Mobility – An everyday part of our lives

Following on from my Blog on the 15^th May about the Consumerisation of IT, I have come across some great research reports that help shed some light on why this is actually occurring, including research conducted in Australia.

In this week’s blog, I thought I would share some of these with you.

Whether you are a avid fan of mobility like I am or you are looking for some material to add to your business case to allocate funds towards a mobility project in the coming financial year, the information is truly amazing for a technology that is so young.

The reports are very diverse demonstrating that devices, mobile apps, social media and the internet are blurring together in a ways that are assimilating themselves into our everyday lives and actions.

More and more people are literally living and breathing mobility everyday and don’t even give it a seconds thought.

Why? Because it just works, because it’s easy to use and because it’s addictive.

So what is driving this phenomenon?

 

The first is a report conducted by Sensis in conjunction with AIMIA (Australia’s Interactive Media Industry Association).

They found that in only a few short years, the rise of social media has created a fundamental shift in consumer behavior. Today, 62% of Australian internet users use a variety of social media platforms, with many visiting these every day and most at least a few times a week.

Yet most small to medium sized businesses, and half of Australia’s large businesses surveyed don’t have a social media presence.

The comprehensive report recommends that Australian businesses need to be alive to the opportunities and challenges of engaging with consumers and customers in this very different environment. Businesses should also be monitoring, responding and looking at proactive strategies to manage the way their business is presented and reviewed online.

The seconds is a report from iPass about workers habits that use mobile smartphone and tablet technology. It found that mobile workers work, on average, 240 hours more per year than the workforce in general. That lends credence to the belief that employees who aren’t tied to the office put in more time on the job than their traditional counterparts. The report provides a great visual aid for reviewing the results of the survey.

The third is a report conducted by Ericsson ConsumerLab titled From Apps to everyday Situations. The research (conducted over the past 18 months) reveals an interesting turning point when it comes to consumer behaviour around mobile internet access: people are finding it increasingly difficult not to be connected to the cloud.

Prior to the smartphone, consumers tended to use the internet in “chunks” – confining their online activities to when they were close to a computer. But people are now using the internet constantly. With internet access, mobile phones are going beyond communication and entertainment, and entering the realm of everyday activities and chores. And it is the apps that are driving this growth. They are perceived as less time-consuming than browsers and less complex than applications on PCs; simply put, they provide direct access and the right functionality.

The findings of the report suggests that it is not devices that are the important factors in consumers choices, but the apps and content themselves.

I hope that you find the content as captivating as I did.

And what does mobility have is in store for us over the next couple of years? Have a look at some of these videos on the present and future of mobility.

TicToc: Delivering Apple to your wrist

The future of smartphones: A look at everyday life

The future of smartphones part 2: A look at everyday life

A Day in the life of Glass: A look at everyday life

The “Consumerisation” of IT – are you prepared

The consumerisation of IT is a term that is gaining momentum in today’s business market.

So what is the “consumerisation of IT”?

It use to be that employees had the most advanced devices and technology from their work environment, however, with the exponential growth of mobile apps in the consumer space, this is no longer the case.

Today, those same consumers are buying the latest and most advanced smartphones and tablets for personal use, making their lives easier with access to information anywhere, anytime.

So, in simple terms, the broad array of powerful technology that is now delivered in  consumers hands (smartphones and tablets) has resulted in consumers (employees) demanding the same capabilities and access to information on the go, anywhere, anytime, from their work environment.

This transition has been dubbed “The consumerisation of IT””

Not that long ago the enterprise network ended at the firewall, now it ends at the users mobile device wherever they are, be it at home, in the car, at a clients sites or travelling globally.

The challenges that now arise for companies is how to deliver access to their core business systems to the multiple number of mobile operating systems and  how to secure that data.

Once upon a time, the only way to deliver this was via the Blackberry with it’s easy to use access to emails, contacts and calendars, that were delivered in a secure, controlled environment by a companies IT department.

In less than 4 years, that environment has changed. Devices and applications are now very user friendly and incredibly intuitive. On average a person will use 2-4 communication devices (choice of PC, laptop, smartphone, tablet) and multiple third party applications such as facebook, twitter, LinkedIn and other social media networking sites in the course of their day and use them interchangeable for personal and business use.

Because of this, consumers now expect access to work information should be just as intuitive and easy to use, however many companies did not expect nor were prepared for such a rapid change.

