You may be wondering: what does the term "mobile cloud computing" really mean? Basically, it refers to an infrastructure where both the data storage and the data processing happen outside of the mobile device. Today, there are already some good examples of mobile cloud computing applications including mobile Gmail, Google Maps, and some navigation apps. However, the majority of applications today still do most of the data storage and processing on the mobile devices themselves and not in the cloud. In a few years, that could change.

Why Mobile Cloud Computing?

With a Western-centric view of the world, it can sometimes be hard to remember that not everyone owns a smartphone. There are still a large number of markets worldwide where the dominant phone is a feature phone. While it's true that smartphones will grow in percentage and feature phones will become more sophisticated in time, these lower-end phones are not going away anytime soon. And it's their very existence which will help drive the mobile cloud computing trend.

Not only is there a broader audience using feature phones in the world, there are also more web developers capable of building mobile web applications than there are developers for any other type of mobile device. Those factors, combined with the fact that feature phones themselves are becoming more capable with smarter built-in web browsers (and more alternative browsers available for download), will have an impact on mobile cloud computing's growth.

How Will Mobile Cloud Computing Become a Disruptive Force?

There are two primary reasons why ABI believes cloud computing will become a disruptive force in the mobile world. The first is simply the number of users the technology has the power to reach: far more than the number of smartphone users alone. The second reason has to do with how applications are distributed today. Currently, mobile applications are tied to a carrier. If you want an iPhone app, for example, you have to first have a relationship with the mobile operator who carries the iPhone. If you want a Blackberry app, the same rule applies. But with mobile clouding computing applications, as long as you have access to the web, you have access to the mobile application.

Moves by PaaS Players Could Change Everything

When you think of Plaform-as-a-Service (PaaS), one of the first companies that springs to mind is probably Salesforce. With their Force.com platform, business applications can be built and run "in the cloud." But Salesforce is not the only major PaaS player out there today - Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google's App Engine are also two platforms that could have a major impact on this trend.

Currently, AWS is used by over half a million developers and Google's App Engine hosts 45,000 applications. Now imagine if those two companies along with Force.com all of a sudden started aggressively marketing their mobile capabilities. Today, neither AWS nor Google offers this, and Salesforce's mobile offering is limited to smartphones (Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and iPhone). But if the companies decided to make building for the mobile web as easy as building for the web, you could have a mobile revolution on your hands.

But People Like Apps!

Saying that "mobile cloud computing" is the future doesn't mean phones will be filled with links to websites that work in any browser instead of special, downloadable applications, some of which you can even purchase. Instead, mobile applications will exist in both formats. As for the downloadable applications themselves, they will still appear to be your typical mobile app - end users won't even notice a difference. However, there will be a difference - it will just be on the back-end. Mobile applications will begin to store your data in the cloud as opposed to on the mobile device, and the applications will become more powerful as processing power is also offloaded to the cloud.

The first mobile apps powered by the cloud will likely be business-focused mobile productivity applications where collaboration, data sharing, multitasking, and scheduling are key factors. For consumers, though, navigation and mapping applications will be the most obvious examples of the trend. Plus, there are some specialty applications today which already function as mobile cloud apps - for example, Schlage offers a remote keyless entry system which lets you mobilely control your home from a distance. You can let someone into your house, manage your lights, your thermostat, your camera system, etc. There are also a few applications in the iPhone app store that let you remotely manage your PC and your DVR, too.

Potential Problems

Of course, there are some potential issues that could be barriers to this shift in mobile computing. The most notable problem is the lack of speedy mobile Internet access everywhere. Here in the US, for example, 3G coverage is spotty outside urban areas, leading to intermittent connection issues and slow speeds. Other markets may have it even worse.

However, new technologies like HTML5, which does local caching, could help mobile cloud apps get past those sorts of issues. And there's even a chance that the browser could one day be replaced - at least in some markets - with another technology altogether which provides a better way to access the mobile web. ABI Research mentions initiatives like OMA's Smartcard Web Server, essentially a souped-up SIM card that connects directly with the carrier to push applications to mobile phones. There's also TokTok, a technology that allows access to web services like Gmail and Google Calendar by voice. With voice-enabled search like this, mobile apps could talk directly to the service itself which sits on the edge of the network, as opposed to needing the user to launch a web browser and navigate through the mobile web.

