The end is near!

Society today is morphing mobile. The Digital Native is demanding more mobile access to all kinds of services. My three latest apps are:

• MyWendy’s (for burger and fries).

• Disney Movies (because I spend a lot of time on airplanes).

• EventBoard for the North and South Dakota Bankers Association Annual Conference.

All three of these apps meet a need—accessibility. My smart phone device is always with me and the apps deliver convenience or information.

Desktops versus Mobile

What was perceived only a few years ago as a passing fad has moved beyond an emerging trend and has fully entrenched itself as the de facto standard. Gartner reported that globally by 2015, shipments of Tablets, Mobile Phones and Ultra-Mobile devices will out ship traditional PCs by almost 10-1. Furthermore, tablets will out ship PCs too. Yes, PCs are still shipping in the millions, but the other number is in the billions! More importantly, Gartner estimates that globally 1.8 billion mobile phones will ship in 2014 and that 66% will be smart phones.

Interesting Fact: Tablets are being used in our local school district for middle school and high school students. The project, known as the Glass Paper Project, has really caught on and is advancing the re-engineering of traditional educational thinking in the classroom. Fargo Pubic Schools are not alone in this effort, it is a national trend.

There are two conclusions we can take away from this latest report from Gartner. First, your institution should think twice about buying and installing desktop devices. Discussions need to begin immediately with your vendors about their plans to sunset desktop devices and replace them with tablets; everywhere, even at the teller line!

Second, if you don’t have a fully engaged mobile strategy with your customers in mind, you are already behind and it may be too late. The end is near for PCs. I imagine that very soon one of your new prospective employees will walk into your bank and ask what that is on your desk! You answer by saying it is a PC. The new employee quips, “Oh, I read about those in my History Class!” You respond, flippantly with a question, “In your text book?” The prospective employee fires back, “No! A history app on my tablet.” Quickly you conclude that the end is near and you, too, are history!

The Wombat!