Great mobility myths

MGI Research published an enterprise mobility state-of-the-market paper last month. A couple of the statistics were stunning: 71% of mobility projects in enterprises generate only average or below average return on investment (ROI) even though 70% of projects were targeting increased productivity. How can this be the result when mobile has the potential to remove paperwork and improve operational transparency?

Two questions reveal the answers.

What company functions are being mobilised?

When selecting which company functions to mobilise first, ROI is often ignored and apps that management wants, such as purchase order approvals, are the first to be done. These sorts of apps deliver convenience but actually don’t affect the bottom line. In contrast, mobilising field activity of non-executive staff - field technicians, inspectors, quality assessors, sales representatives - delivers significant productivity ROI, generally above 20%. With that in mind, apps to make ERP systems more accessible should be moved to the bottom of the priority list.

What is the approach to app development?

In most IT arenas it is understood that buying a product with yearly enhancements and a proven track record is the fastest deployment option with the least amount of risk. Mobility is often not approached this way. In-house development or paying for bespoke development is very common practice. By example, development of native apps in iOS delivers to an exact requirement; however, the cost of enhancing or maintaining that solution for new operating system releases is expensive. Additionally, risk of project blowouts in time and money are common. System administration, ability to scale and flexibility between new operating systems are generally compromised by this approach.

So why are CIOs choosing to develop rather than buy mobile apps? Most see it as a short-term solution to avoid investment in software - something that will temporarily satisfy internal company demands for mobility until product investment is reviewed. What’s misunderstood is that productisation of enterprise mobility is already here. By delaying investment in solid enterprise-grade mobile platforms or domain-specific solutions, companies are also delaying ROI.

Great ROI and productivity gains from mobility are achievable but it is all about approach.

*After 20 years in the wireless data industry, of which 16 years are with Retriever, Mary has established herself as a thought leader in the area of wireless field automation. Prior to founding Retriever, Mary worked for a Silicon Valley-based Motorola subsidiary, RadioMail, which pioneered wireless email. From university Mary joined IBM and over a 14-year career there held sales and marketing executive management roles. Mary has a Bachelor of Economics from Sydney University and a postgraduate Executive Development program from Melbourne University.

Image caption: Mary Brittain-White