I came across this blog in another forum, but there was no discussion on it yet. I am interested and would like another person's viewpoint.

It's about hosters offering mobile on their control panel, and how mobile is becoming a standard offering. Is this so? It is rather clever to connect mobile services to hosting, and certainly scalable. But is that really the direction? Any thoughts on this??

In today's modern society I would say, definitely yes. I can't go one day without using my cell phone online, whether it's accepting orders, checking my email, or even login to my personal cPanel accounts.

I love mine too. An Android, and Im hooked. I think in 5 years we might be leaning toward increased phone usage, versus this idea that mobile is maybe just a fad. I use it when I travel to get directions, find restaurants, find hotels, find things to do, shopping- tons of web related stuff. In which case, hosters offering optimized mobile sites could be very clever.

From the standpoint of a provider, I think it is very important to be able to check in / perform key functions of the business while 'on the go'. Whether it be verifying a new order, checking the server status or being able to read/respond to tickets while away from the desk, all very important.

From the client point of view, I can see being able to access and manage certain aspects of their account being a plus. Pay a bill, submit a ticket, check server status, etc. But I doubt anyone is really using a mobile device/phone to publish / work on their sites.

I am not really referring to building a mobile website on the phone, because you are right on all those points. Just, having an optimized mobile site for businesses. Optimized sites load faster, have bigger buttons, and are more user-friendly. I've been schooled on this. Many of my customers could use a nice looking mobile site, but I am curious about the approach of hosters offering this ability. Could give lots of room to scale.

The mobile market is huge. Having control panels and interfaces to work on a mobile phone etc are a necessity. I can't tell you how many resellers that we host that use the control panel via their phone to monitor their sites, perform server restarts, submit tickets etc etc. It's all about accessibility, and the phone is just one more thing to think about.

Years ago we used to have a phone line that users could call and get reboots done on their servers (all automated via a modem in the PDU). Making a clickable interface was just evolution.

Mobile phone has become a must, at least for me, when ever I am out I check my emails, new orders, Support tickets to be answered by me or any other kind of notifications.

I would say yes too, especially if you have professionnal customers. It is always good to have a mobile access to read emails, or change something on a webpage if we are far from a computer.

And the most important thing : by going mobile (only few web hosting companies are 100 % on mobile), you will have new customers, choosing you for this feature and your innovation. Do not forget that the future is not the internet, it is the mobile...

Totally agree, but I think that this mostly counts for staff, mobile for internal stuff, like accepting orders, turning down fraudulent orders, checking emails, etc.

But for the consumer, I don't think this is really critical, however it will gain more and more demand as mobile devices evolve.

If you are a provider, mobile is not a must it's a necessity.
You can receive your orders, alerts, phone calls, reach your employees. My mobile is always with me day and night.

It's not only for hosting company that is a must, as soon you are in business you need one.

If you have any problem then you can discuss it with other people to find solution. I think, forums, discussions, and blogs are best ways to find the solution of your problem.

Yes, I use my Android every day for many different things. The obvious one is replying to support tickets, however it's also good to be able to check your uptime (Pingdom have an amazing app for that), access your paypal to verify if orders have gone through (again, a very nice app), SSH (bit harder on a phone, so it's only there for emergencies) and there are lots more which are amazing- not forgetting those web comic apps (XKCD)! <== Super important!