Open Mobile’s Day Has Come

Thursday, January 21st, 2010 Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor

Hardly another day goes by without an announcement or a well publicized opinion on the topic on ‘openness.’  Most recently you likely saw the avalanche of announcements at CES or the coverage of the Google Nexus One launch, but the move to an Open ecosystem for Mobility has been going on for some time.  In 2007, Apple, Google, Nokia and Verizon all launched open mobile initiatives, in 2008, there was the first Open Mobile Summit . Also, the Open Mobile Alliance was formed all the way back in 2002 and has nearly 200 corporate members.  The once prevalent carrier ‘walled gardens’ are almost banished into history and app stores are springing up everywhere.

It’s clear that the future of mobile is being driven by open content, open development platforms and the forming of ecosystems with viable business models. Tuesday was a big day for iPass as we marked the opening up of the iPass system with the introduction of the iPass Open Mobile Platform.  This is a natural next step for the company, as the industry and our customers mature, and mobility in the enterprise market reaches a tipping point of adoption, largely driven by innovations that began life in the hands of the consumer.

More than a product announcement, what this signifies for us is the beginning of a new era of opportunity and possibilities for customers and partners worldwide. Why? Because, we offer up the ability for enterprises to define the mobility services they need independent of devices and networks and consume the relevant applications at the point of need.

One thing’s for sure, every user is now a mobile user, and the future is Open.