Best's Review magazine has a cover feature on “App Wars” with the tagline: “Insurers vie for interactivity, usability and convenience for customers and producers on mobile devices.” Bests Review
It wasn't so long ago that people used to scratch their heads and ask why anyone would want to do insurance business on a mobile device. But now that so many people have smartphones and such like, the “mobile” part of the equation doesn't stick out so much. These devices aren't significant because you can carry them around, but because people do carry them around.
You see the difference? “Mobile applications” used to be a hard sell, because few consumers or business decision makers could envision the lifestyle that would make them relevant or attractive. Well, that lifestyle shift has happened. Fact is, you can no longer assume that your customers or partners do business in the old way of sitting down at a desk, and rolling their sleeves up. People do a lot more transactions with a lot more organizations than they used to, and they do it around the clock, to fit in with their busy lives.
I guess the shift in mindset really happened when “app” moved from the techies' lexicon to the general vocabulary. We have Apple to thank for that. It's ironic that while their direct impact on business IT has been minimal, the indirect effect they're having via this cultural change is immense. Some people even think “app” is short for Apple, and that Steve Jobs should be working harder to protect his intellectual property around the name!
I'd like to see some ACORD Forms on tablets... like the one I created 15 years ago... to an overwhelming industry yawn. Somehow, I feel somehat redeemed today.
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