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Australians embrace the Mobile Web

According to new research by The Nielsen Company, nearly half of all Australian mobile phone users now own an internet capable phone - with 29 percent regularly using them to access the web. Common uses include checking news and weather (59 percent), email (58 percent), maps and directions (56 percent) and social networking (39 percent).

Gartner in their “Highlights Key Predictions for IT Organizations and Users in 2010 and Beyond” stated that “By 2013, mobile phones will overtake personal computers as the most common web access device worldwide”. In fact, the number of people in Japan accessing the web from internet capable mobile phones exceeded those accessing the web using personal computers way back in 2005.

But based on analysis of customer polls conducted by leading Australian web solutions provider Squiz, few decision makers have thought about the consequences of not offering an appropriate Mobile Web presence to their customers. This is reinforced by Mobiforge (the world's largest independent mobile development community) who estimate only 0.2% of websites are optimised for mobile use. How could this be? A combination of factors is likely responsible.

The global financial crisis forced organisations in every sector to scrutinise IT spending. Any projects not contributing to the bottom line quickly fell off the radar. It was a brave few who chose to pursue the Mobile Web even as more and more users were choosing to access the web via mobile devices.

The Mobile Web also poses some thorny questions to those developing an implementation strategy. What are the demographics of a Mobile Web user? Does new hardware have to be purchased? Is this going to cost more in software licensing? Is a new Content Management System (CMS) the best option? Will the web team need special training to publish content? How on earth do you cram a website into a mobile phone? You would be forgiven for thinking it’s all too hard. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be and every day you delay a strategy is a day your business is at greater disadvantage.

Squiz recently released a free white paper on The Mobile Web offering guidance for decision makers on the value of providing a mobile internet presence and some of the pitfalls to watch out for when developing an implementation strategy. Also discussed is how Squiz can effectively address your Mobile Web business needs using fully supported open source software and professional implementation services. Read the white paper online or download the PDF at mobile web whitepaper. 

About Squiz
Squiz is an Australian owned private company delivering web content management solutions via offices throughout Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Europe. Squiz is the author of MySource Matrix, a fully supported enterprise open source content management system used by over 700 organisations globally across government and industry. For more details on Squiz see http://www.squiz.com.au.

For further information contact Squiz Director Lee Bollom T: (02) 8507 9900.