Today more than five billion people use mobile devices worldwide, many of them smartphones. The number of smartphones and tablets shipped to consumers outpaces shipments of laptops.

We have quickly become a mobile society, demanding connectivity whenever and wherever we happen to be.  Each year, more consumers and businesses forego their landlines for the greater convenience and productivity of wireless phones. And why not? A greater number of devices held by a growing number of people has led to an explosion of mobile applications, all aimed at making our lives more convenient, more connected, and more fun.

Wouldn’t it be great if one of these mobile applications would allow me to easily and simply manage all of my communications needs in one place?  What if via one application I could access my home security system, control the television, video chat with a relative who lives abroad, and access an important work document - all while I’m on vacation in the Caribbean. 

As the line between our work and personal lives continues to blur, global connectivity has accelerated competition and spurred innovation, and fewer people are leaving their work at the office. Because we work more, we want simplified, straight-forward technology that makes information and services easier to access. With mobile devices we turn cars, coffee shops and kitchens into virtual offices.  IT has been consumerized as more employees are using their personal devices for work purposes and vice versa. Today, the technologies connecting us to the office and family are one and the same.

What’s next?  Faster connectivity is leading to greater convergence in ways that we could only imagine only a few short years ago. Cloud technology has taken mobile connectivity to a new level, where individuals can access not just the Internet, but their personal and work information anytime, anyplace. The implications for families – once separated by the need to work, study and live in distant locations – may be even more exciting than the implications for business.

Imagine an application that extends all of the features and services available on your PC – instant and SMS messaging, e-mail, address books, social networks, and video chat - to your mobile device, all from a single touch screen menu. Also picture all of your computer files, business and personal, accessible via the same application. Consider the following scenarios unleashed by these new capabilities.

My daughter, who is at college in New York, is shopping for an anniversary gift for her grandparents, who live in South Carolina. At the mall, via this feature-rich app, she initiates a video chat with her brother, who happens to be at a coffee shop in New Orleans, to allow him to see something she has picked out and get his opinion. He approves, but suggests asking Aunt Rose, who lives with their grandparents. My daughter sends an instant message to Aunt Rose, who asks to join the session so the three of them can catch up. She tells them she has uploaded pictures of their newly remodeled home to make sure the gift is a good fit, to the family’s cloud-based photo files so all three can easily view them, on the spot.

At his office in London, my new boss decides to join a colleague for dinner, so he uses the same, user-friendly app on his smartphone to record the English Premier League match he was planning to watch on television at home that night. While he’s setting the recorder, he also checks to see if his wife armed the security system before she left the house. He updates the family calendar to reflect tonight’s meeting, so that she knows he won’t be home for dinner. While she’s at lunch, she sees the calendar update and decides she can use that time to visit her mother on the way home.

The ability to simplify access to shared calendars, music, photos, and files through cloud-based access and easy-to-use menus breaks down generational barriers to technology as well.  My mother-in-law, who lives alone, now uses a tablet to stay in touch with family members on a daily basis. The touch screen, large icons and a simple menu make using technology easy in a way her home computer never did. She can view the latest family photos, send a message, and even call 911 without getting out of her chair. Even her address book has been transferred to the cloud, so that she can access it from her tablet. No more looking around for a phone number she needs.  And family members can quickly and easily check in on her more often – by text, video chat or phone – at any time and from any location. And all of this is done with the same shared application.

Going forward, our always on, always with us, always connected devices will enable us to share and access information as never before, simplifying and streamlining our busy lives. Instead of a world full of individuals interacting in silos with their own devices -- organizations, communities and families will collaborate on a grander scale through shared, cloud-based applications – regardless of which type or brand of mobile device they use. The possibilities, as they say, are endless.

Check out the link below for a video demonstration of our new GENBAND Mobile Life Application, which allows consumers to reap the rewards of a truly mobile world!

Click here to watch the new GENBAND Mobile Life video demonstration.