Today it is vital that businesses of all industries, not just the technology sectors, begin to adapt to the new world order: mobility. When considering the mobile aspect in an organization, you have to consider who and where to invest your dollars in order to gain the greatest impact from a mobile project.
Mobility solutions, such as apps for smartphones and tablets, are now a set of tools that have become embedded in users’ daily lives. For example, how often do you check e-mail on your phone? A few years ago the answer would have been your laptop, but today as it stands, mobile devices are now the top providers of access to the entire platform of communication that included e-mail along with SMS, voice, video conference and social media. For the sake of providing the utmost form of communication it is critical that companies give mobile technology the same appreciate and support as traditional desktop solutions.
Compuware, a provider of mobile solutions, has a deep and broad understanding for how mobility can transform your organization. Many companies are looking to leverage mobility in the following ways:
- Develop a public facing app that can be downloaded from iTunes App store or Google (News - Alert) Play.
- Create Enterprise Strong apps for internal solutions targeting a distributed and mobile workforce.
- Pilot a mobile solution to demonstrate the value of mobility to an organization.
According to Matthew David, chief digital strategist at Compuware (News - Alert), there are three ways an organization can leverage value from mobility:
- Directly with customers who are paying money for services or products (this is seen with eBay (News - Alert), which use its mobile app as a tool for customers to bid and pay for items).
- Improve efficiencies within an organization by providing a distributed and/or mobile workforce access to digital content, tasks and tools that can fit in a pocket.
- Engage directly with strategic partners to improve ‘just in time’ delivery and overall communication.
For small to midsized business, a laptop is still an essential tool for working through spreadsheets and complex systems. “With that said, a phone and tablet can often augment work you do on the desktop,” said David. “For a SMB, tools such as Mint (money management), Evernote (News - Alert) (meeting management) and iWorks (Office documents) give you the tools to complete your work on the run. Being mobile gives you the opportunity to meet with your clients and complete the most important task: closing the sale.”
For the future, David reminds us that mobile is no longer a fad, and neither is cloud or social media. The three technologies are shaking how we work and it is important, for the welfare of your business, that you begin to incorporate such valuable tools to your daily operational functions.
Edited by Alisen Downey