M-commerce is the term used to describe the wireless commerce that can occur by businesspeople on the move with the use of such mobile technologies as a cell phone, personal digital assistant (PDA) or smartphone. While M-commerce business is not yet as widespread as electronic commerce, it is definitely growing in popularity and functionality. With the proper steps and precautions, mobile commerce technology may be the next big thing in business advancement.

There are some obvious concerns when it comes to wireless commerce. Understanding mobile commerce (M-commerce) news and trends can help businesses maintain awareness of mobile commerce technology concerns such as:

1. Mobile commerce security issues;

2. The most effective and profitable M-commerce software available to businesses;

3. And the future of the world of wireless commerce and how your company can stay on board to maximize the benefits.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Know the most popular mobile e-commerce programs and applications

By acknowledging what consumers are looking for from their mobile e-commerce programs, companies stand a greater chance of succeeding in adopting the best technologies into their business programs. With these programs and applications in use, companies could likely maximize their benefits.

I recommend: Get Elastic takes a look at some of the most used and anticipated mobile e-commerce programs and applications. MobileInfo.com offers an abstract look at the applications most likely to make money for businesses.

Subscribe to magazines or blogs offering mobile commerce information

Nothing is more influential for expressing information surrounding M-commerce than related magazines and blogs. Recent or current subscriptions will keep businesses on the cutting edge of mobile commerce (M-commerce) news and trends.

I recommend: Check out eTail dTail, a popular free e-commerce and M-commerce blog. Inc.com also offers influential industry articles. PC Magazine covers such stories as new and alluring mobile business devices.

Stay up to date on M-commerce and mobile commerce software and security methods

In addition to regularly making sure to update your mobile commerce software, which can often be done with automatic reminders from the mobile commerce providers, you may also benefit from staying informed when it comes to mobile e-commerce security countermeasures.

I recommend: SecurityFocus.com offers a great deal of pertinent information about the industry and security trends with regard to M-commerce. ECommerceTimes.com also offers information about M-commerce security.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Make sure your staff is aware of security practices that can keep sensitive information safe. The more your employees know about M-commerce technology and the world of wireless commerce, the more effective they will be at using the software and technologies. Keep everyone, not just yourself, in the loop when it comes to wireless ecommerce practices, advancements, benefits and uses.

If security on the Internet is questionable, then m-commerce is poorly armed, especially when your customers are paying from their mobile phone. There is big money in m-commerce. However, threats like identity theft are serious security breaches when it comes to m-commerce technology, particularly with mobile banking. When making the transition to m-commerce, you have to proactively face and solve security and technical issues.

Be patient and use foresight. Consider these tips for a smooth transition to mobile commerce:

1. Consider why your business might be suitable for wireless commerce.

2. Do business with mobile commerce companies who ensure your website will work on mobile web. Mobile commerce technology requires some format changes to display and function correctly on the mobile web.

3. Use a mobile commerce provider service with end-to-end security for your m-commerce applications. You want to protect your clients as well as your own information.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Consider your business options in wireless commerce

Venture into m-commerce by providing business services such as local offers, local maps, people tracking, sports reports, financial and stocks pages. Net security is a big issue with mobile banking. Providing mobile web security could be a profitable venture.

I recommend: Get your Payment Card Industry standards online through the PCI Security Standards Council, LLC. Try Comodo HackerGuardian free before you buy software to accept any customer credit card information over the Internet. Some other vendors, such as ControlScan, offer seals to show your clients how committed you are to securing their information.

Get WiMAX-enabled dashtop mobile payment platforms for mobile ecommerce

New 3G mobile networks have made m-commerce business dreams a reality, and the next step toward the creation of total mobile commerce applications is WiMAX, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. It's the next step up from Wi-Fi, and will enable consumers to purchase movie and event tickets. Those tickets, or a virtual representation with a barcode for point-of-sale scanning, can be sent to mobile phones via special m-commerce providers.

I recommend: Get mobile commerce software like MerchantAnywhere that will allow you to sell directly to customers. Sell movie tickets, sports events, and tickets for the performing arts over the mobile web using Mobiqa.

Discover the best providers of mobile ecommerce and mobile commerce information security

There are many technical reasons which can cause website flubs on the mobile web. Sometimes it is best if you put away your web gear and let the specialists do the m-commerce lifting for your business. After all, business opportunists know better than to overspecialize, and having others work for you is smart business.

I recommend: See how you can set up a mobile storefront in 15 minutes with a live demo from mPoria, Inc. Make sure you have security solutions like those from GuardianEdge to protect your electronic merchandise or intellectual property from hackers and middle-man attacks against your clients.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Think about the content of your wireless ecommerce website, and determine if that content is clearly visible to your viewers. Wireless e-commerce is like any other Internet business, but designed for the mobile web. Remember to ask any provider of mobile web page design to show you the mock ups from a mobile device.

