Gartner Newsroom penned an article that claimed, if not evangelized, the inevitability of personal clouds taking the place of personal computers by 2014. The article posits that cloud providers are advancing their capabilities so that consumers can access their data and digital identity on-the-go.

For clarification, our buddy Wikipedia coins “cloud computing” as follows: “Users access cloud based applications through a web browser or a

light weight desktop or mobile app while the business software and data

are stored on servers at a remote location. Cloud application providers

strive to give the same or better service and performance than if the

software programs were installed locally on end-user computers.

Steve Kleynhans, research vice president at Gartner says ”Major trends in client computing have shifted the market away from a focus on personal computers to a broader device perspective that includes smartphones, tablets and other consumer devices. Emerging cloud services will become the glue that connects the web of devices that users choose to access during the different aspects of their daily life”

While there are doubtlessly several factors contributing to this exodus, Gartner has found specific trends to be guilty of keeping our heads in the clouds.

Consumerization: this pop culture catalyst has put technology into many, many more hands than we’ve seen in the past. The popularity of mobile devices and smart-kindle-fire-tablet-sarah-jessica-parker-android-nooks, has made the digital world an inadvertent educator. Users have become savvier. Social media has infused its consumers with a sense of innate power. Perhaps more importantly, users have become innovators.

Accessibility via consumerization has peaked interest among masses and become a mild educator for would-be-developers.

Availability: encourages a culture of self-service because user experience naturally becomes more self-directed. More simply, cloud computing is always there when you need it. It’s no longer necessary to rely on an external hard drive. 

Mobility: The emergence of more-natural user interface experiences is making mobility practical. Touch- and gesture-based user experiences, coupled with speech and contextual awareness, are enabling rich interaction with devices and a much greater level of freedom. It would be unfair to say, then, that cloud computing alone is responsible for its uber-success. Mobile devices are, no doubt, part of the marriage.

Maintaining a Candidate Cloud Community

For most recruiters, software databases are the primary facilitators for accessing candidate records. This database becomes unsearchable when records and resumes become outdated and lost in swelling numbers. However, with cloud computing, this data would be available in the ether, accessible to everyone at anytime. Gartner’s observation seems astute here, as “availability” has made the user experience more self-directed. Candidates can take part in the process and keep records and resumes healthy, up-to-date and circulated.

Technology is on the brink of causing a change in how we think about money. As the mobile internet begins to take control, we are saying goodbye to paper bills and hello to symbolic digits on our computer screens.

As seen in the UK, putting pen to paper for all money-based transactions simply doesn’t happen. The use of “cheques” are pretty much redundant, regular transactions for bill payments are transferred directly between accounts and, one of the biggest differences, is Chip and Pin technology, which is the only way that cashiers will accept authorization of credit card payments. This is becoming increasingly popular in the US too, with growing trends in the use of PIN technology.

Not only have we seen a move away from paper-based transactions, but with our ever increasing habitual reliance on smart phones, there is a real change in consumer behaviors which is opening up new business opportunities.

Our trusty leather wallets are being replaced with virtual credit card applications being developed for smart phones. Google being Google, have beaten most of their competitors in developing an ‘electronic wallet’ whereby smart phones are installed with chips that transmit credit card information. And in order to facilitate these payments, mobile phone carriers such as Verizon and AT&T are developing new point-of-sale software to be sold to stores which will allow them to accept payment smart phones.

The mobile payment business is growing, and fast, with operators collecting $170 billion in 2011. One of the new players to enter this industry is Isis, which was formed in November 2010 and employs people in New York, Dallas and Seattle. The Isis Mobile Wallet “holds versions of most things your existing wallet does – this includes your credit and debit cards”. They have already linked up with JP Morgan Chase and Capital One credit cards, and are no doubt in second and third round meetings with other leading banks.

The good old fashioned plastic credit card is soon to be going out of style. American Express, the original credit card provider, are anticipating a global boom in the mobile payment industry and preparing for it themselves. They have launched Serve, a digital payment platform that uses American Express technology and security to allow its users to make “paying and being paid simple”. Dan Schulman, is heading up the Amex division, and on the topic of the changing nature of money says –

“Approximately 85 percent of transactions across the world today are in cash. But cash will start to become less dominant. The mobile phone is going to rapidly become a form factor in which you’ll not just pay for your groceries but, increasingly, you’ll find out about the information around your groceries. What’s organic, what may not be organic? What are your friends thinking about it? What offers and deals may be around it? The way you fundamentally pay for it could change. You can pay for it now. You can pay for it later. You can use virtual currencies. You can use loyalty points that you’ve accrued. So the very nature of how we will pay for things will fundamentally transform”.

