For nine days, Pyxis Mobile's Mobile Productivity Blog will be publishing a series of articles providing the case for enterprise mobility, along with the technical considerations and evaluation criteria for selecting a mobile partner.
Welcome back! After hearing about all the great benefits having an enterprise mobility strategy can provide for you I’m sure you’re wondering how one can specifically assist you. Today’s chapter is going to help you assess your needs to determine what features would provide the most value for you.
Finding a solution able to deliver an enterprise mobility strategy is a complex proposition that requires careful planning. Managers responsible for such an initiative must evaluate the needs of the entire enterprise.
Key questions managers need to answer:
- What business challenges do you hope to address through a mobility solution? What measurable benefits do you hope to see as a result of its investment?
- How many groups of mobile users do you need to reach? Will this number change over time?
- What different devices and operating systems are in use? And what type of tools are necessary for supporting multiple platforms?
- What business functions are most likely to benefit from real-time wireless data and what specific applications or types of data should be included as part of the mobility strategy? (ie: CRM systems, sales team data, catalog and pricing information, HR and benefits data, etc.)
- What types of workflows need to be developed so that information can be easily accessed and effectively utilized by different audiences?
- How many different back end systems will need to be integrated? What are they?
- Are there existing web portals that can be mobilized – if so, how many? How can they be tied together in a mobile application?
After you’ve found the answers to the questions above, you will be able to make an informed decision about an enterprise mobility solution that is right for the needs of you and your company.
Taking this initial step to consider and analyze all aspects that need to be incorporated in your enterprise mobility expansion will save you time, money, and internal resources in the future.
Single-solution product releases: more than you bargained for?
Earlier this year, a major insurance company launched a mobile iPhone application for policyholders. It allowed the company to capitalize on the popularity of the iPhone, but the employees who developed the application ad hoc didn’t necessarily anticipate the subsequent fallout.
- Upon release, thousands of users downloaded the app to their iPhones, creating a drain on internal resources. IT personnel were diverted to application QA and support, while development time was spent rolling out subsequent versions compatible with the iPhone’s new OS.
- Apple’s iPhone holds an 11% market share10, while Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Blackberry hold a combined 80 percent share. Had the insurer considered this, it could have executed a comprehensive mobile strategy that addressed more than just its iPhone customers.
- The insurer’s customers are only one user group requiring mobile access to its data systems, but the application offered no benefits to employees and partners. If the insurer had conducted a thorough needs analysis and cost benefit analysis, it might have better understood the total cost of ownership associated with releasing an iPhone app as well as the ways that mobile solutions could benefit other areas of the business.
This anecdote underscores the necessity of a comprehensive mobile strategy and the inefficiencies and resource drain associated with single-solution strategies that don’t account for multiple mobile devices and platforms, the needs of different user groups, or total cost of ownership.
Come back on Tuesday for the next chapter where we’ll be talking about the realities of creating a custom solution in-house vs. purchasing a packaged deal. Which do you think is best for your company? Have a great long weekend!
Comments