When Will Mobile Cloud Computing Really Take Off?

According to ABI, this change is only a few years away. By 2010, we'll see one or all of the major PaaS players marketing their mobile capabilities, they say. But first, API standards from open-source mobile collaboration group BONDI will go into effect. Later, in 2011, we'll see more of HTML5, and the OneAPI standard will come into play. (OneAPI involves standardized apps for networks allowing developers to consistently access parts of network providers' capabilities, such as location services). All these factors combined will help drive the move to the cloud.

The changes will occur with differing speeds depending on the market. Markets with higher Internet participation will obviously lead the way, as will markets with higher subscriber penetration. That includes Western Europe, North America, and parts of Asia. Other markets will then follow. By 2014, mobile cloud computing will become the predominant application development strategy. By that time, our PCs will be more like thin client devices than they are today, and now it seems our phones will too.

From:http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why_cloud_computing_is_the_future_of_mobile.php

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Perspective--Three Clouds for future mobile broadband

Future mobile systems prioritize economical bandwidth provision, but with enhanced end user QoE. An ultra-broadband wireless system must integrate various technologies, and the Three Clouds solution is no exception.

By Liu Nanjie

The industry unanimously agrees that a single wireless system cannot accommodate future bandwidth and mobile functions. Future mobile systems invariably prioritize economical bandwidth provision comparable to fixed network, but with added ubiquity to enhance the end user QoE and drive the information age. An ultra-broadband wireless system must integrate various wireless technologies, and the Three Clouds solution is no exception.

Challenges facing mobile broadband

Business requirements and user experience

Around 3 billion intelligent terminals will join 10 million telemetric terminals in accessing the mobile Internet over the next few years. This will see the current traffic levels generated by 5.5 billion phones skyrocket by, potentially, hundreds of times. Intelligent terminals will feature in various areas in the public domain, ranging from transport systems, vehicles, machine to machine (M2M) communication and logistics to education, healthcare, and security. In terms of entertainment and the home, they will underpin recreational reading, online digital media entertainment (DME), pocket TV, and home appliance functionality and management.

The DME traffic currently represented by the iPhone is 35 times higher than that created by traditional terminals. Tremendous traffic volumes will arise with M2M access, increased digitization, and the continued migration of fixed users to mobile networks. The CAGR of mobile network traffic is destined to exceed 100% and will inevitably cause last mile bottlenecks.

User distribution is likely to remain skewed, with 5% of terminals in a given area generating 95% of traffic and revenues. If we draw a map for future mobile broadband traffic capacity, the capacity section covers the following features: large subscriber base, low mobility, high traffic and high revenues. Obviously, the capacity section is the major revenue source and the network coverage focus.

Future mobile broadband requires a QoE and capacity similar to that of a fixed network, and that requires 2Mbps or 2Mbps/m2 bandwidth per mobile subscriber. Equally important are ubiquitous access and always broadband connection.

Technical capacity requirements

Enhancing broadband Internet QoE requires a future wireless frequency bandwidth of between 2Gbps and 2.4Gbps. Currently, only 300MHz and 400MHz are available for GSM, UMTS, CDMA, and LTE networks. As this is shared by different communication standards, only a bandwidth of 600 to 700Mbps is available according to the pace of technical development and Shannon' s Theorem, which defines an upper bound link capacity. Cellular technology alone cannot solve all mobile broadband problems.

Moreover, frequency bandwidth directly impacts coverage costs under the same communication standard. For example, a 2100MHz-based 3G network costs nearly three times more than a 700MHz-based 3G network. To meet mobile broadband requirements, the cost will increase in proportion to bandwidth consumption.

Future ultra-broadband mobile networks must balance the following as part of a feasible and holistic strategy: coverage, capacity, mobility, broadband performance, business model and costs. Cell and cell splitting models fail to meet these networking requirements, which forms the root of all the dilemmas facing wireless broadband and the single cellular system. Specifically, these are: obtaining globally unified, abundant and discontinuous spectrum resources; solving the lack of IP addresses; realizing self-organizing networks and terminals; achieving FMC; and reducing O&M costs from a level that can exceed traditional cellular networks by dozens of times.

