Sixty-eight percent of the world's population is women and children who could benefit much from mobile technology, but the majority of mobile devices are designed by men, for men, according to Gartner, Inc. The user profile to which most mobile products are targeted is a western adult male (age 20 to 64), but this represents just 32 percent of the global population.
"Mobile products will have to address gender diversity and demographics, evolving and differentiating into a range of consumer products," said Monica Basso, research vice president at Gartner. "This trend, together with the consumerization of IT and progressive evolution of the worker population towards younger individuals and women will force user organizations to re-think their working structures, environments and processes."
At Gartner Emerging Trends Symposium/ITxpo 2008, in Las Vegas this week, Gartner analysts discussed the demographic and gender trends that will influence mobile technology adoption.
Gartner says three big trends will affect enterprise demographics
through 2018:
-
Retirement will be pushed back in developed countries as baby
boomers remain in their jobs, pursuing more-diversified career plans.
Leading enterprises will develop talent programs for people at
different career stages, ages and professional cross-roads and
cultural, ethnic and gender diversity will rise with workforce
migration, increasing activities within emerging countries, and
increasing female workforce presence. -
Cultural, ethnic and gender diversity will rise; diversity is a
valuable asset that enterprises must embrace to extend the reach and
raise the service levels of their IT organization. -
Digital natives will bring new skills, cultures, preferences and
expectations, forcing enterprises to pursue discontinuous talent and
work practices. Their power within organizations will increase because
they have more technological skills; more knowledge and use of social
networks and smartphones; greater familiarity with innovative consumer
products and business models; and increased ability to retrieve
information.
"As a new mix of younger users replaces the
less-varied profiles of those retiring, it will be the organizations
that best understand the diversity of requirements and expectations that
achieve the greatest levels of user productivity and satisfaction,"
Ms. Basso said. "With more digital natives and
women joining organizations, the impact of consumerization on IT will
become more visible. Users will demand more choices in the devices,
applications and services they use and their preferences will be for
consumer products and services rather than traditional business centric
ones."
Gartner analysts said that by 2015, people will customize 90 percent of
the information, tools, and educational and technological resources they
use at work, at home and for entertainment. Personalization is key to
meeting different target market expectations and can be pursued in
mobile software, services, accessories and devices.
"Despite hundreds of different mobile devices
and models available on the market, personalization is very limited
today. It is mostly about aesthetics and cosmetics --
covers in fancy colors and materials, themes with images and ringing
tones, accessories like hanging items and holders,"
Ms. Basso said. "Normally it does not concern
functionality and the form factor, which are rigidly assigned to a
device depending on the target market segment. Eventually the form and
function of mobile devices will be reinvented."