Devices – Services – Operating Systems – Applications – Networks
26, February 2015 @ Divani Caravel Hotel, Athens – Greece
Mobility everywhere: The Touch ‘n Go era!
The ecosystem developed around smartphones and mobile devices is an excellent accelerator for innovation. By connecting people to the Internet, mobile networks support a growing range of new products and services that affect almost every aspect of our lives. Can this rapid growth be maintained in the coming years? What ideas could be derived from the current market trends and how the mobile phone industry must evolve to meet upcoming requirements?
10:00 – 12:30
1st section: Mobilizing business
In recent years, most companies are looking for ways that will enable their employees and partners to remain in close contact with the corporate operating environment. It is understandable that push-type solutions or simple redirect have long been outdated since sophisticated cloud-based platforms have been introduced and are ready to meet their needs.
Although, theoretically speaking, everything is already solved, reality tends us towards a land crash. Corporate data transferred to and from the user, security level, the smooth operation of all systems, the BYOD approach, the design implementation and finally, the cost-performance balance, each and every one of them is playing a particular role. Smartphones & tablets are fast becoming an “umbilical cord” communication link with our environment for even more business operations.
The conventional connection with our bank accounts has evolved to instant m-payments that are expanding fast, forming a new ecosystem will greater added value, although the industry is still in search of a common identification protocol based either on SIM card security or in a cloud based model. In this race, OTT providers are also claiming a role of their own, trying to embed payments as well, into their service portfolio.
13:00 – 14:00
2nd section: Need 4 speed!
All the above maximize the need for seamless, fast and reliable data connection – another challenge for providers who concentrate all their efforts in order to achieve increasingly higher speeds and even better coverage, since users consider their connection, under any condition, almost self-evident.
The data-hungry services, most coming from the channels of OTT’s, create increasing data traffic that pushes networks to their limits. At the same time, the same content increases the demand for an all mobile ecosystem spanning devices and services. An interdependent relation, that anyone admits it can’t be competitive, but only cooperative.
On the other hand, manufacturers of smartphones and tablets are looking for ways to differentiate themselves in their constant struggle to integrate high technical standards and ensure a most competitive position, both on the shelf and the consumers’ hearts. Yet, how unequal is the struggle between great features and best price and, also, how the homogeneity of User Interfaces makes user experience different? Also, could “wearable” devices be a boost-factor to reveal new needs, new market and revenues?
14:00 – 16:30
3rd section: The “m” factor changes the world!
Along with equipment and infrastructure, applications are the “fuel” that drives the ecosystem’s economy. Essentially, applications are the main reason why someone becomes a smartphone user and (almost) the single reason to own a tablet!
Approximately 3.2 million applications are currently available in the App Stores, the ‘showrooms’ of the three platforms that dominate the market. Therefore, competition is wild and the monetization margin rather narrow… Yet, just when we really start wondering if innovation has been exhausted, beneath this huge volume of apps, we notice from time to time a new approach that surprises us… New ways for monetization and e-commerce applications spring up, which can reach high levels of personalized information, through ‘location based’ approaches and interaction with social networks.
Perhaps the most important result, however, is the revolution we are faced with in our everyday life, where more and more mobile applications facilitate the citizens’ lives and eventually create an unbroken Man-Machine connection.
17:00 – 18:00
Market Leaders! Mobile & Apps Awards
In the final section of the conference, executives from top-tier companies that are shaping the market will talk about their vision and plans which they hope will lead to the adoption of products and services by the consumers.
The conference will close with the «Mobile & Apps Awards» ceremony in which the winning companies and individuals, who contributed to the development of the ecosystem by enhancing its value, will be honored.
Parallel sections
Hall Olympia 2
10:00 – 12:30
m-health: In mobile we trust!
The «next big thing» which demonstrates a spectacular growth and has all the prerequisites for full acceptance by the users, is health applications; by their very nature these apps attract the interest of the general public, but innovation and creative thinking in this sector is booming, as well.
Of course, the greatest interest if focused to the concept of telemedicine as well as to solutions regarding remote diagnostic tests, as they are valuable for isolated populations, helping them to be in contact with medical personnel that can assess and evaluate their state of health.
Health industry has fully embraced the new paths opened up by the technology evolution and recent research is valuing the market at $ 6.7 billion only for the past year. At policy level, the European Commission considers that the full implementation of m-health paradigm could save €99 billion, from healthcare expenditure in the EU, starting from 2017.
Going one step further, prevention and diagnostic methods offer now, with the help of technology, the ability to monitor health indicators in real time; we have already seen implementations incorporating interactive features that intervene in critical situations when the vital functions of the monitored user are in danger.
Finally, apart from the medical aspect, several applications and implementations focus on protection and monitoring capabilities of vulnerable subjects, such as children and elderly people, who have increased surveillance and security needs.
13:00 – 14:30
Mobile marketing: Customers are mobile
In a hyper-connected environment, we are faced with the concept of “mass customization”. Providers and brands are trying to create more substantial relationships with consumers seeking the «marketing of one». Brands have to go one step further than simply manufacturing applications and operators need to make better use of data they already possess.
Brands who have managed to put the mobility factor high on their agenda, embedding it into their activities, have seen encouraging results from the use of personal data granted by their customers. They create targeted communications and personalized services by focusing on those data, based on the location of the user.
However, it is vital to search for the right balance between personalization and “invasion” in order to avoid a negative reaction on the part of the consumers. This section will deal with the ways providers and brands may benefit from the use of big data, analytics, gamification, positioning technology and interactivity, with the ultimate goal to personalize customer experience.
It will also present platforms and best practices in a market where Greek companies are internationally distinguished.