FOCUS on…

Soon, for the first time ever, the global population of mobile phone users will outstrip the number of landline users. IBM’s Institute for Business Value predicts the number of mobile Web users will grow almost 200 percent from 2006 to 2011 to reach one billion. In emerging countries, the low cost of ownership, the simple user interface and voice-based access make mobile phones the preferred means of Web access for less literate populations. And expanding wireless coverage allows carriers to leapfrog the labor- and resource-intensive investment in terrestrial telephony and provide a broad range of mobile services to populations eager for new opportunities.

In developed nations, increasingly sophisticated smartphone applications will change how enterprises relate to their customers, employees and partners, providing an entirely new way of doing business. Industries will be able to leverage smartphone collaboration capabilities to manage an increasingly mobile workforce. IBM Research Labs around the world are involved in projects aimed at demonstrating the possibilities of mobile Web applications. This cross-Research effort leverages IBM expertise in software, services and industry to help create highly customized solutions for IBM clients.

Talking to the Web

Many early examples of mobile phone use in emerging markets are demonstrating the value that communication and access to non-local data provide. Nevertheless, there are fundamental challenges in creating effective technologies for base-of-the-pyramid environments. Typical Internet-based technologies, interface paradigms and practices cannot be applied directly to areas of the world with limited bandwidth and power, or to cultures with longstanding traditions of information exchange based on spoken communication and personal and community relationships. But these constraints may make mobile social computing an ideal match.

Researchers at the IBM Watson Research Center are developing a prototype mobile social computing application aimed at the "next billion IT users" among whom mobile phone use is exploding. Dubbed Picture Talk, the application supports voice-based conversations around images (stored graphics or pictures taken with mobile phones). Even on basic phones, Picture Talk can support multimodal (voice, image and text) access to large, user-generated content stores (for example, discussion databases) and published content (for example, news feeds, local bulletin boards). Picture Talk also employs a range of social computing techniques, including social bookmarking and profiles, to enable users to build on existing social networks and trusted relationships.

At the IBM India Research Lab, scientists are working on demonstrating the Spoken Web to transform how people create content and interact with information and transaction services—using the spoken interactions over phones instead of using the PC and textual interfaces. The Spoken Web is based on the concept of a “VoiceSite,” which is analogous to a Web site but accessible over the phone through a voice interface. People can simply create and browse “VoiceSites,” traverse “VoiceLinks” and even conduct business transactions, all just by talking over the existing telephone network. This is particularly compelling for people who don't have access to a personal computer and Internet, or are unable to read or write.

Making smartphones smarter

Meanwhile, researchers at the IBM Watson Research Lab are designing the next generation of mobile services for emerging smartphone platforms. In one example, the Global Technology Services-Watson CIO Smartphone Pilot is helping provide a secure environment for corporate users to do business using a mobile phone. The Watson Research team is also creating a mobile mashup framework that simplifies the creation of mobile Web applications aimed at seamlessly integrating rich native device services such as photography, video, multitouch and GPS location. Mobile Web applications running on the mobile mashup framework combine features of Web and native applications by using Web 2.0-based APIs for accessing local smartphone services.

For example, the “BlueStar” Mobile Worker Business Process Productivity Improvement Scenario involves the re-engineering of an insurance company’s business process for context-awareness and mobile management of insurance claims processing. The BlueStar technology allows the company to assign an adjuster based on availability, qualification and location, and then enables the adjuster to perform onsite claim processing. The technology also helps provide secure backend processing and transaction auditing.

Mobile mashup is the first of several Mobile Cloud services being developed that provide a common set of server-managed capabilities for dynamically deploying mobile Web applications, leveraging a wide range of unique smartphone-specific services and user interfaces found on emerging handsets.

Collaborating on the go

The IBM Watson Research team is also designing a new collection of mobile collaboration services for smartphone platforms, including the Blackberry Storm, the Android and the iPhone. In collaboration with the IBM Lotus® Unyte® team, the Watson Software Research team developed IBM’s first Mobile Meetings client, dubbed LotusLive Mobile Meetings. The Blackberry version was recently demonstrated by IBM and RIM executives to thousands of conference-goers at this year’s Lotusphere® Opening General Session and a version for the Google Android platform was also demonstrated to attendees at the Lotusphere Innovation Lab showcase. LotusLive Mobile Meetings is a full functioning version of the Lotus Unyte Web conferencing client with support for publishing and viewing presentations, chatting with participants, presentation annotations and the ability to simultaneously integrate telephony. LotusLive Mobile Meetings is the first of several mobile collaboration technologies under development that expand the reach of IBM software as a service-based enterprise collaboration for emerging smartphone platforms. Other collaboration services are also in the works, including instant messaging and document sharing, which will be combined with the mashup framework to produce a series of highly configurable set of Global Technology Services-targeted industry solutions.

Putting mobile content in context

In an effort to help both mobile users and content providers to contact each other in the most convenient and non-intrusive way, researchers at the IBM Haifa Research Lab are building an infrastructure to enable context-based content delivery for smartphones. The Context Based Content infrastructure allows users to define their content needs (such as “information on merchandise of a particular brand” or “traffic reports”) based on relevant context (“only when I am shopping” or “only when I am driving”). For example, a set of contact rules may stipulate that during a certain time period, such as early morning, employees’ phones would automatically download work-related documents that could be read, edited and manipulated via the phone. Traveling employees could receive updated itineraries and traffic alerts while on the road. Or grocery stores could engage in highly targeted advertising, sending promotions to customers while they are shopping in the store.

Creating a customer-centric shopping experience

Future plans call for deploying mobile Web technology in a retail setting, helping make shopping a customer-centric experience where services and products are built around individual customers and their lifestyles. In this scenario, context-aware ads would be sent to groups of commuting passengers, based on their interests. The recipients could read reviews on the Web, locate the store and put the product on hold for later pickup, all while traveling to or from work. Once at the store, customers could browse accessories and other relevant products, scan barcodes to access relevant reviews and solicit advice from friends via videoconference or kiosk in the fitting room. Desired items could be added to an e-cart or a Web-based wish list. Finally, shoppers could take advantage of express checkout using their mobile phones.

Meeting competitive challenges with mobile Web applications and services

Rapid expansion of mobile technology is transforming the way we work and play. As businesses revamp their operations to leverage mobile capabilities, IBM is making major investments in innovative mobile Web applications and services.

For more information on engaging IBM expertise in mobile Web technology to help improve your customer service and productivity, contact IBM Research Services today.