“Given the ubiquity of cell phones and the knowledge that people want to stay connected and informed via their cell phone, we are dedicated to supporting our developers, who are providing innovative mobile solutions for their enterprise customers.”
Pieter de Villiers, CEO of Clickatell |
ZDNet Australia staff writers state that mobile messaging is expected to comprise 91% of mobile data revenue with a 33% growth rate between 2002 and 2006 when revenues were expected to hit the AU$1,420 million mark. Frost and Sullivan research on the Australian market show that after mobile text messaging; mobile information and entertainment are the second most popular applications. The increase of traffic in ringtones, icon and picture downloading has been rapid and there is still plenty of room for growth in the Australian market.
Industry experts predict that by the 2010 more than 4 billion people will own and use mobile phones. And the Mobile Marketing Watch estimates that by 2010, an estimated 2.3 trillion text messages will be sent and delivered globally; they note that already there are twice as many active users of SMS as there are active users of email. This means that it is easier, more cost-effective and simple to reach people through mobile messaging than any other means.
Roughly 14 million people are spending over $8 billion annually on their mobile phones; this lucrative market is relatively untapped by Australian marketers and businesses. Developers offering innovative mobile messaging applications that can tap into the consumer desire for interactive multi-media experiences would do well to concentrate their efforts in Australia.
Mobile messaging has taken the world by storm and there is no doubt that a mobile component will be part of every forward-looking businesses communication and retail strategy. Mobile messaging overcomes time and location challenges, as there is no need for people to be desk-bound in order to receive important communications. The push technology of mobile messaging is superior to email in that it does not require users to poll an email server to receive messages and that messages can be sent at any time. Two-way messaging allows instantaneous replies, another added advantage of mobile messaging.
The applications of mobile messaging range from emergency alerts, fraud notifications, systems alerts, marketing campaigns, administrative tasks or even quotation requests to a salesforce or travel agency. Regardless of location or time limitations, mobile messaging provides a reliable and secure communication option for all types of organizations, especially those which are time sensitive and require immediate action from the user.
What this means is that mobile messaging cannot be ignored; it needs to be integrated into any sound business plan. The potential of mobile messaging to retain and acquire new customers, generate additional revenue and goodwill plus cut communications costs is already impacting on the way that the world’s leading brands does business. What it means for developers is that this fast growing mobile messaging market should not be overlooked in terms of the potential for application development.
Cell phones are used by over 3.1 billion people globally.
89% of major brands plan to market via mobile phones by 2008.
40% of major brands have deployed text messaging (SMS) campaigns.
Source: Airwide Solutions independent survey of 50 brand name companies
Why smart application developers use Clickatell’s SMS Gateway API connections. |