Twenty years ago, when the mobile phone industry started in the UK, phones were the size and the shape of bricks. They were expensive fashion items for well-heeled City types and did only one thing: make phone calls. The huge progress since is thanks largely to a progressive, deregulated environment, and the work of some pioneers and evangelists who understood where mobile might take us.

There are now more mobile phones than UK citizens – 63 million at the last count. These phones are capable of amazing things. Playing music, checking email and playing games are standard practice.

And as the technical capability of devices has accelerated, so has the UK’s mobile landscape. It is still evolving incredibly fast. Three years ago there was only a handful of significant companies operating outside the network operators’ world, now there are hundreds.

A recent survey by O2, conducted in conjunction with Real Business, identified more than 200 independent firms that were creating innovative mobile products and services for businesses and consumers.

The survey’s list of 50 companies to watch, published this week, accounts for nearly £1bn in revenues in the past year – a sign that mobile is no longer just a poor relation to mainstream telecoms and internet technologies, but an industry in its own right.

The implications for UK business are vast. The mobile industry is not just about games and ringtones. Companies on the 50 to watch list are in some of the fastest-moving and most profitable markets, helping the likes of Google, Disney, Coca-Cola, Ford, Cisco and Visa to develop marketing strategies based on mobile technologies.

Aggregators such as WIN (Wireless Information Network) are building applications that save companies significant amounts of money. One example is a service for the AA that reduced the incidence of recalls to its breakdown call centre by 80 per cent.

Companies such as Volantis are helping companies such as the FT, Egg, Norwich Union, Interflora, Ladbrokes and dozens of others to create fully functional mobile versions of their services.

Brands such as these do not throw money at any old mobile project. Experienced IT directors know how difficult it is to build useful, working mobile applications, and they know they need reliable business partners.

Many of the founders of the 50 to watch companies have impressive track records in firms such as Microsoft, CSC, Lucent, Symbian and Tiscali. They have built profitable organisations with good track records in delivery and execution, and are substantial businesses in their own right. Opera Telecom, the biggest aggregators in the UK, reported revenues of £99m in 2004, with a £6m profit.

And these firms are well-placed to support UK and international businesses. As GSM access expands to more than 200 countries and two billion users, a vast export market is emerging.

The UK mobile industry has reached a critical mass – not just of technology providers, but of the innovation that firms need to maximise the opportunities provided by mobile.

In some organisations that innovation is being expressed in relatively simple applications, such as PC-to-text services that allow managers to communicate quickly and effectively across entire mobile workforces without leaving their desk. It is being found in live financial services that let people manage their bank accounts or insurance policies, or to share trades securely from mobile devices. And in other cases it is creating new retail channels that break the reliance on costly outlets and call centres.

No organisation can ignore mobile for much longer. The bigger issue is what you do with it, and how you blend it with existing technology and processes to ensure a sustainable fit.

UK companies have come a long way in helping people address those issues. There is no better place to be building mobile products and services, and there is no better way to help organisations give themselves an edge, not just in local markets but internationally too.

Mike Short is chairman of the Mobile Data Association