By Alex Scroxton
27 June 2008
The mobile internet services
market is still “nascent” and ripe for investment but opportunities to innovate
may begin to run dry, according to Juniper Research.
Unveiling a new research paper
this week, Juniper suggested mobile web users would top 1.7 billion worldwide
by 2013, driven by Web 2.0 collaborative business models and growing uptake of
3G services.
Research analyst Ian Chard
said that “Web 2.0 business models remain in a state of flux, so there is still
time to establish fruitful partnerships”.
“Major web players have
already crossed the Rubicon and established themselves in the mobile domain,
placing the onus on MNOs [mobile network operators] and other members of the
value chain to grab a share of the new revenue streams being created,” Chard
added.
Barrie Desmond, business
development director at Farnham-based VADition, which has positioned itself as
a Web 2.0-centric distributor, believed the development of collaborative
applications was still in its infancy.
“We’ll see more
opportunities coming up through the channel. VARs and ISVs really do find what
we’re talking about interesting,” said Desmond.
He added that some of the
early entrants into the market were bound to fall by the wayside sooner or
later, opening up further opportunities.
