2. Declining PC usage and increasing mobile device
adoption is driving a “mobile fi rst” world
Mobile is leapfrogging fi xed broadband in
many countries, particularly in rapid-growth
markets. Webpage views from mobile
phones now outnumber those from PCs in
48 countries.2
Ericsson estimates that today’s 2 billion
mobile broadband connections will expand
to almost 8 billion by 2019.3 Users are
expecting and demanding functionality
using the cloud, mobile and social
technologies that have become staples of
their daily lives. They are interacting with
brands through mobile devices more than
via PCs, and they are using mobile more
frequently to make purchases.
Mobile devices are also becoming preferred
tools for work and communication. As
more employees insist on the ability to
“bring your own device” to the workplace,
companies need to be able to support
the latest mobile technologies. All of this
presents signifi cant challenges to many
companies, where legacy IT infrastructures
are not ready for “mobile fi rst” strategies.
Remedying this will require major
investments and large-scale restructuring
efforts. To address the changing market
dynamics, technology companies are
shifting their application development
priorities. These fi rms are increasingly
building applications and interfaces on a
mobile platform fi rst, instead of creating
applications for the desktop or web browser
and then developing compatible mobile apps.