Sixty-eight percent of the world’s population is women and children who could benefit much from mobile technology, but the majority of mobile devices are designed by men, for men, according to Gartner. At Gartner Emerging Trends Symposium/ITxpo 2008, industry analysts discussed the demographic and gender trends that will influence mobile technology adoption through 2018. Product line-ups will include greater choice and personalization.

According to Gartner, the user profile to which most mobile products are targeted is a western adult male (age 20 to 64), but this represents just 32 percent of the global population.

“Mobile products will have to address gender diversity and demographics, evolving and differentiating into a range of consumer products,” said Monica Basso, research vice president at Gartner. “This trend, together with the consumerization of IT and progressive evolution of the worker population towards younger individuals and women will force user organizations to re-think their working structures, environments and processes.”

Gartner says three big trends will affect enterprise demographics through 2018:

Retirement will be pushed back in developed countries as baby boomers remain in their jobs, pursuing more-diversified career plans. Leading enterprises will develop talent programs for people at different career stages, ages and professional cross-roads and cultural, ethnic and gender diversity will rise with workforce migration, increasing activities within emerging countries, and increasing female workforce presence.

Cultural, ethnic and gender diversity will rise; diversity is a valuable asset that enterprises must embrace to extend the reach and raise the service levels of their IT organization.

Digital natives will bring new skills, cultures, preferences and expectations, forcing enterprises to pursue discontinuous talent and work practices. Their power within organizations will increase because they have more technological skills; more knowledge and use of social networks and smartphones; greater familiarity with innovative consumer products and business models; and increased ability to retrieve information.

“As a new mix of younger users replaces the less-varied profiles of those retiring, it will be the organizations that best understand the diversity of requirements and expectations that achieve the greatest levels of user productivity and satisfaction,” Ms. Basso said. “With more digital natives and women joining organizations, the impact of consumerization on IT will become more visible. Users will demand more choices in the devices, applications and services they use and their preferences will be for consumer products and services rather than traditional business centric ones.”

Gartner analysts said that by 2015, people will customize 90 percent of the information, tools, and educational and technological resources they use at work, at home and for entertainment. Personalization is key to meeting different target market expectations and can be pursued in mobile software, services, accessories and devices.

“Despite hundreds of different mobile devices and models available on the market, personalization is very limited today. It is mostly about aesthetics and cosmetics -- covers in fancy colors and materials, themes with images and ringing tones, accessories like hanging items and holders,” Ms. Basso said. “Normally it does not concern functionality and the form factor, which are rigidly assigned to a device depending on the target market segment. Eventually the form and function of mobile devices will be reinvented.”

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