Enterprise mobility is big business, and it's big in business too. According to recent survey report by enterprise software vendor IFS, more companies are investing in business applications for employees than those investing in tools for customers, and more than three quarters (76%) have already invested in a mobility solution.
We talk to Martin Gunnarson, Director of Research & Strategy at IFS on the trends that will shape enterprise mobility in business in 2014 and beyond.
TechRadar Pro: Is enterprise mobility a priority for UK businesses?
Martin Gunnarson: Mobile access to corporate data is one of the biggest business challenges and opportunities the modern enterprise has to face. It has to balance the benefits of access to corporate data from anywhere, anytime with the security issues this raises.
As more workers bring smartphone and tablet devices into the workplace and companies take benefit from introducing new form factors, it simply has to be a focus for businesses. We asked 200 UK-based CIOs/IT managers from medium-to-large sized corporations for their experiences of enterprise mobility schemes, about the benefits and drawbacks that ensued and the applications that benefit from mobility.
We found that the drive towards mobility is happening quickly in most organisations because of the business benefits it brings, and that it overrides security concerns. The research revealed that the majority of organisations do regard mobility as a priority, with 76 per cent having already discovered clear benefits to investing in mobility schemes.
The applications that benefit most from mobility concern personal productivity and those related to job specific functions, with a strong degree of commonality across industry sectors.
TRP: Why is this? What does enterprise mobility offer?
MG: It's no surprise that employees and customers are more mobile than ever: they work wherever they're using devices they either acquire themselves (BYOD) or which are provided by the employer.
Enterprise mobility can mean different things to different people, but the most common scenarios are enabling staff to work from mobile devices as part of their role in the field, or simply providing support to staff who want to use their device in the workplace.
Today's fast-paced business environment relies heavily on the availability of and access to the latest information in real-time, and mobility makes this possible.
Mobility needs to be fully embraced by enterprises, as it offers clear business benefits. Not managing mobile access to corporate data risks loss of confidential data, ceding leadership to competitors, and can create employee retention issues.
TRP: You say 76% have already invested in mobility solutions – what about the other 24%? What's stopping them?
MG: One reason is that some organisations just don't see mobility as business critical; a technology or mobile business process may be vital in one sector but superfluous in another. More importantly, security is still a concern, and we hear this a lot from customers and prospects. In the report, of those that haven't yet invested in mobility, 46 per cent cited this was due to security concerns.
Corporate reluctance can be impacted by stories of corporate data getting into the wrong hands or the recent NSA scandal, but these issues don't necessarily have to do with mobility.
Mobile security has vastly improved – both with regards to devices and device management and how data is stored and transmitted, but also to internal processes concerning how users and user passwords are managed.
The new iPhone 5S was released with fingerprint biometrics as an extra layer of security on the handset, which will give businesses extra peace of mind. The survey reveals other barriers to the adoption of mobile schemes such as a lack of IT resources and failing to find a solution that best suits the needs of the business.
TRP: What is driving demand for enterprise mobility – are employees pushing to access corporate data from mobile devices?
MG: We see the greatest demand for mobility coming from within the organisation itself, as staff are looking for ways to make their job easier and improve their productivity. This is particularly evident with employees that spend the majority of their time on the road meeting with customers and prospects who want to better utilise the time between meetings and business days.
Interestingly, the demand for mobility schemes is so high that many employees are contravening corporate policies to access business information on personal devices, putting confidential business information at risk.
Many organisations that don't allow employees to access corporate data on their device are aware that this policy is being overlooked or ignored. 63 per cent are aware of employees accessing business emails on their devices, 15 per cent customer/ client information and 14 per cent company reports. A better approach is to invest in business apps, mobile devices fleets and BYOD schemes to enable secure access to the data employees are demanding.
We are witnessing two clear types of mobile users emerge: First, the casual user who uses their mobile device on the move to access corporate data as a complement to their laptop Second, the professional user where mobility has been critical to their role for the last 10 years but can now benefit from more advanced solutions and technologies
It's important that we factor in recent changes, such as new operating systems, GPS functionality, augmented reality and video content, to give businesses a competitive edge through smart use of mobile technologies
TRP: In which ways are companies implementing enterprise mobility? For example are they focusing on solutions internally for employees, or externally for customers?
MG: As we're seeing greater demand for mobility from employees, our report shows that organisations are investing accordingly; 71 per cent are investing in mobile applications for staff, compared to 59 per cent investing in mobile apps for customers.
