What are the main drivers for Australian businesses in building their mobile strategies?

In August 2011, Terrapinn conducted a survey of 500 Australian businesses across Enterprise and SMB to better understand their thoughts and strategies on mobility. The 4 main areas reviewed were:

·         mobile workforce

·         mobile advertising

·         mobile commerce

·         mobile apps

Some key findings from the survey included:

·         Spending on mobile applications and technologies is expected to increase as companies look to reduce costs and mobilise their workforce

·         IT managers within Enterprise are planning to implement new mobile applications and many have made them a priority in the next 12 months

·         Platform choice for app development is seen as very important with the cost of developing the same application for two platforms seen as economically unfeasible

·         Location data is important for the evolution of the app market. Targeted advertising would help brands to make money from their apps

·         Mobile is transforming the way consumers shop and interact with brands, and retailers that are not investing in this channel risk getting left behind

The last finding supports Burberry’s CEO Angela Ahrendts on their strategy for engaging and connecting interactively with their clients by creating the ultimate social mobile experience.

The survey also provided important insights for any company in understanding the landscape for mobile development and strategies in the Australian market.

Further key findings from the survey revealed:

·         84% of Enterprise IT managers said they are planning to implement new mobile applications this year

·         The average mobile worker does business outside of the office more than half the time, averaging 56 hours per week per business

·         67% of SMEs are mobile businesses, meaning they have adopted wireless technologies to allow employees to work outside of the office

·         More than 72% of mobile app users expect all brand name companies to have a mobile app while 45% of consumers with a smartphone download an app at least once a week

·         82% of branded apps have been downloaded less than 1000 times, suggesting that companies are missing the mark when it comes to attracting customers via their apps

·         51% of the brand marketers surveyed treat mobile platforms as an integral element of their overall advertising strategy

·         38% of respondents are currently exploring how best to leverage mobile platforms within their marketing plans

·         72% of retailers that responded intend to invest in mobile commerce before the end of 2012

·         36% of retailers intend to have a mobile commerce website created and operational within the next 12 months

There are many challenges in creating a successful mobile strategy or building a successful mobile app.

Why do you need an app? Who is the app for? What do you want the app to deliver and how do you plan to deliver it.

This then leads to the next series of questions.

Do you choose an Off the Shelf solution (App Store), custom build the app in-house, choose to deliver your strategy via a MEAP or will you outsource the development?

Finally it all comes down to the end user. The experience of the mobile app MUST be simple, interactive, compelling and engaging.

You may find some of my earlier blogs relevant when planning your mobile strategy.

1.       Extending your business systems from your workers perspective

2.       How to deliver a successful mobile app in your business ?

3.       What are C level management looking for in mobile apps ?

4.       If you are not engaging with your customers via smartphones, then you are IGNORING a growing new channel to market

5.       2011 – Is a MEAP year for Mobile apps development

What are your current challenges in developing your mobile strategy?

Tips to help you reduce your international roaming charges for your smartphone/tablet

The use of Smartphone’s and tablets (devices) has become ingrained in our everyday lives for both business and personal use.

In fact a recent survey in the USA, asked the question – “What would you rather give up for a week for your mobile phone”.

When you get results of what people would give up to keep their mobile phone by their side for a week that includes 70% chocolate, 55% caffeine and 33% sex, then you know that we have become a society addicted to our Smartphone’s.

In Australia we enjoy having access to mobile data which is normally included in many mobile voice plans. This in turn allows us to grab the information that we want from our apps, the internet or email anywhere, anytime (as long as you are in coverage)

When roaming overseas however, there is an additional charge for using mobile data that is not included in your Australian mobile data plan. In many instances, this can result in receiving bill shock at the cost when you return from travelling overseas. Bill shock has become an industry term for receiving one hell of a shock when you see how much your mobile bill is. This was a common occurrence in the early days of smartphone purchases, where customers neglected to add the appropriate data plan for their smartphone. This was mainly due to poor communication and education.

Even though many people believe they have not knowingly accessed data on their handsets, smartphone and tablet apps may automatically initiate data sessions without your knowledge. For example, iPhone, iPads, Android and Blackberry’s, are capable of automatically connecting to the internet for application and email updates, which is what these devices are designed to do. These devices will run sessions in the background, even in sleep mode or while on voice calls, if not manually disconnected by you. This can result in sessions showing at times you may not have been actively using the device to access the internet. These initiated sessions will incur international roaming charges.

Some Smartphone’s like Blackberry compress the data you access, reducing the data usage and also your bills. All other Smartphone’s and tablets do not.

