The Mobile Revolution Is Just Beginning
Fon Mathuros, Head of Media, Communications Department, Tel.: +86 158 4088
0591; fmathuro@weforum.org
Dalian, People’s Republic of China, 13 September 2013 – Mobile technology
is disrupting all industries and sectors, and changing the way people
interact among themselves and with service providers, said technology
experts and entrepreneurs in a session on the mobile economy on the final
day of the World Economic Forum’s seventh Annual Meeting of the New
Champions.
“Mobile is the most disruptive technology that I have seen in 48 years in
Silicon Valley,” said Joe Schoendorf, Partner at Accel Partners, USA. What
telecom companies have called the “last mile” – the connection to the
individual at home – should actually be regarded as the first mile, given
the power of mobile technology, he argued. The mobile revolution is just
beginning, Schoendorf predicted, noting that, within the year, personal
cell towers will start coming on the market, costing less than US$ 100.
“With the inclusion that a mobile phone makes possible, you really are a
participant in the global economy,” reckoned David Kirkpatrick, Founder,
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Techonomist of Techonomy Media, USA.
“Mobile is changing every industry” – from healthcare to banking, agreed
Henry Lin Yu, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Chinese mobile
security and solutions company NQ Mobile. It is not just about smartphones,
but also includes a wide range of technologies such as robotics and
sensors. Added Lungisa Matshoba, Founding Chief Technology Officer of YOCO
in South Africa, a company that develops mobile payment solutions for small
businesses: “It’s not just applications. It’s about how we interact with
companies. We now have very cheap commoditized computing power that is
available to everyone.” Merchants who previously could not accept credit
cards are now able to take payments using mobile technology, said Matshoba,
who is a Member of the Forum’s Global Shapers Community of emerging leaders
in their 20s.
Mobile devices and systems are enabling individuals to monitor their
personal health and consult physicians in an instant, saving them time and
money. “There is a massive lowering of transaction costs,” said Jonathan
Jackson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Dimagi, USA, a social
enterprise that makes open source software to improve healthcare in
developing countries and for underserved people. “Dumb” mobile phones have
been used to track and improve the performance of rural healthcare workers,
he explained. The key is to know how to use the data that mobile technology
can gather. “We haven’t even scratched the surface.”
Companies are only beginning to understand the full potential of mobile
technology for their businesses, concurred Bessie Lee, Chief Executive
Officer, China, at advertising and marketing group WPP. She reported that
less than 1% of ad spend in China goes to mobile marketing, compared to
about 5% in the US. This is set to change once companies begin to
understand the opportunities beyond banner ads. “It is a mistake to see
mobile in a silo,” warned Lee. “You have to see it as one of the many
marketing and communications channels you are using. There is only one
medium that a person carries with them when consuming other media. You have
to see how mobile integrates with all the other media channels.”
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