Mobile innovation has created endless business possibilities. Going mobile is no longer just an option for businesses; it is, in fact, essential for survival in this competitive market.
Although the future of mobile economy is still being discovered, m-Commerce is not only becoming an integral part of the urban life, but is also gaining momentum in rural areas. Since, mobile creates a whole new world of access to services for customers from wherever they are, and whenever they want, businesses have a greater opportunity to engage a wider range of customers through this channel.
Mobile financial services, in particular, are becoming popular in all segments of society. Over the last decade, the proliferation of Alternative Electronic Delivery Channels has provided a major means to tap a wider customer base. Now, the mass appeal of m-Commerce is dramatically changing the dynamics by which companies operate, as it combines the advantages of e-Commerce with the mobility advantages of wireless devices. m-Commerce is, therefore, viewed as the necessary extension of the Internet-based e-Commerce-making it a more flexible, anytime, and literally anywhere phenomenon.
Taking financial services mobile is heavily dependent on technology! One of the major concerns for financial service providers is the technical challenges of going mobile, especially when it comes to integrating disparate networks, devices, and applications.
The complexity with mobile financial services is enormous, specifically because of the following reasons:
-- Almost everything must happen in real-time with fast response times
-- Mobile banking systems must scale to high transaction volumes
-- Security threats are higher
-- Integration with the back-end systems is crucial
These challenges demand innovative technology to set up architectures and infrastructures that are robust, scalable, secure, and reliable-seamlessly integrating financial transactions offered through various channels. This is where an intelligent middleware solution comes into play. A middleware solution must provide a strategically planned architecture for financial service providers enabling them to introduce new delivery channels in a unified manner.
An ideal middleware platform must:
-- Leverage the existing technology and applications
-- Provide an infrastructure for future component applications
-- Allow rapid implementation of industry standard business protocols
-- Offer extensive and flexible back-office connectivity
-- Provide powerful data transformation and mapping facilities
-- Support content-based routing
-- Be highly configurable and extensible in terms of business process flows
As financial service providers strive to become more competitive in the mobile commerce arena, the requirement of a strong technology infrastructure, especially a robust middleware solution, is becoming a strategic consideration. An intelligent middleware choice can facilitate financial service providers to enhance operational efficiencies, increase their mobile market share, and ultimately boost revenues.
Maryam Hussain is the Head of Marketing at Avanza Solutions-one of the leading IT companies of APMEA specializing in Enterprise Middleware Solutions.
-- URL: www.avanzasolutions.com
-- Twitter: AvanzaSolutions
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