Now, depending on the carrier and country, every time your device initiates a data session you are charged for data roaming. You could also be charged a call connection fee. Similarly, every time your device is handed over to another mobile tower, you could be charged a call connection fee. This often occurs even if you are stationary due to capacity of the tower, signal strength and load balancing to ensure continued access to the mobile network.

Did you know that all Smartphone’s and tablets have the Mobile data roaming function turned off as a factory setting? The only way to activate the ability to access mobile data whilst roaming overseas on a mobile network is for you to manually go into settings, manually choose the cellular data tab and then manually change the Data roaming setting from “Off” to “On”

Once you have done this, the onus is back on you to ensure that you manage the connection so that your device does not access data without your knowledge.

So what can you do to help minimise the cost for roaming overseas with your lifeline (your smartphone or tablet).

Attached are some simple tips that you may find handy to reduce your data roaming bills.

1.       If you don’t need mobile data access:

The best option here is to contact your mobile phone carrier and ask them to barr mobile data roaming. You can still have voice roaming turn on, without the need to have the mobile data roaming turned on. Just to be on the safe side, also make sure the mobile data roaming function is definitely turned “off” on your device.

2.       If you only need sporadic access to mobile data:

Again, the best option here is to contact your mobile phone carrier and ask them to barr mobile data roaming. Then have a look at the app store for your device and look for Wi-Fi finder apps. Many of these apps allow you to download and store a database of free and paid Wi-Fi hotspots around the globe. This means that you can access the data you want such as emails from a location that provides you a free service (such as a cafés, McDonalds’, Star Bucks etc) Many businesses are using the lure of Free Wi-Fi so that you may be tempted to purchase their wares whilst you are doing your thing. This is often one of the cheapest ways to access data. It is best to ensure that you download and test these apps before travelling overseas to determine which one suits you best. Also remember to use Wi-Fi; you need to turn your Wi-Fi on. When not using Wi-Fi, turn the function off to save battery power.

Mobile App stores are growing daily and can offer inventive ways to minimise or manage your data usage. So in addition to Wi-Fi solutions, have a look at apps such as Onavo that compresses your data traffic to reduce your usage and your data roaming costs.

3.       You need regular access to mobile data; for example emails:

First, ensure that you contact your mobile carrier to activate mobile data roaming for your service. To help reduce the costs, try to utilise the advice of tip number 2 as often as possible. If you need access there and then and don’t have the time to search for a Wi-Fi hotspot, then , on your device, turn the option for mobile data roaming to “On”, access your data and when completed immediately turn the setting back to “Off”

4.       You absolutely, positively need access to mobile data or face the possibility of the course of history changing forever!!!

You know who you are. If you can’t live without accessing apps and emails when travelling, then there are two options to consider:

a.       Purchase a local pre-paid sim card from a local carrier in the country that you are visiting. As the data is charged at the local rate, this can save you an enormous amount of money. If you are travelling to multiple countries for short periods of time and this option is impracticable, then consider option b.

b.      There are a number of companies now offering the ability to purchase a pre-paid sim for international roaming to any country. Companies such as GoSim provides an International network that will save you up to 85% on your mobile phone call charges whilst abroad.

In both cases, your mobile number will change, however with the GoSim option, your credit never expires, so you can have the same number for international roaming every time go travel (you will have 2 sim cards, your Australian sim and International roaming sim). You can set up an auto-recharge option or if you want to manage your costs logon to their website and purchase another airtime pack. These options allow you to manage the costs of your mobile data so that you can make an informed decision about how much you are willing to spend.

A final option is to purchase a tablet and use it for all your data access (emails, apps, calendar, maps etc) with a local sim card or a pre-paid international sim (as suggested above). This way you can barr International data roamingon your smartphone, however still use it for voice calls and use the tablet for business and persal data use at local or heavily reduced rates.

These tips are purely to assist in providing some education about ways in which you can minimise the possibility of bill shock the next time you travel overseas.

In every case, it is highly recommended to NEVER download apps whilst you are travelling. What is a free app from the app store could cost you hundreds of dollars downloading it on an international carriers network.

Are you considering a Bring you own device (BYOD) policy for your business?

As the consumerisation of IT continues to affect companies across all types of industries, more and more companies are contemplating a BYOD, or “Bring Your Own Device” policy.

In Australia, 46% of the population now own a Smartphone, up from 36% in 2010 which is expected to reach 60% in the next 12 months.

Smartphones and tablets are proving to be more than a consumer phenomenon, which is resulting in the lines between work and play blurring. Consumers are also employees and businesspeople who don't want to have to carry around two separate smartphones (personal and company issued) for personal and professional use. IT departments are increasingly being approached by C-level executives looking to integrate these new technologies and extend email, contacts and other business systems to their personal device of choice.

