The Mobile Computing Opportunity - Part I
The benefits to an enterprise organization from deploying mobile computing solutions can be substantial in terms of cost reduction, streamlined business processes, improved levels of customer service, and even increased sales.
The “app for that” phenomenon brought about via Apple’s iPhone/iPad success has helped greatly increase awareness around mobile applications and how powerful they can be.
Enterprises, however, must ensure mobile users, their devices, and all enterprise mobile data are secure. As well, to be truly effective, a business mobile application should be integrated with the core software, such as the SAP ERP/CRM software running many large organizations.
As evidenced by many recent market studies, such as the Mobile Outlook 2012 report co-sponsored by Sky Technologies, today’s enterprise organizations are rapidly increasing their focus on mobility, thus accelerating the need for integrated, secure mobile applications and a longer-term program for mobile computing.
From the Mobile Outlook 2012 report, here are just a few statistics on how SAP customers are handling issues surrounding mobile computing opportunity today and how they are planning for the future:
- The percentage of organizations with a comprehensive, enterprise-wide mobile strategy will more than double in the next three years, from 32% to 67%.
- The top 3 reasons for building a mobile strategy are: 1) increase productivity, 2) improve customer interactions, and 3) provide business intelligence to decision makers
- 88% of respondents are planning to deploy at least 1 mobile application in 2012; nearly a third (32%) of respondents are planning to implement 5+ mobile apps before the year is over.
As is evident from the numbers, enterprise mobility is no longer just a “nice-to-have” addition. With only 12% of SAP customers surveyed having no mobile app deployments planned for this year, mobility is quickly becoming the norm - utilized by your competitors and expected, if not demanded, by your customers and partners.
With this push to take advantage of the mobile computing opportunity, what are some of the main points you should keep in mind when mobilizing SAP (or any other backend system, for that matter)? Stay tuned for part 2 of this blog, where we’ll discuss some of the key factors to consider when mobilizing your enterprise.
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