The Three Clouds for future mobile broadband

The growth of terminals, services and bandwidth per capita has visited the mobile broadband system with more options. Before the problems with indoor bandwidth were exposed, many technologies seemed to meet service requirements. Solutions incorporating multiple technologies have since been developed to meet current indoor bandwidth requirements and still be profitable. Research indicates that all future mobile broadband solutions will be based on networks that combine coverage, capacity, and backhaul clouds.

Fig. 1 shows the structure of the Three Clouds solution. Bandwidth negates mobility or vice versa, and the gap between the two creates new mobile access needs. New nomadic or local wireless broadband requirements create the capacity cloud based on the coverage cloud of the traditional cellular system. Wireless capacity framed by FMC creates a backhaul cloud capable of supporting the large volumes of traffic that a coverage cloud is unable to process.

The first cloud: coverage cloud

The coverage cloud comprises a traditional wireless cellular technical system that includes GSM, UMTS, CDMA, and LTE networks, and which is technically and commercially mature with increased cellular speed. This cloud is designed to solve legacy public land mobile network (PLMN) problems. Cellular networks fundamentally lack compatibility with future Internet services, are unable to provide economical bandwidth on a par with fixed networks, and fail when faced with high capacity Internet applications.

Although cell-splitting raises bandwidth when broadband capacity increases, it also drives up costs and degrades performance. Given this, cellular technology suits mobile coverage and the coverage cloud is only responsible for horizontal handover (HHO). Under multi-wireless and multi-frequency architecture, the key rests with identifying a complementary capacity cloud that supports high bandwidth, low mobility, and the FMC convergence point. The coverage cloud must solve various issues related to vertical handover (VHO) with the capacity cloud, link prediction, scheduling, resource allocation, QoE and FMC.

The second cloud: capacity cloud

In a structure that is fundamental to realizing FMC-2M, the capacity cloud integrates mobile cells, carrier-class Wi-Fi, Mesh, Ad-Hoc, Relay and Metro, and various access technologies. The capacity cloud is essential for FMC, ubiquitous access, always broadband connection, and the digital enterprise and digital home functions.

This cloud supports high-density indoor coverage, carrier-class high-capacity relay network, and lossless IP multimedia bearer layer. Between 50m and 100m, the capacity cloud attracts large number of wireless devices, bandwidth-hungry services and multimedia streams. This increases demands on the smooth interfaces between fixed and mobile networks, carrier-class Wi-Fi, Meshing, multi-radio/multi-frequency, high-density IP addresses, IP service overloading, bandwidth per user, and traffic streams.

Carrier-class Wi-Fi is essential to fuel the capacity cloud. Operating at 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz and occupying two or more adjacent 20MHz channels, mature 802.11n technology provides a bandwidth higher than 300Mbps and its highly efficient MAC suits IP and Internet applications. The capacity cloud vastly outperforms other technical systems in terms of QoE, predictable throughput coverage, and reliability. Notably, it is comparable to fixed-line broadband when downloading large files and processing overloading symmetry services.

With a similar trend seen in physical level technological developments, future mobile broadband systems must integrate different frequencies and link-layer protocols to boost network efficiency and raise frequency space. As the average throughput supporting high IP traffic loads and a good Internet experience will be 30 times higher than current levels, high link efficiency and wireless overload controls are required to ensure throughput, reliability, forecasting and compatibility. As the present cellular standard lacks these functions, challenges are also raised for LTE.

As 95% of the services begin and end in the capacity cloud, the marriage of various profit and business models is closely connected to the efficiency and transparency of the capacity cloud. In this sense, the cloud must viably balance the interplay of technology and business strategies.

The third cloud: backhaul cloud

The capacity cloud stimulates a need for the backhaul cloud. If locally dynamic high-bandwidth requirements are addressed by the capacity cloud, how can its capacity be infused into a network? A dynamic, mobile network structure for bearing the network capacity must exist between the capacity cloud and backhaul–the backhaul cloud. While it is not a backhaul, access or transmission network, the backhaul cloud must be compatible with the capacity cloud and seamlessly connect with it. Backhaul problems tend to arise during the early stage of mobile broadband development.