Mobile commerce (m-commerce) education and training is somewhat harder to find than other areas of commerce, since this area is new and constantly changing. Companies are still investigating how to monetize their business in this area. This means the field is wide open for anyone with an idea that takes off.

Since there are still a relatively small percentage of people who own smart phones, some industries are more likely to be successful in mobile commerce. Industries that are most commonly involved in some form of mobile commerce include:

1. Banks and financial services companies use mobile commerce to make payments, to give users access to their accounts and to conduct stock market transactions.

2. Retailers are interested in ways to sell goods and services using mobile commerce and also provide coupons and advertising to their customers and potential customers.

3. Publishers and media outlets use mobile commerce to deliver electronic news and digital audio and video to customers, often as a subscription or for a one-time fee.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Become familiar with the basics of mobile commerce technology

Mobile commerce applications are becoming more and more popular because more people are adopting some form of smart phone as their regular cell phone. If you don't have one of these phones yourself, some of the vocabulary can be a little confusing. Learn how it all works so you can make sense of how it can benefit your company.

I recommend: ETC News Network provides up-to-date information on mobile commerce technology and offers articles on manufacturers that are incorporating it. Make sense of mobile commerce vocabulary with the Mobile Phone Glossary at Movaya Wireless, a provider of mobile content and tools.

Learn about mobile commerce providers who deal in mobile banking

Mobile phones bring data into our hands in a way that can be even more convenient than banking via the Internet. However, mobile phones have their own security issues and you need to be familiar with them if you want to do business in this way. Find out how your company can benefit from using some form of mobile banking.

I recommend: Read a short, informative discussion of mobile banking at Compass Plus. Learn how mobile commerce can help you business by reading the article at Firethorn Holdings.

Find out where to go to learn more in-depth information about m-commerce

The best place to actually meet people who work for and with mobile commerce companies is a mobile commerce convention or conference. Since the technology is so new and is still evolving, a conference will have the most recent information. Books and websites also have good information, but watch for dates and confirm anything more than two years old with a more recent source.

I recommend: SourceMedia Conference offers information on the annual Mobile Commerce Summit conference, which can help you to learn about mobile banking and commerce from those with experience. Find a book about mobile ecommerce from American Management Association.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  You may know the term mobile commerce as wireless commerce or wireless ecommerce because manufacturers make the communication wirelessly. However, when discussing computer-related technology, the industry most commonly uses the word wireless when referring to Wi-Fi technology, which is different than cell phone technology.

Mobile commerce, sometimes known as m-commerce, is the evolving field of using the technology of cellular phones to sell and market to customers and potential customers. This includes the more advanced subset called smart phones. As more and more people purchase phones that do more than simply make phone calls, more and more options are available to those who come up with clever ways to use this technology.

One form of mobile commerce that you can use is mobile marketing. Whether it's in the form of simple text messages or mobile vouchers or coupons, you may find a way to use it for your business. Some businesses may be able to provide actual content delivery via cell phone, including mobile ticketing, and other businesses will provide services such as mobile banking or location-based services.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Mobile marketing

Mobile marketing involves finding ways to use mobile technology to market to people, either as a primary marketing campaign or to use this technology as part of an overall marketing program.

I recommend: Find out more about mobile marketing at the mobile marketing center of the Cell Signs website.

Mobile vouchers or coupons

Companies may send mobile vouchers or coupons to a person's cell phone. These coupons can either offer them a special discount off of a purchase, or offer them a certain dollar amount of free merchandise. A voucher would most often work like a gift card, and a coupon would often be a marketing device to entice people to shop at a specific store.

I recommend: Mobile Vouchers describes this concept and provides case studies for this mobile commerce option.

Content delivery

Content delivery refers to actually getting the product into the hands of the consumer. You can deliver content via cell phone and other mobile devices. This content may include mobile vouchers, mobile tickets, ringtones, video, audio and text files and software applications designed to run on smart phones.

I recommend: Read an article about m-commerce that discusses trends including content delivery at ECT News Network.

Mobile ticketing

Mobile ticketing is when, instead of issuing a paper ticket for an event, a person has a ticket sent to and stored on his or her cell phone. This feature can be used whether the person purchased the ticket using the phone or by different means.

I recommend: Hand Held Products describes mobile ticketing solutions that it offers. You can also get an overview at the company's homepage.

Mobile banking

Mobile banking refers to providing banking services that users can take advantage of from their cell phones or smart phones.

I recommend: Read an article about mobile banking at "xchange," a division of Virgo Publishing.

Location-based services

Location-based services are services that get information from the user or their cell phone about their exact current location and utilize that information. Examples can include weather, traffic and mapping services, but could include targeted advertising to those in or near the location of a business.

I recommend: Learn all about m-commerce-related, location-based services at MobileInfo.com.