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Analysis: Mobility Apps: Page 2 of 12

What does it take to overcome? Anticipation of where carriers are headed (hint: IMS, or IP Multimedia Subsystem). Knowing the difference between tactical and strategic adoption--after all, we're moving toward a converged world of multimedia communications and handheld computers that are more powerful than last year's desktop PCs. A grasp of technology trends and drivers. An understanding of what constitutes an effective mobile application and its architecture. And finally, awareness of aspects beyond the app itself, including security, mobile middleware and device management.

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IMS On The Horizon

One thing to focus on as you make long-term plans: In the next couple of years, mobile operator networks will support a much wider range of services. Today's networks primarily deliver packets or messages. But operators like AT&T, Sprint and Verizon are laying the foundations for more sophisticated communication. IMS, a work-in-progress framework based on SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), for example, supports the dynamic blending of a variety of communications components, including circuit-switched voice, packet-switched voice through VoIP, video, user location information and messaging.

Although operators are likely to use IMS initially for their own services, such as video streaming and push-to-talk over cellular, they also will open up IMS interfaces to third-party apps. The result will be far richer multimedia-oriented apps that will captivate consumers and further enhance enterprise productivity. Imagine an app on a desktop at corporate headquarters that shows the location of an employee in the field and can initiate an IM session simply by clicking on that person. Support personnel could stream video to show a mobile salesperson a new offering that's of interest to the customer at that location. Operators are testing IMS and have services, such as AT&T's "video sharing," planned for later this year.

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