While we all know the coolest, trendiest stuff coming out of MWC will be the oh-so-sweet gadgets, the real muscle will be the software behind them, as always. [UPDATE: Speaking of insanely new and shiny tech gadgets, Nokia announced their new 41 megapixel camera phone compared to the iPhone 4s’s 8 megapixels.] Case in point, software luminary Microsoft has ambitious plans for Windows 8, as their first OS built with mobile usability in mind from the start. With tech giants like Microsoft and Apple, whose iOS web traffic just surpassed dekstop web traffic this month, focusing serious resources on mobility — the times, they are a-changin’. The implications of this shift in general computing habits are far reaching and touch all industries. Software that connects all of these gadgets and makes intelligible sense of browsing and usage habits can provide significant competitive advantage in any vertical.
Mobility doesn’t just mean cell phones, but pertains to smart meters, mobile payments, vehicles that automatically report to the dispatcher (think first responders, delivery trucks, and taxis), and medical devices that wirelessly broadcast. Imagine if you could park at the mall and don’t even break stride as you simply point your phone at the meter to pay. Then, when you walk by a clothing store you haven’t been to in three months, whose software has your preference for jeans and your size on record, and knows this particular branch has a surplus of that size, texts you an offer for 50% off based on your location data (opt in, of course). Now imagine that this same scenario can play out just by you tweeting or facebooking that you are going to the mall! TIBCO’s software can power every single one of these functions in real time. From running FedEx’s infrastructure at 3,000 transactions a second nationwide, to integrating smart devices with M2M payments, to matching convoluted name records at hospitals and television companies, to working with retailers in hyper-local, personalized advertising in the channel of consumer choice, to reading and automating action on social media triggers, TIBCO’s software can bring those shiny new toys showcased at MWC to life for consumers and the businesses they interact with everyday.
