solutions business unit. This role embraces transformative telecom solutions including telecom cloud services, outsourcing, solution lifecycle services, OSS/BSS and network platforms. Richard is also managing the CloudSystem Service Provider Program in HP.
  • Grace has initiated and implemented in last decade the first support contracts for large Telecom operators like France Telecom, Vodafone, BT...Today she is in charge of developping support services which are maturing with a shift from reactive break/fix models to more-proactive and enhanced offerings that add business value.