In a new survey conducted recently by Robert Half Technology, it was found that 27% of CIOs polled currently have mobile apps, while another 27% are planning one by the end of 2012.

The survey, conducted by an independent research firm and based on telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CIOs from companies across the United States, also found that a full 43% are planning mobile apps for 2013 or later.

Read the rest of this entry »

Juniper Research, the UK based analysis powerhouse, released a new report earlier this month that places the usage rate of remote monitoring solutions much higher that previous projections.

According to their studies, cardiac monitoring will be the leading use of the new category of mHealth tools followed closely by diabetes and COPD chronic management.  Driving factors behind the increase are the increasing penetration of smartphones in the worldwide population along with projected increases in computing power.

Read the full release by Juniper HERE.

According to the Direct Marketing Association’s recent “Power of Direct” study, email brought in an average of $40.56 for every dollar spent in 2011, with that number projected to decrease to roughly $39.40 in 2012 as many marketers are “missing out on opportunities to fully capitalize on email’s power.”

“Too many programs fail to incorporate customer data effectively, to deliver more targeted and relevant emails,” says Matthew Kirsch, senior manager of online marketing at DirecTV. “The challenge with social and other new technologies is that an emailer can expend time and money chasing the newest thing and fall further behind on the nuts and bolts that will make meaningful and measurable improvements in his or her program,” he explains.

Read the rest of this entry »

The concept of mobile privacy has been thrown into the spotlight more than ever recently as the fiasco surrounding Carrier IQ has come to light.  As such, new mobile privacy guidelines are being proposed to combat the fears of consumers and help keep sensitive mobile data secure and private.

This week, Rep. Edward Markey introduced what could become federal legislation to add mobile privacy safeguards to mobile phone users in the United States.  Markey released a “discussion draft” of the proposed “Mobile Device Privacy Act,” which would obligate wireless operators and their partners to “notify subscribers if they employ mobile analytics measurement tools like the controversial Carrier IQ.”

Read the rest of this entry »

In email marketing, like all messaging, the content needs to be as relevant as possible to ensure effectiveness and a solid ROI.  In a recent article on PracticaleCommerce.com, the author details three simple tips marketers can use to improve communication relevancy.

The three main elements discussed are advanced personalization, enlisting dynamic content and using “date-triggered campaigns.”  These tips and more echo what we’ve been telling our clients for years in terms of improving everything from delivery, unsubscription rates, and of course, relevancy.

The full article is available here.

The hosting gurus and go to guys for actionable IT ideas, onlinetech.com, have released a new guide to preventing HIPAA violations in 2012. The piece goes over HIPAA’s new enforcement procedures, requirements that are coming in the pipeline as well as steps that any organization can take to avoid an audit or a violation.  These include…

Mobile Device Security
Business Associate Agreements
Internal Operations

The list assumes a very hardware centric environment with little management capabilities, but overall its a good quick read with some ideas on preventing a breach.

Read the full article here.

According to a new report out from market research firm PQ Media, revenue earned from mobile and social media marketing is expected to surge more than 31% in 2012.

The firm noted that the market grew an equally impressive 30.2% during 2011 to top out at $45.4B in total revenue for the year.  Over the last five years, from 2006 through 2011, mobile and social media revenue grew at a compound annual growth rate of 28.7% as well.  The report identified three broad sectors of mobile and social media, including mobile advertising and marketing; mobile content and access; and Online social media.

Read the rest of this entry »

In a guest post on Mashable recently, Scott Forshay — a brand marketing consultant and mobile strategist often featured in the Wall Street Journal, Luxury Daily and PSFK — offers up 5 common flaws seen in brands’ mobile marketing strategies.

Many brands underestimate the power of the mobile channel in terms of contextual relevance, immediacy and many other attributes that make it one of the most effective marketing channels around.  This is part of the reason we here at mobileStorm make sure every client receives a dedicated account rep to guide them through their mobile strategy to ensure they’re getting the highest ROI possible.

Read Mr. Forshay’s five commons flaws here.

Information Weeks Healthcare division has released a new list of up and coming tools for tightening Healthcare Security.  Great list indeed but it seems to assume that the given organization has a primarily hardware based infrastructure. I’m not saying this isn’t valuable because for this most part, this is the way things really are in the current HC environment.

In the future, however, the proliferation of single sign-on, member centric solutions will make these sort of discussions moot and these solutions archaic and outdated.  Right now they’re very very valuable as a bandaid for our security concerns.

Read the guide HERE.

In an article over at ClickZ today, the author details 25 things email marketers must avoid in 2012, covering everything from a lack of testing to not dealing with deliverability and list hygiene issues.

What’s the overall recommendation?  ”Have a list for big picture initiatives and blocking-and-tackling measures,” the author explains.  ”Then figure out the best way and resources to accomplish both of them and establish a reasonable timeline. Oh, and make sure you avoid some traps that strangle progress and end any chance for positive momentum.”

The full list of 25 things to avoid is available here.