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More than 8,000 attendees are expected to pack the Moscone West conference center in San Francisco Feb. 5-6 for Apps World North America 2014, which will focus on the increasing speed and impact of innovation in mobile apps for handheld devices, wearable computing, automobiles and automated machines.
Apps World’s Enterprise World track will focus on both business strategic and practical app development considerations, examining why and how enterprises can become more mobile. It will also discuss the significant role that apps and the cloud play in this transformation and the opportunities this presents for developers, both inside and outside an organization.
Keynote speakers at the Enterprise World track on Day 1, Feb. 5, will be Paul Evans, Worldwide Lead of Application Transformation at Hewlett-Packard, and Joseph Norton, senior vice president and Deputy CIO of Royal Philips Electronics. Evans and Norton will discuss how enterprises can transition to new-gen IT, new ways to increase enterprise efficiency and how adopting an enterprise mobility strategy helps to connect a global workforce.
Apple-co-founder and current Fusion-io Chief Scientist Steve Wozniak will be among the presenters.
Enterprises Always Need to Refresh Their IT
“No vendor can take for granted their place in the new style of IT,” Evans said. “Traditional vendors have to re-think themselves, new products and new partners with solutions.”
eWEEK Editor of Features and Analysis Chris Preimesberger will moderate the keynote panel discussion following Evans’ and Norton’s presentations Feb. 5 at 10:50 a.m. on “Fostering Innovation: Why Enterprises Should Love Mobile,” along with executives from IBM, Hewlett-Packard, GE Capital, TradeMonster and Laureate International Universities.
Preimesberger will lead a discussion on the following points:
–establishing the value of a multi-disciplinary approach in realizing and enabling innovation through mobile;
–CIO and CMO roles intersecting to drive improvements in customer experience and business efficiencies;
–the digital innovation at the center of new business development; and
–developing an environment of innovation that allows businesses to thrive and creates positive impact in all areas.
Five Main Topic Tracks
Panelists will be Evans of HP; Jennifer Crawford Winborne, Global IT Asset manager, Laureate International Universities; Sanjib Sahoo, CTO, TradeMONSTER; Ian Robinson, program director, MobileFirst Platform & Analytics, IBM; and Tim Hundt, senior enterprise architect, GE Capital.
Mobile developers, marketers, operators, device manufacturers, platform owners and industry professionals will keep busy at 11 different targeted workshop tracks, speed meeting, 1-to-1 meetings, parties and will discuss a spectrum of issues across the app ecosystem. The event will also include five free-to-attend developer workshop tracks and a free exhibition floor with more than 250 exhibitors.
The proliferation of smartphones and tablets in enterprise environments has provided acceleration toward apps and cloud-based solutions by the key drivers of reduced CAPEX, greater flexibility and the desire to integrate new devices with the cloud to enhance the mobility of the enterprise.
While the enterprise application market is at an early stage, there is a clear understanding that mobile is critical for both employees and consumers. Mobile is often ranked at the top, or close to the top, of the priority list for enterprises, yet what may be less clear is the best app development path.
Industry Data Points to Be Discussed
–There are 6.8 billion mobile subscribers (which is about 87 percent of the world’s population) and more than 56 billion app downloads predicted for 2013. The audience is there, and there are still plenty of apps waiting to be developed.
–Researcher Localytics found that one out of four apps are never used again once downloaded. How can a developer make sure his/her app isn’t one of them?
–Application-to-person (A2P) messaging is predicted to overtake person-to-person messaging by 2016, according to Juniper research. This is an industry that will be worth more than $73 billion by then. Will this be the answer to lost SMS revenues?
–Seventy-one percent of smartphone users who see ads on TV, in magazines or online, do a mobile search; one is seven searches is now mobile. How is your mobile strategy going to make sure your customers find you and not your competitors?
–Analysts estimate that app revenues will hit $25 billion in 2013 and could triple by 2017. How can an enterprise ensure that it is getting a slice of the pie?
The show floor and several topic tracks are free of charge. Go here for more information.