Companies are seeing a plethora of smartphones and tablets that their employees are bringing into the business. There are many benefits to delivering a BYOD policy in your business. Companies get to keep their workforce happy and lower their costs. Employees get to choose the smartphone that is right for them, and companies get to save on expensive hardware and training costs because their employees are already comfortable using their chosen device.

On the flip side, the challenge faced by IT departments is how do they support so many different devices, with so many different operating systems and versions?

To be successful, IT departments must respond by finding a way to manage the ever changing landscape of consumer devices. However, there are fundamental differences between what IT wants and employees want, which can complicate matters.

Employees want freedom and IT wants control.

Employees want fast, simple, self-service access to their business systems from any device they choose. IT wants complete control over security, performance and user experience.

The concept of BYOD is exciting and innovative, but it comes with technical challenges and considerations.

From a business perspective, companies must consider the financial, legal, implementation and support elements of a BYOD policy.

On the technical side of BYOD, IT and security teams need to understand, plan and implement a solution that adheres to existing policies and compliance requirements. A main consideration here is how to partition personal and business data on the same device. If an employee leaves your company, how do you ensure you wipe all corporate data and access, whilst leaving the integrity of their personal data?

There are a growing number of companies now offering intelligent platforms to manage, maintain, support and secure smartphones and tablets. In Australia, the leading companies for Mobile Device Management (MDM) platforms are AirWatch and Mobile Iron.

As mentioned, BYOD is also about extending access to your corporate applications to any device. Enabling a mobile workforce increases overall productivity by allowing employees to remain connected to work even while away from the workplace. It can improve decision making processes, streamline existing work processes and improve customer satisfaction by responding quickly to clients requirements face to face.

What was once a costly an onerous task of writing applications in the code of each device language, is now a much more simpler matter of choosing the right platform for your business to build applications once and deliver it cross platform.

Again, there are a growing number of companies offering a platform approach to mobile application development. These include Pyxis Mobile, Titanium and PhoneGap.

The concept of BYOD is gaining traction quickly in many organisations overseas. In the United States, according to data from Aberdeen Group (via ZDNet), about 75% of enterprises now have some component of "bring your own device" policies in place.

Accepting and supporting multiple smartphones and tablets, extending business systems to mobile devices and planning your BYOD policy, is no longer a distant consideration for many companies, it is fast becoming inevitable.

Have you started planning your strategies?

What are C level management looking for in mobile apps?

A recent survey conducted in the USA by Pyxis Mobile sought to ascertain what C level management are looking for in mobile apps and their development.

Survey respondents included CIOs, CTOs, IT directors/managers, systems and network administrators, programmers and technology support, as well as Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC) members and attendees at the Oracle Application User Group Forum – Collaborate 11.

The results of the survey showed that 91% of respondents believe that their department or company could benefit from the use of mobile applications. Of those:

60% view business intelligence apps as providing the greatest value for their business

29% ranked internal operations and resource management apps as the second most valuable

26% ranked Sales/CRM and field service apps of equal importance in third place and

17% of respondents believe consumer facing apps used for marketing and/or mobile commerce purposes would also be beneficial to their company

The survey also revealed that tablets are gaining an increasing level of acceptance in the enterprise. 33% of respondents confirmed that their company currently supports or plans to support the iPad, while 14% say that Android tablets will soon be entering the hands of their workforce.

Finally, 77% of the respondents surveyed agreed that security is an important factor in choosing a mobile application development tool.

Of that, 71% confirmed that a tool’s ability to allow their business to make ongoing changes to applications in real-time was critical when evaluating the different mobile technologies that are available.

Other factors that play a significant role in the IT decision-making process were a tool’s ability to provide rapid app development and deployment, unlimited data integration capabilities enabling apps to connect to any back-end enterprise system, and extensive design features allowing users to build visually appealing apps with a rich UI/UX.

The survey results were similar to a conference I attended last week where Apple was presenting on the iOS platform for business.

They stated that mobility is the sum of many parts: Device, operating system, mobile device management, security and productivity.

Even though this was pitched at the iOS platform, it is true when planning your strategy for rolling out mobile apps in your business.

Let’s break these parts up:

Device: Who are the target markets, are they all using the same type of device? How many devices do I need to support for my app?

Operating System (OS): How many OS platforms do I need to support? How many versions of the OS do I need to support? Will the app I built for a specific version work on the updated version and visa versa (will the app I built for a specific version work on previous versions?)

