Enterprise Mobility – value lies in data, not device alone

Times have changed, and so has how we use smartphones. From their earlier simplistic use of fetching email and contacts, smartphones are now the powerhouse for consumers and business users who use mobile gadgets for accessing applications and surf the web. Powered by big screens, more than sufficient memory and processing power, smartphones of today’s age support 3G networks (some now even support 4G) and run sophisticated apps developed from across the globe.

So what’s new with mobility that deems a mind-set change for traditional CIOs operating with dated mobility policies and apps? Greyhound Research spoke to 100 CIOs over the last four weeks across emerging markets – 50 respondents each from Asia Pacific and Middle East Africa regions – and observed the following key trends:

Mobile-first approach is a priority for most organisations in emerging markets, but challenges prevail. More than 70 percent of organisations are either already running or planning a mobility technology expansion project. This speaks volumes about enterprise mobility being a key priority for orgs across the emerging markets. However, more than 30 percent of these organisations are facing challenges like lack of clarity on policies for multiple users and roles in the organisation, making the choice between app wrapping or deploying an MDM solution among others.

Variety and spread in mobile devices is flooding organisations. More than 32 percent organisations in Emerging markets stated to be struggling with developing apps that run across multiple operating systems and form factors. From being blackberry centric, users across most organisations are increasingly migrating to Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android hence making it complex and expensive for IT teams to manage.

Business leaders are increasingly demanding access to enterprise apps on mobile. This definitely stood as a key outcome for both Asia Pacific and Middle East Africa regions. More than 70 percent of the organisations Greyhound interviewed stated to have plans to spend on projects for mobilizing enterprise apps – while apps like CRM, BI and HCM are gaining traction on the mobile, traditional apps like email and calendaring continue to be the highest used apps.

Increasing employee productivity and supporting mobile workforce key reasons to spend on mobility. More than 65 percent organisations continue to dedicate IT budget to improve employee productivity and support mobile workforce. Increasing customer intimacy and satisfaction was also quoted as other key priorities why orgs in emerging markets are adopting mobility.

Confusions on best approach slowing down projects. More than 50 percent IT decision makers were unclear about the best approach to source mobility applications and better manage security. More than 30 percent respondents stated to be confused on choosing a preferred partner for enterprise-grade mobility apps – 27 percent of these stated to be developing apps using in-house team.

The author is chief analyst and Group CEO at Greyhound Research.