The importance of creating a good mobile user experience in order to achieve better service take-up has grown in prominence over the past eighteen months. However, much of the discussion around the mobile user experience typically focuses around the end users themselves, rather than what service providers and their suppliers might be doing differently.

The key enablers for service developers in creating a better mobile user experience are to be found in software. In essence, users need to find what they want, when they want it, with minimal complexity and to a satisfactory quality. Device environments, service discovery, device management, user experience optimisation and content lifecycle management are the main solution domains of interest.

All offer plenty of opportunities for software providers, but all are subject to intense competition moving forward. However, providing a great mobile user experience is a holistic enterprise. It requires the service provider to have an overview of the entire process of designing, managing and delivering mobile services and products to consumers.

New entrants such as media companies, content providers and MVNOs, which lack a legacy of mobile service infrastructure, will also have an increasing influence over users and the mobile services they consume. Solutions to the mobile user experience challenge must therefore encompass these new players too.

Table of contents

Key messages
Analysis
Why is the mobile user experience important?
A new innovation/growth model is needed
MUE means that suppliers must think differently
What makes for a good mobile user experience?
Key (software) technology enablers for MUE
Isn’t this the role of OSS/BSS?
Mobile user experience also requires a holistic view
The service provider at the centre?
Guaranteeing the mobile user experience in a post-service-provider world

Table of figures

Figure 1 Key enablers to the mobile user experience
Figure 2 The mobile user experience lifecycle