After recognizing the need to change and remain innovative, Serve was launched in order for Amex to remain competitive in the global market. This New York-based company looks to compete directly with PayPal, a leader in mobile payment services. Only last week is was reported that PayPal is now offering users access to their secure PayPal accounts on their mobile phones and make a payment directly from this. Their Tabbedout application is integrated with majority of point of sale systems and allows is just another way that PayPal is bringing simplicity of paying to its 106 million users.

With rapid developments in industry-wide mobile payments services expected in 2012, Talener should definitely keep an eye on this market.

So what does this mean for Talener?

Candidates

It means starting to build a pool of candidates that will fit profiles for potential new clients. The roles may include:

-           Mobile Software Engineers

-           Mobile Architects

-           Web Developers

-           Quality Assurance Analysts

 The candidates will preferably come from a payments industry background, with experience with working on payment platforms and products.

Where will we find them?  

-           Speculative adverts to post on job boards to attract good candidates.

-           LinkedIn – target those currently in similar industries and looking to move into a newly established, exciting company

-           Host events at Talener and advertise online and to candidate database

Clients

Which companies should Talener target?

-           New players to the growing industry, such as Isis and Serve, who are still in the early stages of growth.

-           Look into finding companies that require payment platform technology and moving towards developing applications to allow mobile payments.

Where will we find them?  

-           Networking – attend industry events 

In today’s world, emerging technologies are on the forefront of just about everything we have known and loved.  With that being said, these technologies have taken industries and really spun them on their head.  The latest industry to feel this wave is the Marketing Industry.

We still have our billboards, television commercials, and newspaper advertisements but who actually pays attention to those anymore.  People are constantly on their smartphone’s, tablets, and laptops checking emails, texting or just surfing the web.  Now when it comes to marketing, literally every second is an opportunity to showcase a brand or product.  With consumers spending an increasingly large amount of time on mobile and handheld devices it only makes sense that marketing strategist focus their energy on this growing market.  Here are 5 marketing trends that are close to (and already) taking over the marketing arena.

1. Location Services (iAds, AdMob)

Social Applications that are location based such as Foursquare, Ban.jo and Path have been taking the consumer market by storm.  These social applications use iAds and AdMobs to track the places you go and things you have liked.  Then they are able to send advertisements based around the consumers activity and preferred industries.

One piece of technology that is creating buzz with these location services is Near Field Communication (NFC).  NFC technology means data being transferred and contactless transactions through mobile devices and other tablets.  NFC is used on a daily basis when it comes to either connecting to Bluetooth or WiFi connections, as well as sharing photos, videos and contacts through social networking.  One major NFC technology that has recently hit the market has been the GoogleWallet which allows individuals to use their phones like credit cards (think of buying tickets online and using your phone to show/scan your ticket).

2. New Ad Formats

You can no longer just throw up a logo of a brand and expect people to care or even notice what it is.  Pre-roll video ads (youtube) and other “forced view” options, ads have to be engaging to the consumer.  Integrating brand messages with relevant content is now a must.  Ads are given about 5 seconds to impress and if they don’t capture your attention within that time then the consumer becomes disengaged.

3. User-Generated Content

User-Generated Content (UGC) are powered by content discovery apps such as Pulse, Flipboard, Fancy and Foodspotting. Content producers and merchants provide the feeds, and consumers tweak them to suit their interests, filtering data and making personalized information platforms.

These models can help brands become relevant to consumers and provide the next great opportunities for marketers. For instance, Pinterest has received rave reviews from consumers and marketers alike, and has showed how much people like to control their own public profiles.

4. Advertise by Format

Everyone is excited about the potential in mobile technologies, and tablets present appealing platforms for consumer engagement. If you’ve decided to advertise on mobile apps, what are you going to do with the user after you get him or her to tap? Will you use the platform to its full potential? Or will you roll out the same old display strategy you’ve been using online, praying that users will choose to interact with your ad?

5. Integrated Marketing

Being relevant to your customer in every context improves brand recall and enhances engagement.  The most important thing is to understand is that it a consumers market.

Research shows that 72% of consumers want to be engaged with an integrated marketing approach, but only 39% are receiving that. Google found that consumers had 74% brand recall when the advertiser’s integrated strategy carried across mobile, TV and online.

Today’s profound advancement in tech and media is changing how we interact with and filter our world. Smart marketers can succeed by engaging with the trends that are resonating most with the emerging consumer of today.