ASK THE VENDOR
How is the movement to smaller computing devices affecting the delivery of applications?
"Anytime, Anywhere" Access to Applications
name .......................... William Ho company .......................... Biscom website .............. www.biscom.com/legal
Since the first general-purpose computer was built in 1946, digital devices have shrunk from 1,800 square feet of space to the size of a deck of cards. Portable computing is not a new idea, but it was only after a few failed attempts over the years (remember the Apple Newton) that mobile devices have taken off. I think much of the success with the latest crop of mobile devices is attributable to ubiquitous network connectivity. Mobile devices are quickly outpacing PCs and
laptops in growth, both for consumers and businesses. 26 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer
The rocketing adoption rate among users is also driving behavioral changes in using applications. Documents that people viewed on a large monitor, or even printed out and read, are now being accessed from a tablet device — one that's large enough for comfortable reading, yet portable enough to tote. The shift from traditional desktop applications
accessed through a PC or laptop to a tablet or smartphone is accelerating, especially in the enterprise. The expectations of newly untethered users, who now have truly "anytime, anywhere" access with their portable wireless devices, are forcing software vendors to provide equivalent access to their applications. But vendors should note, with mobile devices becoming a dominant form factor, the user interface must adapt to the size and input constraints. And with iOS, Android, Mango and other platforms vying for dominance, vendors must look at how to deliver these new mobile applications to a crossplatform user base. ILTA
