Mobile technology has changed human behavior in a very short time like no other. A mobile strategy is imperative. Today, the mobile is the number one platform used by businesses to communicate with their customers; what makes this possible is the fact that more than 91% of mobile users keep their devices within reach all the time. The apps are also following close to mobile strategy and by 2020, cars, assisted living, medical or clinical remote monitoring, pay as you drive insurance as well as building and home security are expected to be connected.
Mobile strategies help businesses to inform, engage and even create new opportunities with their partners, clients and workers. According to a study carried out by mobile enterprises by the IBM Business Value Institute, more than 90% firms based globally are planning to either improve or sustain their mobile technology investments for at least the next one year. Apart from investing in mobile technologies, it takes work and effort to be a mobile leader.
According to the same study, firms with mobile strategies that are well defined are less than half of all existing firms globally. When planning to implement mobile strategies in your company, here are the 3 main areas in IT and business to give the first priority.
Data Insight Transformation
Volumes of data are generated by mobile phone users on a daily basis and thus producing business insights that are not just valuable, but also renewable. On the path to becoming mobile leaders, firms should develop interoperable systems, share information across devices and systems in addition to leveraging APIs for data sourced either via cloud services or externally.
Future mobile data accessibility, insights and analysis will enable businesses to interact better with clients and unlock new opportunities. Executive supply chain and inventory decision making processes in real time is eased and made less complex through interactive and transactional mobile data insights.
Mature mobile strategies feature data that are based on sensors and machines. When coupled with contextual data and preferences of users, businesses will be able to make great offers to retailers, clients and other service providers in real time. With these capabilities that are advanced, businesses gain the power to find employees that match the demands of their clients effectively and even track their shopping patterns. As a result, data and insights of mobile devices help businesses realize enhanced user experiences and retailers get to find new business models and streams of revenue.
The Art of Mobile Design
The art of mobile design entails an improved and customized user experience, not just tailoring of desktop apps for access through mobile gadgets. App developers create programs for accomplishing specific tasks, adapting them for interaction-based data presentation and defining or differentiating experiences of users through the integration of audio and touch into the apps. By comprehending the business processes to be interactive and engaging to users, the art of mobile design or development of apps should be based on user experience, functionality and design cognition, in addition to being iterative and very fast.
Security
The fact that mobile strategies have evolved to become interactive and transactional makes them very risky, especially if outside parties, like clients and partners, are involved. Therefore, there is a need to secure mobile devices, data, applications as well as the networks they are linked to. Enterprise and personal data should always be separated for the protection of information that is confidential and sensitive. Guidelines and policies should be put in place to help protect mobile devices and information stored or transmitted through them. Just like any other business asset, mobile devices should be managed well and workers offered mobile experiences tailored to meet their specific roles in the firm.
The Future
Becoming a mobile leader involves continual mobile strategy evolution to cater for new security threats, new designs as well as data. And, firms with the ability to utilize network, mobile and user generated data can effectively compete in the fast-paced tech-savvy global market.