CIOs should be on the lookout for three trends in mobility that will have a large impact on businesses, advises Maribel Lopez, vice president of Constellation Research Group. 

The first thing to be aware of is that fragmentation in mobile operating systems and devices will only grow. There are at least 10 mobile operating systems active right now, and over the next three years no one OS will dominate, Lopez warns in a post at InformationWeek. IT departments are going to have to manage two or three operating systems in the near term, she advises. 

The second trend--not to beat a dead horse--is that workers are bringing their personal devices to the office. A recent survey by Lopez' group found that 30 percent said they use their own devices at work. Lopez suggests that IT not resist the tide but instead figure out how to manage and secure numerous platforms.

Consequently, companies are going to have to come up with new strategies for application development and services, Lopez writes. Applications will have to be reformatted so they are less menu-driven. "Consumer apps have trained users to expect results within two to three clicks. These same consumers won't expect to click through four menus on a smartphone to get to the point where they can view inventory or approve an order," she writes.

For more:
- see Maribel Lopez' post at InformationWeek

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