In the past, we planned wireless systems, such as 3G/HSPA, by extending the voice model, which gave rise to backhaul bottlenecks. The backhaul structure must feature a high-capacity two-way transmission capability, smoothly connect with the capacity cloud, adapt dynamically to the network, and maintain wireless features. It must also enable VHO between the capacity cloud and the coverage cloud, possess transmission and access features, and match heavyweight IP network and capacity requirements.

While over ten technologies suitable for the backhaul cloud exist, none meets all of the above requirements. Coupled with the fact that both the IT and CT camps lack a clear strategy on spectrum development, realizing the backhaul cloud is the vaguest of the three clouds and thus the one that offers the greatest potential.

Spectrum strategies

Attracted by the huge market potential brought about by the cyber world, many non-traditional service providers, including Google, Microsoft and Broadcom, are now competing for spectrum. The spectrum strategies of newcomers are focused on spectrum resources required by white spaces, the capacity cloud, and the backhaul cloud. The spectrum area comprises both IT and CT players, all of whom are eyeing the availability, cost, and service feasibility of the spectrum.

Concentrating on the white space and capacity cloud, IT manufacturers are seeking to dominate the wireless broadband spectrum that yields the highest returns. IT enterprises–such as Microsoft, Broadcom and HP–occupy the most valuable 300 to 400MHz band, which is either lower than 700MHz or higher than 2.1GHz. Traditional PLMN camps focus on the 700 to 2100MHz spectrum, and are neglecting new resource development. New resources, however, enable the IMT to create clean spectrum space that meets service requirements.

Microsoft proposed its WhiteFi network solution in October 2009. Based on UHF white space, the WhiteFi solution resembles Wi-Fi, though its essential difference is that it operates at the 700MHz digital dividend. The WhiteFi solution integrates a new adaptive spectrum allocation algorithm that processes spectrum changes and segments through an unused TV band and employs a low-cost protocol that effectively handles temporary changes by auto-configuring to the acquired white space. The white space provides the best remote connection in rural areas and supplements network coverage in urban areas.

All terminals will integrate Wi-Fi in the future, and Wi-Fi will be ubiquitous. As a natural extension of Wi-Fi, the backhaul cloud integrates Metro Ethernet, Wi-Fi, WiMAX and other technologies. The defects caused by independent Wi-Fi networking can be compensated by the transmission, connection and control functions of the backhaul cloud and the continual coverage and HHO of GSM, UMTS, CDMA, and LTE networks. Currently, increasing number of 3G+ solutions integrate VHO and FMC capabilities.

Three Clouds architecture will enable mobile broadband to be truly open and ubiquitous, thereby improving the last mile problems related to broadband, mobility, control and ubiquitous access. In the future, the consumption of any message will be covered by a certain combination of the Three Clouds. In this combination, each cloud is indispensable.

From:http://www.huawei.com/publications/view.do?id=6084&cid=11392&pid=10664

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Mobile Cloud Computing – The Future of The Mobile Industry

Mobile Cloud Computing -The Future of The Mobile Industry

These days cloud computing technology is being discussed just about everywhere. People are excited and curious to know more and more about this latest technology and about its working pros and cons. Cloud computing is usually viewed in the context of web, business firms, and data servers. But it is not only business companies and personal computer users which are going to feel its impact; it will bring a major change in the mobile industry as well. Cloud computing is going to dominate the way in which mobile applications will operate in near future. A new term “Mobile Cloud Computing” has been devised for a combination of cloud computing and mobile applications. In mobile cloud computing, data storage and data processing occurs outside the mobile device and results are displayed through screen or speakers. GPRS, Gmail, and Google Maps are already being used are pioneer examples of mobile cloud computing. In a few years time we can expect a major shift from traditional mobile application technology to mobile cloud computing.

Benefits of Mobile Cloud Computing

The fact that feature phones still outnumber smartphones in the world is the entry point for mobile cloud computing technology. Feature phones are not able to store and process huge amounts of data. As time moves on, feature phones will be sophisticated enough to work as smart as smartphones do, by use of mobile cloud computing.

