And the spotlight is truly shining globally in this instance.

The four vendors named IDC Innovators for smart parking solutions are Fybr (USA), Parkmobile (USA), Smart Parking Ltd. (Australia), and Worldsensing (Spain).

According to an official release from IDC, smart parking directs drivers to open parking spaces by leveraging 3rd Platform technologies like cloud, mobile, and Big Data and analytics. The parking platform for three of the firms are based on sensors placed within each parking space, while one firm offers a hardware-free solution using an algorithm based on payment and historical data to approximate space availability.

“The provision and management of parking within cities is critical for a city’s ability to function and thrive,” said Mark Zannoni, IDC research director for Smart Cities and Transportation. “Parking impacts the urban economy and quality of life as it provides access to businesses and events, affects traffic, and provides sizable revenues to local governments. Accordingly, more and more cities worldwide are looking at smart parking as a service offering as they transform themselves into smart cities.”

The post First Look: Smart Parking Vendors Recognized as IDC Innovators appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

According to the insight details shared, here’s what we can tell you about the new offerings:

• FZ-Q2 Semi-Rugged 2-in-1 Windows Toughpad Tablet: With a standard full-sized keyboard and built-in protection, the FZ-Q2 is equipped with the latest 6^th Generation Intel® Core m5 vPro processor for advanced performance with a flexible form factor, making it ideal for healthcare deployments. The FZ-Q2 provides reliable 4G connectivity and includes a field-serviceable solid-state drive (SSD) and battery to ensure the device has a long and stable life cycle—ultimately increasing return on investment (ROI). The FZ-Q2 can be safely sanitized with a disinfectant solution for home health applications and laboratory environments.

• FZ-A2 Fully Rugged 10.1” Android Toughpad Tablet: At just under two pounds, the FZ-A2 tablet is light weight for easy portability and has been certified by an independent third party testing lab to meet MIL-STD-810G certification to ensure unmatched durability. The fully rugged Android tablet is powered by an Intel® Atom Processor with software encryption for enterprise-grade security and management features. The highly secure platform is ideal for use in home health and other environments that must meet HIPAA requirements for enhanced data and privacy protection

For more details, you can check out the full press release for the FZ-Q2 2-in-1 tablet here and the Android FZ-A2 tablet here.

The post A Healthy Future Ahead for Panasonic’s Mobile Ambitions appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The market in question is now forecast to approach $700 billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 14%.

“The mobile value added services market size can be segregated on the basis of verticals, solutions, end-use, and regions,” explain the authors of a new industry report.

The report was released by GMInsights.

The prime verticals are telecom & IT, retail, media and entertainment, healthcare, government, education and BFSI. Key solutions include mobile infotainment, mobile advertising, location-based services, mobile money, multimedia messaging services, mobile email & IM and short message services. Enterprises and consumers are the two end-use segments.

According to a provide report summary, U.S. mobile VAS market size is expected to continue its dominance followed by Europe and Asia Pacific.

“Asia Pacific mobile value added services market share is likely to observe significant gains over the forecast period owing to increasing adoption of smartphones and tablets,” a provided report summary notes.

To learn more, check out the report’s table of contents here.

The post Mobile Value Added Services Market Size Set for Continued Growth appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The data leads ABI to believe that the aggregate service revenue for 2014 will grow 2.9% YoY to $1.01 trillion, “mainly driven by the robust growth of the mobile Internet market.”

Proliferating mobile data subscriptions and enhanced network capacity will drive global mobile Internet service revenue to $456.7 billion by 2019—44.7% of total mobile service revenue. Despite global service revenue growth, the Western European market is declining: 1Q 2014 service revenue declined 5.2% YoY.

“Facing continued price pressure driven by the competitive mobile market, mobile carriers have had to take on higher subscriber retention and acquisition costs to support their market positions. This has affected profitability,” explains Marina Lu, research analyst at ABI Research.

ABI Research’s Market Data indicates that the major European carriers such as Vodafone, Telefnica, T-Mobile, and Orange all suffered from gross profit decreases in 1Q 2014, whereas in North America mobile carriers are still demonstrating a positive outlook for gross profit.

If you want to know more, these findings are part of ABI Research’s Mobile Deployments, CAPEX, and Traffic Market Research.

The post ABI: Mobile Internet Will Continue to Drive Mobile Revenues appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Lookout used the occasion of this report’s publication, and understandably so, to launch its comprehensive new business security solution designed to make mobile security and device management easy and accessible to businesses and employees.

“Lookout for Business is the simplest way for businesses to secure all their devices from mobile threats, data loss and device loss,” Lookout says. “This launch marks Lookout’s first move in delivering solutions that help secure and protect mobile devices for businesses of all sizes.”

For most companies, mobile devices are the center of productivity, so protecting them against corporate data loss, malware, spyware, and loss or theft is top of mind for IT executives.

According to data cited in the company’s announcement, 69 percent of IT executives report that they are very concerned about the threat of mobile malware, viruses, and spyware. 60 percent have even experienced lost or stolen phones in the past year.

72 percent agree that there is a gap between current mobile security solutions and the security threats that businesses face today.

The post Majority of IT Managers Lose Sleep Over Mobile Security appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Spanning February 24-27, 2014 at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain, the annual exhibition for the mobile industry already boasts an impressive lineup of speakers.

