SoCloDaMo is the evolution of four key technology trends—social, cloud, big data, and mobile—that has begun to converge into a new IT delivery platform. It is driven by consumer behavior, smaller IT budgets, and unending supply of connected smart devices. Most people see these forces working in their personal and business lives; however, there are profound implications to IT leaders.
There is a growing interdependence and convergence between social networking behavior and mobile interactions, enabled by “around the clock” availability through cloud and big data. Social, cloud, big data, and mobile come together to reinforce each other, and when combined deliver greater value than they do individually. Mobile brings location, context, always-on capability, and convenience. Mobile reinforces—and is a vehicle for—social networks and collaboration. Social networks link people to each other to work in new and interesting ways. The cloud offers a utility that provides an always-on platform for mobile and social interaction. The multitenant nature of the cloud enables everyone to interact with the same application at the same time, thus reinforcing social interaction. The cloud also delivers a platform for collecting and analyzing information. The mobile device is generating information that gives the context for behavior. Sensors are collecting information as a result of GPS coordinates, social interaction, and past buying behavior. This information is then generated as a result of the tasks people perform on their device. The resulting data then gives the enterprise new insight about behavior that can provide new value to customers and employees in the form of new features, new offers, improved processes, and customer retention. The reality is that a SoCloDaMo platform is here to stay and will grow in prominence in any mobile solution. You must consider the key ways that SoCloDaMo can contribute to an overall mobile strategy and use it appropriately.
This chapter outlines the key capabilities and trends around cloud, social, and big data as it relates to mobile. The chapter then covers how these four major trends come together to offer a set of new capabilities for businesses that complements an overall mobile strategy.
Cloud and Mobile
Mobile and cloud computing are often talked about together as two major computing trends that reinforce each other to create new value. Mobile applications can utilize the cloud for storage and computing power. Cloud computing can provide a set of services and capabilities that can complement the mobile applications on the device. Even with the first release of the Apple iPhone, cloud-based applications such as Gmail and Google Maps were part of the mobile story. Over time, the cloud and mobile story has evolved, and new capabilities such as Apple’s iCloud for offline backup have provided more convenience and value for end users. Cloud-based storage complements mobile devices by reducing the need for local storage on the device. This frees the device to devote more of the hardware footprint to other capabilities. Cloud computing can also reduce the complexity of setting up and managing a mobile infrastructure. Mobile Enterprise Applications Platforms (MEAP) and Mobile Device Management (MDM) systems can be deployed as virtual images, saving time and effort in deploying a mobile infrastructure solution. In addition, mobile specific cloud services—such as notifications, location services, advertising, and social integration—can assist developers as they build their mobile applications.