The Recession Ends, Mobility Stays Hot in 2013

The New York Times has an interesting story in its Dealbook section floating the premise that venture and investment money is flowing into less glitzy and, presumably, less risky projects. Instead, Nicole Perlroth writes, the projects being favored are basic and perhaps a bit boring. She says that mobile security, data analytics, storage, mobile payments and mobile concierge services are getting seats at the cool kids’ table.

Perlroth no doubt knows the numbers, so her take on the way money is flowing probably is on target. It makes sense that an economy that is gaining momentum after hard times will do so quickly as pent-up demand seeks to be met. In this case, two of the four areas garnering the most interest, at least according to Perlroth, are related to mobility.

This is not the only indication that investments in mobility are likely to get hot. I blogged about budget predictions from IDC that point to increased IT spending next year and the firm’s assessment that the main driver of that investment will be in what it calls the “third platform.”

Other signs of interest are not hard to find. Here are two examples, courtesy of Venture Beat and CIO.com. The former reported on a deal announced earlier this month:

Zenprise has been acquired by Citrix, which may come as a surprise to Silicon Valley insiders who expected an initial public offering from the red-hot mobile security startup.

I am not sure about the nuances of how or why a company chooses between being acquired or issuing an IPO, but the sense that Zenprise is operating from a position of strength is unmistakable.

CIO.com, meanwhile, reports on an acquisition that touches on two of Perlroth’s categories by the CIA, of all organizations. Q-Tel, the Central Intelligence Agency’s technology investment arm, is taking a stake in Tyfone. The story describes the company as “a small developer of mobile banking, identity management and near-field communication systems.”

None of this is surprising. A couple of macro trends are coalescing to form the landscape for next year: The end of the recession is unleashing significant pent-up spending. Much of that investment naturally will be lavished on mobility, which is continuing to expand into and reshape every nook and cranny of the consumer and business worlds.