Increased handset demand means the technology will be used for remote document access, too.
The number of consumers purchasing goods through their mobile phone handsets is set to increase by almost 50 per cent by 2014, according to new data released this week by Juniper Research.
As the firm’s latest report predicts, strong growth in the m-commerce sector will take the overall users of such services to 580 million from 393 million in just two years’ time. The projected increase is as a result of greater consumer confidence in browsing and payment through their mobile phones, as well as an improved level of security provided as a result of the spiralling demand.
And the report went on to forecast that the size of such purchases would continue to rise as a result of the bolstered consumer confidence that will come from an increased user base.
Report author Dr Windsor Holden warned that companies that do not embrace such m-commerce technology – particularly those in customer-facing retail ventures – will lag behind their competitors if they choose not to take note of the data.
"Consumers increasingly expect to be able to buy their products and services via their smartphones and tablets," said the expert. "Companies which do not offer this option face falling behind their competitors."
According to the Mobile Payments for Digital & Physical Goods report, mobile transactions are set to top $730 billion (£455 billion) worldwide by 2014 – which echoes a similar finding by Microsoft Tag’s Mobile Marketing study issued in July, which found that mobile internet access was set to overtake fixed internet access across the globe within two years.
Which means mobile handsets are an increasingly important medium of accessing remote document storage for staff and businesses, too. With more companies looking for secure online document storage in the pursuit of a paperless office, the security of such systems – being accessed more regularly outside of work thanks to the BYOD trend – is becoming more important.