Market researchers say mobile software vendors will see increased revenue with the introduction of third-generation cell phones.

 

According to a new report from the Palo Alto (News - Alert), California, office of Frost & Sullivan, the 3G phones’ expanded memory, faster processing speeds and the availability of networks that transfer data faster all will lead to exponential growth for mobile software companies. The market – about $17.9 billion last year – is expected to reach $67.3 billion in 2013, according to the firm.

 

According to Analyst Daniel Longfield, the cycle of software development – in which mobile software products and applications were developed originally for other types of devices – will reverse over the next 10 years.

 

“This reversal is likely because the number of mobile devices manufactured is expected to continue to outpace all other types of personal electronics and also due to smart phones possessing more processing speed and memory,” Longfield said.

 

Yet mobile carriers are “extremely cautious” about spending, the firm says in its report, “World Next-Generation Mobile Software Market.” Also, the report says, mobile software vendors must prove the value proposition and return on investment of their products before clinching the deal.

 

“One viable business model for software developers would be to partner with mobile carriers and obtain revenue by troubleshooting and fixing day-to-day business model problems,” according to the firm. “New carrier services require fixes to the billing, marketing, and early product lifecycle bugs. By tackling these issues quickly, mobile software vendors can be a huge help to the carriers.”

 

More and more people are using mobile devices to do things that only desktop computers used to do, the firm says. The software for those devices is what’s driving that capability, according to Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert).

 

The firm says that mobile software market will see greater standardization, technological advances, and competitive changes – factors that will further increase the mobile software market size.

 

“Mobile software vendors are poised to receive large revenue increases from carriers and other mobile market value chain members,” Longfield said. “However, these spoils will not come without great effort to patch endless gaps in the current carrier service infrastructure and business models.”