Enterprises can leverage context-aware computing to better target prospects, increase customer intimacy, and enhance associate productivity and collaboration, according to a new Gartner report. It predicts that by 2012, the typical Global 2000 company will be managing between two and 10 business relationships with context providers, and by 2015, context will be as influential in mobile consumer services and relationships as search engines are to the web.
Gartner defines context-aware computing as the concept of leveraging information about the end user to improve the quality of the interaction. Emerging context-enriched services will use location, presence, social attributes, and other environmental information to anticipate an end user’s immediate needs, offering situation-aware and usable functions.
Anne Lapkin, research vice president at Gartner, said: Although the rudiments of context-aware computing have been around for some time now, it is a disruptive technology that has the potential to be a real ‘game changer’ in terms of competitive advantage. Initial implementations of context-enriched services are already in play, and early adopters will find it easier to implement more-sophisticated services in the future.
Gartner believes that, as more users employ a greater variety of applications, operating systems, browsers and devices, user experience problems will increase; new business opportunities will emerge, by virtue of knowing the customer more intimately; and productivity will improve as systems eliminate complexity for the user.
Gartner also believes advances in networks, mobile hardware capabilities, social computing, service-oriented architecture (SOA), and unified communication will make it easier to build and use context-enriched services.
Ms Lapkin added, “Many enterprises are beginning to experiment with social networking, which can also provide significant context information as well as use context information to achieve better results. By 2011, Type A enterprises (technology aggressive) will begin to integrate multiple contextual components to provide a richer user experience that enables top-line growth as well as workplace efficiencies.
Ms Lapkin said that Gartner is beginning to see significant interest in context-aware computing from CIOs looking to harness context information to provide a wide range of benefits from increased associate activity to better customer intimacy and better-targeted marketing.
