CounterPoint:A Universal Personal Terminal

This issue of PCQuest, like most others, drills into products, technology and

applications spanning the world of computing: content, collaboration, education

through IT, DR...

But there's a major IT revolution happening in the background, in a world

where you don't see PCs or servers. Among millions of people, most of whom have

never used a computer. Within that world, we've gone past a milestone that has

more significance for IT in India than we may realize. The installed base of

mobile phones in India crossed 200 million in end-September. That compares with

some 25 million PCs and laptops, and less than 50 million 'fixed' phones (both

wired and wireless). So why is this cellphone milestone so important for IT?

The first pointer is within the phone world itself. Clearly, with a ratio of

200:50 in favor of mobiles, many Indians own a mobile, but not a fixed-line

phone. And needless to say, most mobile phone owners do not own a PC. Logically,

many of those who do SMS have never sent an email. And, there may be some who

make their first Internet connection from a mobile phone and not from a PC.

Prasanto K Roy,Chief Editor

The significance of a mobile phone goes well beyond 'mobility', into two

other dimensions. One is the sheer reach-at nearly 20% of population, it's the

highest penetration among any communication or entertainment media. The second

is that, unlike fixed phones or even PCs, the mobile phone is 'personal'. It

belongs to a person. If you call someone on her mobile, you know it's she who

will pick it up. You can send an SMS, trusting that she alone will see it. In

fact, you associate an identity with that number and banks will trust a

transaction based on that. The mobile phone, then, becomes the default universal

personal terminal, for voice and for data, and for all applications.

The usefulness of the 'personal' part of the equation transcends mere

mobility. For instance, a TV show viewer is ten times more likely to respond by

SMS than by email, even if his PC is next to him and connected. Our readers

respond much more easily and frequently by SMS than email and clearly PCQuest's

readers do have access to a PC.

If you're looking at extending an enterprise application to either your

workforce or to business partners or customers, there's no question about the

choice of platform today. Ask a random group of employees or business partners

or customers of your company-how many of you DON'T have a mobile phone? You're

unlikely to see any hands raised.

That makes the mobile a ready and obvious platform for accessing business

information. That's why most enterprises are paying a great deal of attention to

the mobile, for extending their business apps. And again, it's not as much about

mobility as about the highest common factor-everyone has a cellphone, and most

can read and even send short messages.

That's why a distributor, for instance, would find it necessary to provide

SMS access to its channel partners for inventory info and price quotes. Even the

passport office provides application status info over SMS.

And that's why the biggest IT revolution in India will happen not around the

PC, but around the mobile phone-the universal personal terminal for voice and

data.