Companies are under increasing pressure to drive mobility in the connected world. Yet not many in South Africa have embraced mobility to the extent that it has been impacting their bottom line. Some feel the need to develop a mobile strategy before they act. This is not necessary, says Andrew King, mobility specialist at Gijima Holdings.
What is required is a security, governance, risk, and compliance platform that can be used to launch mobile initiatives that support the business strategy of a company. You do not need a mobile strategy that stands separate from your stated business objectives.
Companies need to adopt a tactical approach to solving business challenges with mobile devices, apps, and content that can be developed on an ongoing basis. It is important to remember that a mobile strategy will evolve as the company addresses inefficient processes.
Mobile devices are not meant to replace desktop computers or notebooks. They aren’t intended to be smaller or lighter access points to the same enterprise applications and systems that have been the bedrock of corporate computing for more than a decade.
Mobile devices were conceived to change the way we interact with data and content, aiding us to make better decisions more rapidly. . It would not be far-fetched to say that mobile is the biggest ICT game-changer since the dawn of the Internet.
The consumer within
Mobility does not have to be complex. We are all consumers and we know how we use our mobile devices to live more efficiently. So as a business decision-maker, you need to ask yourself what app, data or content on your mobile device will enable you to work more efficiently and achieve your KPIs more effectively.
And if you are a line manager, there are universal deliverables to be met irrespective of industry – things like growing revenue, reducing customer churn, managing risk more effectively, improving process efficiency, and reducing or maintaining operational costs are all key elements of doing business.
Now imagine if you can address just one of the above elements with a mobile solution instead of trying to chart the course of your entire organisational mobile strategy for the next two years. We all know mobile technology changes at a rapid pace. Do you really think that a two-year mobile strategy will be cognisant of all the potential changes? Instead, focus on what can be achieved in the short-term.
Consider the following as potential points of departure:
Your field-based workforce or that of your contractor is responsible for installing, repairing or replacing equipment against a service level agreement. Instead of an army of call coordinators calling or texting this field service team before and after every customer visit, your mobile team could have a personalised dashboard app of all tickets assigned to him/her, integrated directly with your service desk application.
Field personnel update each client contact, gather customer satisfaction scores and the customer signs the job off in realtime before the ticket is closed. Data quality is dramatically improved, employees are empowered and are more productive and the entire process loop is measurable. Such mobile apps and the process improvements that they allow deliver up to 85% efficiency gains.
A key service delivery or revenue generating process is paper based; survey data is gathered or an application form is completed in ink. Now transfer this data-gathering process to an intelligent form within an app and the glass and keypad of a tablet. Couple this with the geo-location and camera capability of the device and you not only have a more efficient way of gathering the required data, you also instantly transfer data to a database over the air. The service delivery process is initiated within minutes, rather than days or weeks. Biometric signatures can be included and referenced for added security.
Certainly, there are practical challenges to overcome when increasing the number of devices connecting to a corporate network. Things such as a device policy and acceptable use policy need to be considered. Again, existing technology choices and policy frameworks need to be leveraged when adopting mobility, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel.
Fortunately, there are solutions to address this. There are tools that can authenticate users and their devices, provide controlled access to enterprise data, and prevent corporate data leakage. All that is really needed is to work with a technology partner that understands business and who can enable your mobile capabilities.