In recent days, the GSMA confirmed the latest additions to the speaker list:

• Daniel Hajj, CEO, America Movil
• Jahangir Mohammed, Founder and CEO, Jasper Wireless
• Tadashi Onodera, Chairman, KDDI
• Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO, Millicom
• Jinwoo So, President and CEO, SK Planet
• Mats Granryd, President and CEO, Tele2 Group
• Jan Koum, Co-Founder and CEO, WhatsApp
• Jon Matonis, Executive Director and Board Member, Bitcoin Foundation
• John Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco
• Franco Bernabe, Chairman, GSMA
• Sirgoo Lee, Co-CEO, Kakao Corp.
• Rich Riley, CEO, Shazam Entertainment
• Michelle Gallen, CEO, Shhmooze
• Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO, Telenor Group

“As always, the Mobile World Congress conference program will establish a dialogue around the most pressing issues facing the mobile industry on a global basis,” says Michael O’Hara, GSMA’s Chief Marketing Officer. “The keynote speakers already confirmed for our 2014 event represent companies across the ever-expanding mobile ecosystem and from geographies around the world, offering attendees unique perspectives and insights into what’s shaping the future of mobile. We look forward to seeing these leaders take the stage in Barcelona.”

To learn more about MWC 2014, click here.

The post Plans Taking Shape for MWC 2014 appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

SAS Marketing Research finds that 58% Canadians actually want more mobile marketing.

38% of Canadians readily admit that they would buy more if presented with more promotional offers on their smartphone while out shopping.

“When you couple the power of the smartphone, with really smart analytics, retailers have an opportunity to forge some really strong customer relationships, and elevate their marketing to new levels,” explains Lori Bieda, Executive Lead for Customer Intelligence at SAS Americas.

“Retailers who recognize the power of customer information and analytics and use it to deliver location-smart personalized offers to consumers, when and how customers want them, will win the lion share of the shopping basket,” Bieda adds.

Overall, the findings show, women appear to be a “few steps ahead of men” when it comes to taking advantage of mobile marketing opportunities.

Women were more likely to say they would return to a store that offered them smartphone-based, localized promotions (51 percent versus 43 percent of men).

Women were also more likely to cash in on smartphone based in-store deals, with 44 percent (versus 31 percent of men) saying they would buy multiple items when presented with relevant promotions.

“Retailers with both an online and bricks and mortar presence should consider offering purchasing suggestions to their customers while they are in store,” the study summary reads. “Seven in ten surveyed said they find it helpful when retailers make suggestions based on their previous online purchases.”

The post Study: Canadians Want More Mobile Marketing appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

As of February 28th, registration for the event was open. Friday morning, however, the MMA sent out an email blast reminding potential attendees that early bird registration ends today.

“With 1000+ of the Mobile industry’s key brand, agency, technology and media influencers expected at this years’ event, the NY Forum reflects the growing power of mobile and it’s value in the path to purchase,” the organization says.

At this year’s forum, the keynote address will be provided by the senior vice president and chief marketing officer for The Home Depot, Trish Mueller. Muelller is responsible for the strategic branding and advertising direction of the company and its subsidiaries.

Prior to joining The Home Depot in 2009 as vice president of advertising, Mueller was senior vice president, advertising and marketing for The Sports Authority. She has an extensive background in the retail industry and has held senior officer marketing management roles at American Signature, a $1 billion-plus furniture store company, and ShopNBC, a home shopping network.

In 2011, Trish was named one of Ad Age’s “Women to Watch,” and included in The Atlanta Business Journal’s “Women of Excellence.”

“Join us for the 2013 MMA Forum New York as we learn how to get into the minds of the mobile consumer, deconstruct the path-to-purchase, and shed light on how the practices of mobile marketing are driving consumer engagement and profitable, repeat, revenues,” the MMA says.

The post MMA NY Forum Early Bird Registration Ends Today appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Together, Proxama will create a complete NFC-based services offering for retail clients.

The Logic Group, which distributes vouchers and coupons via NFC-enabled in-store smart posters, has much to gain from Proxama, which will provide the NFC technology and platform to enable fully branded incentives to be delivered to consumers’ mobile devices following a tap on an NFC tag embedded in a poster.

These incentives are then redeemed at an NFC-enabled terminal during the checkout process. Subsequently, offers will be provided over the air into NFC enabled retailer apps.

“The demand for NFC-based marketing is picking up a head of steam and we are delighted to be working with The Logic Group to design and launch NFC-based sales incentives as the first step in bringing NFC into the mainstream,” says Miles Quitmann, managing director of Proxama.

“Retailers are looking to engage with the ‘always on’ mobile consumer throughout their buying journey and NFC technologies enable that engagement in-store,” observes Jon Worley, Director of Customer Interactions at The Logic Group. “By working with Proxama, we are able to give our clients the capability to innovate and provide a superior buying experience for their customers.”

The post Proxama and The Logic Group Partner for NFC Initiative appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

On Tuesday, Good released its Q4 2012 Device Activation Report detailing smartphone and tablet devices activated amongst Good’s enterprise customers, which include half of the FORTUNE 100.

This quarter’s report showed a clear preference for iOS devices, which accounted for 77 percent of all activations and captured eight of the top ten spots on the most popular device list this quarter.

Not surprisingly, Apple’s iPhone 5 was the most popular device in Q4 of 2012, representing 32 percent of all activations for the quarter.

For Q4, Android activations dropped 6.3 percent as compared to Q4 2011. They still accounted for 22.7 percent of all activations for the quarter, which were primarily driven by Android tablets.

“CIOs today are able to realize increased productivity by supporting a diverse set of mobile products, while retaining security and control, and still provide their employee consumers with product choice,” says Christy Wyatt, CEO and President of Good Technology. “We continue to see more enterprise customers extending the accessibility of mobile applications to a broader employee population within their organizations.”

The full report can be viewed as PDF here.

The post ‘Good’ News for Apple: iOS Still Dominates Enterprise appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.