The consumerisation of IT has not happened as a result of users having a better understanding of technology, but of technology having a better understanding of its users.

To meet these demands, companies must look at innovative, cost effective and agile ways to build, integrate and deliver mobile apps into core business systems, whilst still being able to manage, support and maintain those devices securely.

It is also essential to deliver a solution that “partitions” the content and data on these devices between business and personal, so if a employee leaves, you only delete or remove the business content and corporate settings, whilst leaving their personal data and settings intact.

In my post in March 2011, I wrote about such a platform for building a mobile app once and being able to deploy it to multiple operating systems and devices simultaneously.

In my post in April 2011, I wrote about a platform approach to managing the security for disparate fleets of smartphones and tablets from a single web-based console.

In wasn’t that long ago that large businesses had an advantage to deliver business information to mobile users due to the huge costs associated with building and delivering apps.

The tables have turned, where small  and medium businesses have a huge tactical advantage of buying off the shelf mobile apps, that integrate with accounting packages such as MYOB for invoicing, taking sales, quoting and checking stock.

A friend of mine recently required an electrician to do some standard work to his home. He rang 3 companies to quote, a small local operator, a medium sized business and a large national business.
The local operator arrived with his iPad, took information down for the quote, sketched diagrams for the work needed including measurement and parts required and emailed the quote within 5 minutes of leaving my friends house.

The other 2 companies captured the information by paper and pen.

My friend chose the first local provider who had took the time to invest in a solution that delivered immediate benefits to my friend who is time poor and leads a very busy work life.

The work was completed before my friend received the official quotes by mail from the other 2 companies.

The moral of the story is mobility is growing in strength and can’t be ignored. Unless you start preparing a strategy for delivering access to your business systems to your customer facing employees whilst they are mobile, the customers you lose from the smaller more agile companies may take a very long time to win back – if at all.

Embracing mobile computing….why you should.

Apple’s iPad has reinvigorated what was an all-but-dead tablet marketplace. In just over 12 months, what was a “novelty” toy is fast becoming an essential work tool and extension to business systems. Motorola, Samsung, RIM, ZTE, Huawei have all released competing tablets. Millions of tablets and hundreds of million smart phones have been sold in a short number of years and their sales are growing exponentially. Mobile computing is truly the future of computing – both for consumers and business.

Over the next few years we’ll no longer be talking about phones or tablets or laptops or desktops. We will see a hybrid world of mobile computing with services being offered via the cloud where consumers and businesses will soon be able to access all critical information via their smart phones and tablets.

The most important component of this transition from PC form factor to mobile computing is software. When the laptop was introduced as an alternative to the desktop computer, no major change in software was necessary. The opposite is true with the shift to mobile computing. Mobile computing is leading us into a new era of software, an era where total functionality is expected, in conjunction with an engaging user experience and anytime, anywhere access.

This new software is called apps.

In my very first blog, I spoke about mobile smart phones and tablets being the fastest growing technology in the history of man. Mobile Apps are an extension of this statement. The consumer space has exploded with apps, however many software and services companies have missed the mark on optimizing their offerings for the mobile user. As a result, many companies have shied away from the app marketplace, especially those with enterprise software services. Enterprise software for the longest time has been 90% about functionality and 10% about the user experience.

Smart phones and tablets however have an addictive user interface – complete with interactive touch screen capability, fast processing power, rich graphics, location based services, video and internet all at a users fingertips 24x7. Mobile apps, even enterprise apps must now be about 100% functionality, 100% interactivity and 100% user experience.

Here are some reasons businesses should be embracing mobile computing and the app revolution rather than denying its legitimacy:

1) Security
Security ranks vey high when talking about mobile business apps. The reality is that security on a smart phone or a tablet can be even more robust than on a PC. Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions provide multiple levels of security for mobile business applications, including: pass code to unlock a device, pass code/log-in to access a particular app, the ability for IT to control the device by locking it, locating it, deleting particular files, or even wiping the app from the phone.

Unlike with a laptop, mobile devices are almost always available to IT because mobile devices are always connected to a network (even on some plane that support Wi-Fi).

