Mobile technologies in Russia: from the first gadgets to corporate solutions

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Mobile technology has a special place in the history of IT.  Then even pagers were a rarity, and cell phones were available only to the most elite … Cellular communication was not at all included in the field of vision of the IT industry, despite the fact that it was IT that made the implementation of this technology possible. Now it is a key area in IT, actively influencing the development of the IT market as a whole.

And the growing importance of mobility, in turn, has long been a key trend in the development of IT in general.

The next generation of smartphones and tablets are rapidly conquering the consumer market and are beginning to decisively advance into the corporate environment.

of phones” and the beginning of the “era of smartphones”, blurring the boundaries between the consumer and corporate markets, the beginning of a radical technological transformation of the market and

“Until 2007, the mobile device market developed in different directions,” says Dmitry Vinogradovite, Distribution Director of the Wide-Profile Distribution Division of Merion. The first exits from the market of seemingly leading players (Siemens Mobile, then Ban-Siemens) began. Samsung, LG, SonyEricsson) focused on the usual “feature phones” (phones with rigidly fixed functionality), considering smartphones, which were implemented in the ideology of computers with flexible application installation, as a promising direction, but still a more distant future.  Cameras were positioned separately – devices that “specialize” in photography. iPhone has set the trend for creating devices that combine all possible functions for both work and play and use touch screen technology.  A global redistribution of the market between device manufacturers and OS developers has begun. ”

Viktoria Kubina, Marketing Director of Troland, speaks about the same, emphasizing that until 2007, users purchased mobile equipment almost exclusively for cellular communication, and with the advent of the iPhone, the demand for devices for a wide range of tasks began to form sharply (phone, player, camera, pocket computer). A huge role was played by a beautiful and user-friendly design, this made a mobile device not only useful, but also fashionable (which is very important for success in the mass market), and the installation of a modern OS in it is easy to learn for all categories of users. “All the changes that have occurred on the market in the future – the rise of Samsung, the appearance of the available Android OS, the appearance of many smartphones – this is the development of the very trend of” one device “set by Steve Jobs, and a consequence of the enormous popularity and demand for such devices”, – the expert is sure …

Alexander Slepukhin, Director of the Mobile Communications Department of Marvel Distribution, illustrates the changes by the example of the composition of market leaders: in Russia in 2006–2007. five manufacturers (Nokia, Motorola, Sony Erickson, LG, Samsung) covered 83% of the market, and each of them had significant individual differences in design, device form factor, and target audience. Now the market is divided into two parts: iOS devices, presented by one company, and an overheated market for Android devices with minimal differences between smartphones from different manufacturers. Today the “fighting” is in the marketing and distribution model.

2010–2013: the market “tried out” smartphones, production growth followed by a decrease in their prices, and a sharp drop in the share of conventional phones began. IOS dominates among the OS, but Android is rapidly catching up with it, and Microsoft is trying to chase them with its Windows Phone. New generation tablets have appeared, and the first of them were more likely smartphones with a large screen diagonal; the pioneers and leaders of this market were Samsung and Apple. The struggle between these two corporations is a characteristic feature of the development of the mobile technology market all over the world.

2013 to present: Long live China!  the smartphone and tablet market, which in a short time begin to crowd out the leaders, although in Russia China’s success became noticeable with some delay (including due to the weakness of the operator’s product offerings).
Speaking about the situation in Russia, Victoria Kubina emphasizes that the domestic market is part of the global one: “We do not form trends, but we actively consume everything related to mobile technologies. the popularity of the free Android OS and the Google Play Market. Although Windows has a small market share overall, it has played a big role in making mobile devices more attractive to businesses.

” She also emphasizes that over the past three years, the Russian market for mobile devices has been distinguished by a large volume, massive demand with a focus on minimum prices and high competition. Hundreds of brands of smartphones and tablets could be found in retail stores, so it was not easy for a potential consumer to figure out who is who. However, the negative economic situation and stricter regulatory requirements are beginning to change the landscape, and it can be expected that the number of brands will decrease in the near future. Those who have managed to build the correct work with factories, efficient and transparent logistics, form a sales channel, a positive information environment and high-quality after-sales service will remain.

Ilya Tyurin, the manager of key projects of Huawei Consumer Business Group, believes that the current period of development of the Russian market for smartphones and tablets can be divided into two large stages: “before the advent of Android” and “after”: “Without the Internet, a smartphone turns into a regular phone. iPhone of the first wave – Apple did not provide the AppStore service in Russia, the cost of mobile Internet was high, and the speeds were low. A significant decrease in the price level of smartphones based on Android contributed to a sharp increase in the number of users, increasing the interest of telecom operators in the development of 3G and 4G networks. ”

According to Alexander Slepukhin, the smartphone and tablet markets in Russia developed in a similar way: the release of an innovative product, rapid growth, saturation and stagnation, turning into a market decline. True, he notes that without the influence of all well-known macroeconomic factors, no drop would have happened this year. At the same time, he says that smartphones and tablets occupy different positions on the market: “The smartphone has managed to become a basic necessity,