Essay: Mobile computing

Information Technology has changed the way companies do business. Mobile computing has taken the center stage, due to more people that are using the smartphones and other mobile computing devices to reach friends, relatives, and coworkers. The traditional desktop computers are driving in the back seat, as laptops, iPads, and smartphones continue to pedal to the top position. Companies that do want to maintain a competitive edge, have to take an innovative approach by migrating to mobile technology development. Mobile computing is more important to Apple, Google, and Microsoft because of the large projected profits. For example, Apple’s mobile platform runs on its proprietary iOS software that supports only their products. There’s an app called the passbook app that is used for processing credit card transactions on the iPhone. The iPhone is now integrated with Facebook for information sharing. Also, there’s an up-gradation of their maps app which are very remarkable. Google’s open platform is Android, which is gaining popularity. The latest version is Android 5.0 Lollipop, and it comes with several new features.
Microsoft’s latest contribution to the mobile computing area is its Windows Phone 8 and the Surface Pro 3 tablet. The Surface Pro 3 boast a bigger screen display, 10-point multi-touch input, and a much better hardware design that’s supports Intel i3, i5, and i7 chip sets, and supports up to 8GB of RAM. Compared to the previous model the Surface Pro 2 that supports Intel i5 processor and 4GB of RAM. Windows Phone 8 which supports dual core chips, multiple screen resolution, and innovative map software. These companies stand to gain billions in profits from the mobile sales, and increase their market shares. To be with, technology has exploded in recent years. As more people switch from their traditional PCs to mobile platforms, for instance, smartphones, iPads, and Tablets the widespread use of these devices, have caused the Internet data traffic to increase. Internet service providers such as, Comcast and AT&T wireless network infrastructure is struggling to handle the heavy bandwidth usage incurred by mobile users, especially in large urban cities like New York and San Francisco. The proponents of net neutrality argue that Internet service providers should not slow down or prevent access to any competing low-cost services such as Citrix Go-To-Meeting and Skype. In order for businesses to be competitive, they need the freedom to innovate without the restriction from Comcast, AT&T, or any other Internet service providers. Net neutrality is especially important to businesses and consumers. Having equal Internet data will help businesses provide their services to their customers without having to charge an extra fee. If businesses have to pay their Internet service provider for faster Internet, this will certainly stifle new businesses from gaining a profit. There will be less competition for existing businesses and less innovation for net businesses. Internet service providers see the need for businesses to fund their infrastructure expansions by charging a higher fee for Internet speed. The Federal Communications Commission sees Internet service providers as public utilities. The uphill battle between the Internet service providers and the net neutrality supports will continue, unless FCC intervene with a plan that will benefit both players. For example, not charging new businesses a fee for faster Internet for up to five years. Well established businesses should be charged a small fee for faster Internet. Since Google has to seek an innovative and strategic measures to gain the competitive edge over its competitors, Apple and Microsoft. Several methods are used for analyzing the business processes data. The most noticeable of these methods is called business intelligence. Business intelligence would be ideal for Google, because it largely deals with capturing and evaluating various features of an enterprise, its clients and competitors. These methods are used in collecting, storing, scrutinizing, and providing access to intelligent information about enterprise data in order to identify significant styles or designs that the assist decision-making process. Organizations can make more precise decisions about strategic and calculated managerial issues; like shaping their supply chain or competing in a specific marketplace. The Business intelligence applications typically used in an enterprise are online analytical processing (OLAP), database querying and reporting, and data mining. These applications generally use data collected from a data mart or a data warehouse. Google would need to use these innovative business intelligence tools, in order to be able to compete in today’s competitive business arena.