BY: THABISO MOCHIKO, THE rapid uptake of smartphones and tablet computers is expected to create an opportunity for software developers to create mobile cloud computing services, industry experts say. There has been a great deal of hype around cloud computing, an internet - based consumption and delivery model for future IT services. Basically it means the shifting of data, services and hardware from, for instance, a company’s premises or dedicated data centre, onto an external platform, often shared, and accessed via the internet. Take for example Google Docs — instead of having Word software installed on your personal computer, you access it via a browser when you require it. Among the benefits of adopting cloud-computing services are a decrease in costs — mainly technology infrastructure costs — as well as increased capacity and flexibility. Although cloud computing has been touted as the next big thing for the past five or six years, it needed a critical mass of desktop users for it to take off in the developed world and so allow companies to take advantage of the benefits. With the bulk of internet access taking place via cellphones, it is going to be the more compelling mobile services that will drive higher customer numbers and traffic volumes, says Wilter du Toit, the CEO of Virtual Mobile Technologies. Read Full: Business Day - Mobile cloud computing next, Image: https://www.flickr.com