How will Mobile Cloud Computing be a Dominant Force in the Future?

There are two main reasons which will be a decisive factor for mobile cloud computing to dominate the mobile industry. The fact that this technology can target a huge market, even larger than the whole smartphone market, will lead to increased investment in this technology. The second reason is the way, mobile applications are distributed recently. If you want to use an iPhone application, you must have iPhone. Similarly, if you want to enjoy some Blackberry applications you have to have Blackberry. With mobile cloud computing you will be able to enjoy all such application only if you can access web through your cell phone.
Mobile cloud computing also offers all the benefits of cloud based computing. Customers don’t have to purchase and update their hardware and software every time a new application is launched. And more importantly they don’t have to pay for features they don’t use.

Market Competition among PaaS Players Could Make a Big Difference

The word Platform-as-a-service probably rings a bell. Think of: Salesforce. It is one of the leading companies in PaaS technology. Amazon Web Services and Google’s App Engine are two of the other major players. The presence of so many industry giants means a lot of competition and efforts to become the cloud market leader. Competition will automatically bring quality and economical services to customers.

When will Mobile Industry really touch the Cloud?

Within a year, we are expecting to observe a fierce competition among PaaS players for becoming the market leader in mobile cloud computing. In about 2-3 years, customers in technologically and advanced countries will be feeling a major change in mobile application technology. 2014-15 is estimated to be the year when mobile cloud computing will really start to dominate the industry.

By CloudTweaks
http://www.cloudtweaks.com/2010/08/mobile-cloud-computing-the-future-of-the-mobile-industry/

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For Google, the Cloud Is Its Mobile Future

If there was any doubt that mobile and the cloud will eventually converge, Google is putting it to rest. At an event in San Francisco today, the company showed off two applications that leverage Google’s back-end infrastructure and its Android OS to bring a powerful new mobile user experience. The two apps are Voice Actions and Chrome2Phone.

Chrome2Phone is an application that allows you to sync content (clips and videos, for example) between your desktop browser and your mobile device, much like Mozilla’s Home application allows you to take your Firefox browsing history and bookmarks on an iPhone.

Voice Search for Android is an app that is Google’s answer to Siri, an artificial intelligence application maker that was acquired by Apple for a reported $200 million. It’s a voice-to-mobile interface that allows you do perform about 12 actions including search, text messaging, looking up music online and playing it back using your favorite service, writing emails, looking up locations, and placing calls to those locations.

Hugo Barra, Google director of product management, said at the event that nearly 25 percent of folks who use Android 2.0 (and higher) use voice search. “It is much higher than we expected and it is pretty astounding,” he said. In addition to voice search, Google is adding voice capabilities to the Android Keyboard.

According to Google executives, Google voice search has about 70 percent accuracy. They said it is much easier to offer instructions than to transcribe voice mails in Google Voice (which can at times be comically inaccurate).

Google’s Voice Actions (which is for Android 2.2 only) joins a series of cloud-based mobile applications launched by the search company. Others include Google Navigation and Goggles. Barra explained that when you add 4G speeds to a 10,000-server data cluster, what you end up with is a mini-computer in your pocket.

From GigaOM PRO: How speech technologies will transform mobile use

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First Mobile Cloud Platform for the Enterprise

Model Metrics Introduces the First Mobile Cloud Platform for the Enterprise

Next Generation 2GO Cloud Platform Decreases Time to Market for Enterprise-Ready Mobile Applications Leveraging Adobe, Amazon Web Services, Google and Salesforce.com Technologies; Announces Expanded Support for Adobe AIR on Android

CHICAGO, IL–(Marketwire – August 24, 2010) – Model Metrics, the leader in cloud computing services for the enterprise, today introduced the first mobile cloud platform for the enterprise, enabling business users to take critical business functionality with them, wherever they go. Based on the company’s 1,300 plus custom, mobile and mutli-cloud deployments including Crescent Healthcare and Elkay Manufacturing, Model Metrics 2GO Cloud Platform leverages the industry’s leading cloud technologies from Amazon Web Services, Google and salesforce.com to deliver enterprise-class mobile solutions with expanded device support, including Android and any device running Adobe? AIR?, HTML5 or iOS.

