The communications industry is shifting to software-as-a-service model for consumer mobile products, says a marketing expert whose company plays a big role in helping cell phone carriers put new platforms into those hand-held devices.

A major reason for that trend, says Keith Higgins, vice president for marketing at Silicon Valley’s Aricent, is the open-operating system.

“I think there’s no question that the allure of the open-operating system has got the attention of a lot of people in the communications industry,” Higgins says. “What they can do on top of it, I think, is where we are right now.”

Another shift to watch for, says Higgins, is the potential of “rebalancing of the work load between the network and the device” by taking advantage of Cloud services.

More details on that possibility, along with other forecasts and trends will be introduced at the Mobile World Congress scheduled for Feb. 15-18 in Barcelona, Spain. Mobile industry leaders from around the world are expected at the four-day conference, which is considered the mobile industry’s biggest show.

The battle for cell phone subscribers will have fresh emphasis for communications companies, making this a “must invest year for a lot of people,” Higgins says.

Aricent provides “holistic” design and commercialization consulting for communications companies with 33 offices worldwide.