Mobile Device Management (MDM): If I am rolling out business apps to my staff, how do I support my users? How do I update their apps with new versions? If I’m running a fleet of iPhones and iPads do I really need to install iTunes on every single persons PC? How do I lock down the app stores or create my own private app store to access only the mobile apps that I approve?

Security: If these apps are accessing corporate data and writing data back into my systems live, how do I manage and secure this?

Productivity: How do I measure the success of the mobile app? How do I determine what functionality of the apps is being used and what I need to improve or remove?

These questions and challenges facing businesses with delivering mobile apps are raised time and time again, regardless of the industry, market or country they come from.

To better understand these challenges: click on my previous articles. I hope you find some value in the content.

Device and Productivity: How to deliver a successful mobile app in your business

OS: 2011 is a MEAP year for Mobile apps development

MDM and Security: Minimise the pain of smartphone/tablet management

If you are not engaging with your customers via smartphones, then you are IGNORING a growing new channel to market

Trying to build a business case for your company to invest in delivering your products or services to your customers via an interactive and engaging medium (mobile smartphones) can be a challenge.

Any good business case requires you to understand your market. The challenge in Australia has always been trying to obtain this information for our local market.

Last week Telstra and Sensis released a report commissioned by Nielsen (an independent research company who deliver a comprehensive understanding of consumers through combined insights, experiences, knowledge, market intelligence and advanced technologies)

Below are the highlights from the comprehensive PowerPoint report.

The Australian Smart Phone market 2011:

·         The Australian mobile population is becoming increasingly sophisticated. 46% now own a Smartphone, up from 36% in 2010. It is expected to reach 60% in the next 12 months

·         Smartphones are not just for Generations Ys. One in five (22%) smartphone owners are over 50 and 41 per cent are over 40

·         Those with a personal income in excess of $95k+ have the highest penetration (65%) following by those earning $50-95k (55%) … those earning under $50K personal income report the lowest ownership (35%)

·         Smartphone ownership amongst females increased significantly – from 31% to 42%. For males the penetration has grown from 43% to 51%

·         89 per cent of Australian Smartphone owners have accessed the internet on their mobile Smartphones vs 56 per cent of the total mobile population

·         More than half of Smartphone owners are accessing the internet daily (61%)

·         86% of Smartphone internet Users access the internet from home

·         59% access the mobile internet while commuting

·         56% of Smartphone internet Users access the mobile internet whilst in bed

·         Whilst most respondents usually access the internet via URLs and bookmarks… almost one in five have accessed the internet by clicking on an ad (20%) and 17% have ever used a QR code

·         Email and Social Networking continue to be the two sites visited most frequently. Daily use of almost all categories has increased on 2010. Daily use of social networking sites increased to 41% (up from 31% in 2010)

·         For some, internet access to certain sites on a mobile phone is more frequent than via a desktop or laptop computer

·         37% of Smartphone internet Users have ever purchased something using the internet on their mobile phones

·         The most common product categories for purchase are mobile-centric such as applications and mobile games….however 25% have made other non-mobile items (from clothing, fashion accessories, books, tickets - to food and consumer electronics)

·         The average value of mobile related products purchased via the mobile internet was $179

·         The average value of non -mobile related products purchased via the mobile internet was $259

·         47% of Smartphone internet users have used mobile internet to find out more about a product or service to support a purchase decision

·         Whereas mobile internet purchases are dominated by small, spontaneous, phone-centric purchase decisions, mobile internet browsing is dominated by high-involvement, non-phone purchase decisions such as electronic equipment (e.g. TV, BluRay, Home Theatre) and computer hardware (e.g. laptop)

·         41% of Smartphone internet users have used their mobile phone to respond to other forms of advertising (billboard, TV, magazine, radio, internet etc)

The report clearly demonstrates the success of mobile smartphone penetration in Australia and the demographic of users. Consumers have become increasing comfortable with surfing, researching and buying products from the internet, which has organically extended to being conducted from their smart phones.

Delivering an easy, intuitive and interactive marketing strategy to smartphone users can assist in delivering higher returns compared to traditional marketing channels such as radio, TV and print.

A business strategy that engages your clients through smartphone and social media marketing campaigns is an inevitable reality to keep competitive and be successful in today’s aggressively changing market.

I hope that this information assists you in building your business case with tangible facts to obtain the stake holder buy-in that you need to deliver to these exciting new markets.

Disclaimer: I am an employee of Telstra. The information provided in the above opinion piece is from an independent report commissioned for the Australian smartphone consumer market by Telstra, however is not specific to any Telecommunications carrier in Australia.