2) Access to your business 24x7
In the office, on-the-go, and at home, smart phones and tablets are always connected. There is no longer such a thing as a desk job. Even employees with no customer facing duties have embraced the smart phone and apps revolution. Change management for users is minimal as the interactive nature of mobile apps and touch screens make it easy for users to pick up. Businesses should embrace the mobile computing revolution as an opportunity to boost employee collaboration and productivity. With mobility, companies can keep workers connected to critical business information and ensure that decisions reflect the most up-to-date information and needs of the company via real-time 2 way communications.

3) Intuitive UI
Every smart phone has access to email and think about how easy it is to access and use. If email were just a shrunken version of the desktop solution, it would be incredibly hard to manage and use on-the-go. Similarly, accessing your ERP, CRM, BI systems with mobile business apps must be intuitive, engaging, and interactive for maximum acceptance and productivity.

4) Interactivity
One of the greatest advantages of business apps on smart phones and tablets is interactivity. Interacting with content is much more engaging and memorable than simply looking at information. Being able to access information from multiple databases about a client or product can easily be displayed on a single screen with the ability to drill down on further information as required. When a business app is highly interactive and intuitive by design, your employees will use the application with greater gusto in their everyday transactions.

Like it or hate it, the mobile computing revolution has already arrived. Forward thinking companies are taking advantage of this revolution by creating innovative apps, that is, adopting mobile solutions that boost productivity and provide a competitive advantage in their industry. The mobility revolution is delivering new ideas and new opportunities for decision makers to lead their businesses strategies. These include the most common challenges that keep a CEO or MD awake at night, 1) increasing revenue and productivity 2)reducing operating costs 3)minimising negative customer interactions 4)improving business processes 5)delivering to your industries regulation requirements.

Today, some of the most unlikely companies are enhancing their business processes by investing in their future to deliver systems access to multiple smart phones or tablets and at the same time truly differentiating themselves from their competitors.

Do you have a mobility strategy? Are you embracing and benefiting from this revolution or are you praying that it is just a fad?

Big rewards for little investment

Technology over the last 5 years has grown exponentially, with the winners being consumers and small businesses. Before this, access to great designs for your website or logo, mobile apps development, IT services, software systems etc were expensive and time consuming. Only large companies or enterprise organisations had the budgets for these solutions.

This week’s blog was inspired by a report I read stating that Australia was the quickest place in the developed world to start a business. Australia was ranked No 1 for the ease as to which someone can start a business.

Australia, however, ranked poorly on IT capabilities, we ranked 17^th in relation to network readiness and 22nd for availability to latest technologies.

There are a myriad of services and solutions available in today’s market that allow a business to grow and compete without huge capital investments in IT. These can range from Software as a Service (SaaS) such as Microsoft Exchange On-Line, SharePoint On-line (for document storage and collaboration), conference and video meeting capabilities, development on mobile apps, IT infrastructure in the cloud and the like.

In my past Blog’s, I have listed companies that can help you build mobile apps, manage your mobile devices or extend your websites to any mobile handset.

This week, I will share with you some interesting companies that put you in the driver’s seat to grow your business brand and exposure without the need for expensive IT resources.

99Designs is a Melbourne based company that spun out of SitePoint who have just been injected with $35million in venture capital for their unique offering. If you want a new logo, brand image, web design, blog design etc, you can choose what service you want and what your budget is. You will then start seeing designs form different developers (who are competing against each other for your business) and you choose the one that you like the best. All this within 1-2 weeks. This allows you to concentrate on building your business strategy whilst the designers bid for your business.

Bizness Apps provide the ability to build a mobile app for your business for iPhone, Android or iPad through a  drag a drop configuration tool. The site is pretty impressive in its capabilities to build and deploy a basic app and start delivering information about your business to users in the palm of their hands 24/7.

AppWizard provide a similar solution to Bizness Apps, however only for the iPhone.

These are just some companies that can assist your business with the appearance of being an international player with only a small investment of time and money. They won’t deliver the enterprise grade mobile applications that the big players do, however they will allow you to test the waters” to determine if a mobile app will deliver the exposure or additional revenue to help your business grow and compete.

The information provided above is in no  way an endorsement for these products or services, they are simply a reminder that with the right research, you can find cost effective ways to deliver solutions that align with your business direction quickly and cheaply.”

For any small business starting up or looking to grow, capital investment can stop you from delivering to your strategy. With the right tools and partners however, you won’t need much capital to improve your business systems or build mobile apps.