In 2007, Apple introduced the iPhone and revolutionized smartphones.

In 2010, Apple introduced the iPad, a mobile tablet people weren’t sure what to do with. They sold over 300,000 in one day.

Others have done smartphones. Many have tried tablets.

Why did Apple succeed, twice, where others have failed so many times?

Besides brilliant product design and user experience… they got the timing right. They had to have mainstream consumers ready and willing to purchase, adopt and use heavily.

The time has come… is your business optimized for mobile?

The Engine of Mobile

Mobile web experiences are really powered by cloud computing.

In the cloud, your information can be accessed from any device, in any location. You’ll never have to worry about your hard drive crashing or losing information due to viruses.

You also have access to the latest versions of software, so you’ll never need to buy an expensive upgrade.

And with the strength of network privacy, you generally never have to worry about security concerns.

This has helped move consumer pricing models to low monthly figures (SaaS) instead of excessive one-time charges that consume more capital.

An Intro to the Mobile Revolution

According to a recent report by research firm IDN, the global mobile smartphone market grew 17.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, its highest growth rate since 2006.

With consumer adoption skyrocketing, the ability to reach people virtually anytime anywhere has ignited huge investment into mobile platform technologies.

There are also a lot of companies, like Foursquare, where the entire user experience is designed or dependent around being mobile.

Besides Apple, you also have huge players such as Android, Research in Motion and Microsoft operating systems powering every mobile manufacturer’s newest offering.

What’s your Mobile Distribution Strategy?

When deciding to invest in mobile technologies, you basically have two options: native and mobile web app.

Native simply means an application that users can download straight to their mobile desktop and have direct access to your offerings.

Typically, these are custom developments and provide a range of functionality. However there is also a huge push from new platforms that allow you to develop, host, and submit your apps without any programming experience (Yes, even software developers are being disrupted).

This will undoubtedly be a growing future trend as it dramatically lowers the cost of investing in mobile technologies.

The second option is to make an app from your website. This is just a mobile-friendly version of your current internet or website options.

This is usually cheaper and easier because you develop one version for any mobile device (regardless of the operating system).

New, simple tools like MobStac, Mobify, Ubik, Mowser, Mofuse and Movylo have made it easy and affordable to mobilize your web experience. They provide affordable turnkey solutions for any sized business or operation to quickly optimize for mobile websites.

Ultimately, it just matters that you do something to get your website optimized for mobile devices. It’s essential that you have a mobile distribution strategy and capitalize early on this incredible opportunity.