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E-commerce is a long-established form of business that has been growing steadily since its start in the 1990s. As mobile devices continue to increase in popularity and technology becomes more robust and dynamic, mobile commerce is exploding with new growth opportunities, according to Business Insider. Taking advantage of Business Analytics and Optimization will be a key issue for IT managers seeking insight from social, web and mobile data.

In an article written by senior editor Kevin Woodward in Internet Retailer, a recently administered survey was conducted on mobile sales. They found that there was a 20 percent increase in retailers' belief in the importance of mobile sales over retail from a year ago, rising from 59 percent to 79 percent. The survey included eight online retailers, 17 retail chains, seven consumer brand manufacturers and four catalog/call centers during the months of July and August 2013. They found that mobile retail sales are continuing to grow rapidly and companies are focusing many of their efforts on deploying customer-facing solutions for all devices. IT professionals at midsize businesses will find that instituting a mobile plan of action will greatly improve their chances to successfully satisfy goals in their department. An increasing number of supply chains and other vendors are dependent on technology to assist with sales and customer interaction, so becoming more dynamic will help meet the needs of both companies and vendors.

The study also notes that many companies are turning to responsive design in order to fulfill their needs within the ever-expanding mobile device market that now includes phones, tablets, wearables and other breeds of cross-functional devices. Many IT departments are currently witnessing the ways that mobile and social media are testing the limits of older infrastructures. Companies will be expecting flexible, yet streamlined IT services deployed for new devices and way to integrate and predict user experience and data management.

There are numerous studies and data points that indicate how a user behaves before, during and after their online shopping experiences. Getting the most from user data before releasing a customer facing app or site is of the utmost importance in deployment. For instance, users are often unpredictable to developers, so using analytics can help inform how a platform will be used, and getting beta analytics may broaden or narrow the scope of a given project. Functions, features and design play an integral role in online, mobile and social commerce.

Holidays are coming soon and projected online sales are expected to rise about 15 percent in November and December, up from 16 percent from last year. By comparison, mobile sales are projected to increase by 68 percent. During the holiday season, IT departments have an opportunity to track business trends that could be useful in deploying mobile sales initiatives. Are there certain products that are more attractive to mobile shoppers? Was shopping done through a mobile site or an app? What was the growth of that platform for sales this year or quarter? What kind of feedback do customers give? The same questions can be asked of the habits of desktop PC shoppers, which will help midsize companies prepare for the next year.

A keen eye toward the growth and development of mobile technological trends will give IT professionals the knowledge and the tools to make their company competitive through continued optimization of performance.