Top 3 Enterprise Mobility Lessons of 2015

We learn more from our failures than we do from our successes. The same holds true in mobile. So as we begin another new year it’s helpful to reflect on the successes achieved and the Enterprise Mobility lessons learned in the year gone by.
Many deemed 2015 the year enterprise mobility would take off. While some might argue that it did, I say we have only just begun. You might say, “But James, look at all the great mobile apps out there…Uber, Progressive Auto, Starbucks, SalesForce, Box…” While I don’t disagree these apps and many more have gotten it right, thousands of other consumer and enterprise apps missed the boat completely.
How, you ask? Because some companies are so focused on celebrating their successes they don’t take the time to understand their failures. Hence, they wind up repeating their mistakes. This happens a lot, especially in enterprise mobility.

1. It’s all about delivering great user experiences. Companies often make the mistake of thinking great user interface (UI) design means a great mobile app. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Just because your mobile app looks great doesn’t necessarily mean it functions smoothly. Today’s mobile users will delete an app in under 4 seconds if it is not simple to use and fails to function the way the user needs it to. The best mobile apps are intuitive and deliver the right information when and where the user needs it. Great mobile user experiences are a result of:

• Knowing your target users (personas, roles and responsibilities).
• Designing your software to render and function correctly on all technologies and platforms (mobile web, native, hybrid, desktop, smartphone, tablet, wearable).
• Delivering the right content at the right time.

From an enterprise perspective, the companies achieving mobile success are the ones taking the time to understand employee workflows and daily tasks and identify any opportunities where mobile could increase productivity and/or improve operational efficiencies.
Key lesson: Successful mobile solutions are those that deliver great user experiences.

2. Know your mobile maturity level. As business continues to drive enterprise mobility, many companies lack a clear understanding of their current mobile maturity state—a lesson most often learned the hard way. I always hear IT say, “We have everything in place to support mobile.” But after a few discussions around security, infrastructure, web services and enterprise mobility management, I hear “We didn’t think about that” or “How do we…?”

To successfully deliver enterprise mobility solutions (today and tomorrow) it is imperative to first understand your organization’s maturity. Know where your strengths and potential gaps lie in the following areas:

• Mobile Strategy & Governance
• App Delivery
• Web Services & Integration
• Policy Definition & Governance
• Network & Security Infrastructure
• Mobile Delivery & Support
• Mobile Device & App Management

Identifying your strengths and gaps enables your organization to prioritize the key areas that need maturing prior to delivering mobile solutions. Your first step is to develop an Enterprise Mobility Roadmap to define the near-term (90 days) and short-term (12 months) initiatives required to achieve the maturity level necessary to support the organization’s business drivers.
Key lesson: Make sure you have the mobile maturity – people, process and technology – to successfully support your enterprise mobility objectives.

3. A shared vision drives greater successes. Business assumes the delivery and support of mobile falls solely in the hands of IT. Wrong again! This is a recurring theme with clients no matter what industry they are in. Continuous delivery of mobile solutions and great user experiences requires just as much commitment from the business as from IT. More often than not when helping a client develop their mobile strategy, I find IT doesn’t know what the business is doing and vice versa. From a technology perspective it’s hard to offer the right solutions if you don’t know what the business needs or drivers are to support them.

IT and the business must align prior to developing a mobile strategy and delivering any mobile solutions. Business processes, goals and objectives change as the market and competitive landscape change. Throw in a mobile initiative and it confuses things even more. IT cannot just stay the course and assume current state will support the business no matter what, particularly when you inject supporting mobile devices and apps into the mix.
The companies emerging as mobile leaders are those that recognize the importance of IT and business defining and agreeing on a shared vision for enterprise mobility and the benefits to be gained. These companies establish a mobile center of excellence and governance plan, along with a Champion who drives mobility across the enterprise, working with all lines of business to understand drivers and value opportunities—enhanced employee productivity, increased sales, improved operational efficiencies, competitive differentiators, etc.
Key lesson: IT and Business must be aligned and mobility needs a Champion to drive the shared vision to success.
Let Propelics be the Champion to drive your Enterprise Mobile success. Our Enterprise Mobile Roadmap Kickstart lets enterprises develop a true mobile strategy and roadmap. Our strategists help you visualize, define, and prioritize mobile opportunities as well as identify and mitigate risks. The result is a Mobile Strategy and Roadmap fine-tuned for maximum business benefit and end-user adoption.