Businesses are predominantly focused on rolling out personal productivity apps along with those that support job-specific functions, such as expenses, timesheets or document management, with a view to helping employees access corporate data and remain productive on the move.
The numbers of applications enabled by mobility is large and wide ranging. The highest proportion of respondents said that email and calendar was the most common application (57%), followed by sales support (52%) and personal business admin (45%).
TRP: How do you see mobility evolving in UK businesses in the next 12 months and beyond?
MG: Understanding people's behaviour in general is a must when you want to predict what impact mobility will continue to have on businesses. It's no doubt that mobility will have a big impact on UK businesses in the coming year. Today we see quite traditional ways for users to interact with the business software using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. But this will change and evolve.
Predicting for 2015 and beyond, mobile intelligence will be captured and consumed in new ways:
Interaction with mobile devices will be through less touchy interfaces but instead through non-physical interaction such as the eyes, voice, location and gestures. Display formats and form factors will also change. Mobile interfaces to both private and business information will be anywhere, anyhow and at any time, such as the mirror in the bathroom can hold a display, the head-up display in the car or the TV to mention a few places.
Data capture and consumption will be more me-centric as devices and user behaviour will know who and where you are, what type of information you might need in a particular situation. In the consumer business, you see wearable devices such as bracelets and wearable transponders to capture pulse and walking distance. As we get more used to these types of devices and services, they will be introduced in the business environment too.
The internet of things will generate mobile data from devices and services that today are captured manually or not captured at all. This can be meter readers to capture temperature, qualities, quantities, friction etc. These types of devices might be available today but are not affordable – tomorrow they will be.
TRP: What benefits are businesses who invest in mobility schemes observing?
MG: From the research we found that the main drivers to enterprise mobility were powering a flexible workforce (83 per cent), boosting productivity (68 per cent) and delivering competitive advantage (42 per cent). Other important benefits include saving significant IT costs, improving data accuracy and response times, and reducing paper-based processes.
What we hear a lot from our own customers is that the real-time access to accurate data from across the organisation is truly enabling them to make more informed business decisions, bringing competitive advantage.
When building the business case for mobility including both tangible and intangible returns, business benefits can be seen from three perspectives;
- Personal workday – streamlined admin tasks resulting in increased personal work efficiency and productivity
- Business processes – shorter lead time throughout the entire value chain resulting in improved profits, lower risks and better customer service
- Everyday life – improved balance between work and private life resulting in improved employee loyalty and retention
TRP: How are IFS customers using mobile solutions?
MG: A significant investment in mobile technology is helping IFS customer Integrated Water Services' (IWS) clients respond more rapidly to critical data on water systems' temperature and legionella risk.
IWS field operatives can now immediately report data back to the company's business management from their Windows PDA device, which has led to a transformation in the way the contractor reports to its clients. To date, the system has removed "mountains of paperwork" and the company can now "turnaround reports in hours, not days and weeks," giving it a clear advantage over its competitors.
Previously, inspecting an asset portfolio of 1,000 sites for one local authority used to involve two contract managers sitting at a desk processing paper. Sometimes the client would see data two months retrospectively. Now they can go to their PC and see the 'exception report' of actual inspection data each day.
This investment in mobility is delivering clear ROI and will help IWS's clients respond with more agility to their water system data. The water industry, local authorities and government agencies are all feeling the squeeze, so mobility is helping IWS stay one step ahead of the game in trying to help to solve the client's problem.
Another customer, EPS Water, is using IFS mobile apps to enable field engineers to record and submit data while on-site, helping to provide more up-to-date information and reducing data processing costs. With the IFS mobile apps, engineers will be able to immediately record work carried out and place requisitions and orders for materials directly into the mobile apps, rather than fill in paperwork that will then need to be re-entered. This will ensure the business is constantly updated with the most accurate information from the field.
Visser & Smith Marine Contracting (VSMC) also invested in IFS Applications and IFS mobile solutions to improve its competitive edge. Project managers and work managers are now using mobile solutions to streamline the purchasing process.
Too long lead-times in the purchasing process results in extra costs effecting bottom line results and customer experience, because of extra boats that are shipped to an off-shore construction site. With IFS mobile apps, purchase orders can be approved anywhere at any time.
People who traditionally didn't access the business system can now easily access business control reports to make more confident decisions. Workers that are spread all over Europe can now register the hours but also the invoices on a day by day basis, even while sitting in the airport lounge killing some time.