What is missing for the full deployment of mobile search services? results from a survey with experts

Abstract

Web search providers have developed a highly successful business model, which has rendered them amongst some of the most profitable companies operating on the internet. Many observers regard mobile search as the next new big market. In contrast to search on PCs, however, the provision of search on mobiles is still in its infancy. In order to shed light on the real prospects of mobile search we performed a two-round Delphi exercise with experts, in which we included two innovative elements. First, the Delphi exercise included seven forward-looking scenarios for discussion. Then, the second round of the Delphi was carried out during a workshop with 19 of the original 61 participants involved. In this paper we present the findings from the discussions of this final round.