We recently read about one of the largest e-commerce companies in India going 100% mobile. They shut down their web site and are now servicing strictly mobile customers. On the face of it, this might look like a rash decision but according to a recent study, close to 75% of their customers are mobile customers.

While 75% of revenue was coming from mobile clients, 75% of the resources were being consumed by non mobile related development. In some circles, this decision will be seen akin to Henry Ford giving all his employees a raise so each one could afford a Model T. This transition to mobile is not an India centric phenomenon. In May of 2014, Shopify did an analysis of 100,000 mobile stores and said that 50.4% of all traffic was mobile.

Google recently came out with a study that 81% of all smartphone users use their phones to help make purchasing decisions even when they are in brick and mortar stores. Another study stated that shopping from mobile devices is up by 101% over the same quarter last year.

So the results are clear, mobile is here and it's growing. Faster than any other form of customer interaction. The question is, are you ready? Are you ready for mobile users to access your apps while on the fly? They might be using 3G or 4G connections. Majority in the US are on IOS and Android with some Windows but outside the US, the story is different.

There aren't a whole lot of countries that are offering unlimited data/mobile plans as in the US. Use of data saving apps like Opera Max is not only common but is increasing and will continue to do so.

The writing is on the wall. Your business needs a clear Mobile Application strategy and it's going to determine how successful the business will be. Sooner or later, a majority of your customers will interact with you using their mobile devices. They will use different OS's and different network bandwidth. Slow connection (although due to issues on their end) are your problem because they will impact your bottom line. Your apps not only need to be working but will need to be optimized for the new paradigm.