Mobilizing the Cloud
Model Metrics 2GO Cloud Platform was developed to address customer demand for enterprise-class mobile cloud solutions that are scalable, highly customizable and easy to implement in order to make cloud computing work for mobile workforces and to support today’s trend of more business interactions taking place on mobile devices. According to Juniper Research, the mobile cloud computing market is expected to reach $9.5 billion by 2014, with the majority of this growth being driven by businesses (ABI Research: ‘Mobile Cloud Computing’ the Next Big Thing, Juniper Research: $9.5 billion by 2014).

The 2GO Cloud Platform:

Designed for field representatives and other mobile workers who need a mobile and/or offline solution delivered quickly to simplify everyday tasks and enable productivity while on the go. Users experience seamless performance whether on or offline and see an immediate impact to their productivity with streamlined clickstreams and usability.
Decreases time to market for customized mobile cloud solutions with pre-built functionality that meets 80% of business needs out of the box, and is significantly more cost-effective than solutions developed from scratch.
Provides enterprises with multiple device options including Android tablets and smart phones, iPhones and iPads, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and traditional tablet PCs enabled by Adobe Flash? Builder? for Force.com, HTML5 and Salesforce Mobile.

New to Model Metrics 2GO Cloud Platform

New modular architecture that enables enterprises to pick and choose functionality from a series of pre-built, mobile-enabled components to rapidly build and deploy mobile applications that meet their specific business needs.
Additional device support includes a tested, pre-release version for Android devices utilizing Adobe AIR, with a general availability release expected at the end of 2010. Android device functionality includes advanced business functions such as bar code scanning integrated with Salesforce CRM out of the box.
In addition to life sciences, pre-packaged solutions now available for consumer goods and retail leveraging multiple 2GO Cloud Platform modules to improve field sales and service execution and enabling clienteling. Includes order entry and bar code scanning, advanced signature capture and call routing.

Supporting Quotes:

“The next generation of our 2GO Cloud Platform reflects what distinguishes Model Metrics as a cloud computing service provider: Our reputation for tackling the most challenging cloud deployments and custom development needs, making them work on or offline for any mobile device and across multiple cloud platforms,” said Adam Caplan, CEO of Model Metrics. “With the confluent trends of enterprise cloud computing and mobility growing at rapid paces, we are uniquely positioned to help enterprises experience the benefits.”
“At Crescent Healthcare, our vision is to transform the delivery of healthcare in settings outside of hospitals, which places a huge emphasis on enabling mobile access to critical patient information while out in the field,” said Brett Michalak, CIO, Crescent Healthcare. “Model Metrics’ experience with custom cloud computing implementations and making them work on a variety of mobile devices is a key piece to our future success.”
“Model Metrics’ mobile vision and know-how is the answer for bringing the benefits of cloud computing to enterprises with a highly mobile workforce,” said Eyal Altman, director of strategic management for Elkay Manufacturing, a family of companies with more than 2,800 employees producing cabinetry, plumbing products and decorative surfaces. “Model Metrics’ cloud platform development and mobile expertise enables our workforce and our partners to take our custom Salesforce CRM implementation out in the field on the BlackBerry, iPhone or iPad, significantly improving their productivity.”
“Model Metrics’ ability to mobilize the benefits of cloud computing across a range of devices and technologies, including its intention to support Adobe AIR for Android, is an important driver for enterprise cloud adoption,” said Anup Murarka, director for Product Marketing, Flash Platform at Adobe. “Model Metrics has been a visionary in applying Adobe technologies to leading cloud platforms, with the 2GO Cloud Platform as no exception.”
“Model Metrics 2GO Cloud Platform represents the kind of innovation made possible by leveraging the Force.com platform and Adobe Flash Builder,” said Kendall Collins, chief marketing officer, salesforce.com. “The rise of mobile in the enterprise will accelerate as core features are incorporated in the next generation of enterprise cloud computing. This amazing computing shift will help customers realize further success in the cloud.”

http://www.cloudtweaks.com/2010/08/first-mobile-cloud-platform-for-the-enterprise/