The future is here. Welcome to the post-mobile era.

The road to mobile-first.

Unquestionably, the introduction of mobile devices had an unprecedented impact in our lives. Stop for a minute and think how was our everyday routine 10 years ago: no Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and so on. The online access was restricted to home or office tasks, while on the go access was a luxury for the few and the user experience was really subpar.

The advent of the iPhone in 2007 and the first Android device in 2008 was just the beginning of a tremendous evolution that we all have experienced since. Billions of users now own a smartphone or a tablet with 24/7 access to online products and services from any kind of industry and provider — from State to Retail, from Entertainment to Banking.

As the penetration of mobile was increasing, companies started shifting their marketing budgets to activities that were mobile-oriented. This has also meant a significant change in thinking. Approaching a user while he/she is on the move, everywhere, and at any time, requires careful planning, analysis, design, and execution. This shift led to what is called the mobile-first era.

What this really means is that the majority of users that consume a product or a service or are exposed to a marketing activity will do that in some form of connection to their mobile device.

From mobile usage to mobile experiences.

But as Heraclitus said, “everything flows” (in Ancient Greek, “τα πάντα ῥεῖ”). In parallel to the mobile revolution, we experienced tremendous advancements in hardware design and manufacturing, which led to the birth of the Cloud. Consequently, it was as easy as never before to build an application that could serve millions of users without the need to make significant investments on infrastructure.

In parallel, there were billions of mobile devices that were generating extensive amounts of data and we now had the ability to process and store them. These were the two missing pieces of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption puzzle. The third was the algorithms, most of which had already been invented since the 80s.

So, with all this (Infrastructure — Data — Algorithms), our everyday routine changed again. Concepts like personalization and behavior prediction are now required in order for a digital solution to be successful and meaningful.

Moreover, other technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and voice assistants are gaining mass adoption changing radically people’s lives, behaviors, and consumption patterns.

Even though many hurried to predict that we were near the end of the mobile-first era, the reality is quite the opposite. Mobile remains an integral part of our everyday life and the main channel through which we shop, work, communicate, get entertained, and interact. The difference is that now a mobile application needs to be “more intelligent”. It needs to exploit all the other available technologies to provide highly personalized and contextual experiences. It needs to serve its users at the mobile moments that really matter to them.

Our new reality. The post-mobile era.

So… how do we define the post-mobile era at Trebbble? It is a new evolving world in which all available technologies that are present in different touchpoints between brands and consumers are combined, in order to deliver personal and tailored-made mobile experiences. This also works the other way around in which mobile is the enabler and other touchpoints offer the service to the users.

In other words, the post-mobile era is an immersive, ultra-connected world where mobile is the enabler and at the center of almost every aspect of human behavior and business operation.

“Simple” or context-unaware mobile products and services are not efficient anymore. Close-minded and defensive executives’ approaches to their companies’ transformation are the guaranteed path to failure.

Do you have what it takes?

Businesses need to immediately figure out their mobile digital transformation in a way that it is meaningful to customers and drives brand, business, and financial growth.

Make no mistake. To create successful digital experiences in the post-mobile era you need to plan thoroughly and execute with precision and determination. Because you have to let go the business operations and market practices you were accustomed to, for years.

Only teams that can master complex technologies, understand consumer needs, attitudes and lives, and are excellence-driven will thrive in the post-mobile era.

This is the future, but it is now happening. Do you have what it takes?