Enterprise mobility solutions are today a lever of differentiation and growth for companies. The establishment of an enterprise mobility strategy, however, remains a source of challenges that must be overcome in order to reap all the benefits.
Between the myths surrounding mobility and the obstacles that can stand in the way of enterprise mobility solutions, it can be difficult going down this path.
Here's how to solve 7 of the main challenges related to enterprise mobility applications.
1: Capabilities
In the digital work environment, employees use on average three different mobile devices to accomplish their tasks. Companies usually offer great freedom on the devices that can be used, which has increased the workload for developing applications for large scale use. When we add to that the speed at which new OS versions are launched, development needs are exploding!
Internal capacities for mobile application development already exceeds demand, and Gartner estimates that by the end of 2017, demand will have increased at least 5 times faster than the capacity.
Tip : The use of specialised partners can address this lack of capabilities without delaying the development of mobile enterprise solutions.
2: Scalability
Today, the main question to which those responsible for an enterprise mobility strategy must address is no longer "When will we launch our mobile strategy?" but rather "How many mobile applications do we need to develop?".
The sizing and possibility of infrastructure expansion when mobile applications are built are critical aspects of deploying them. However, an investment in infrastructure can often initially put on the brakes on a project.
Tip : The integration of mobile solutions should be carried out with a goal of sustainable development and solution reuse. In addition, a partner with the capabilities and expertise of participating at all levels of the project, can act as a project manager for the implementation of all elements, helping ensure your mobile solution will be a success.
3: DevOps
The change in the operations of IT to adapt to the digital transformation happens through DevOps. This development method, which aligns development and operation professionals, is essential to increase efficiency, the speed of deployment and the success of mobile enterprise applications.
However, DevOps represents a radical change in culture and is associated with significant time and energy.
Tip : How to bridge the two solitudes? A partner that has competences in all areas of a project will allow you to set up an organisational structure that facilitates this shift.
4: Security
Security is the number one challenge CIOs are concerned with when it comes to mobility. With breaches that can occur at the user, infrastructure, network and the application level, measures to ensure the security of a company's data becomes excessively complex.
Tip : The implementation of solutions to compartmentalise information based on the required level of security is paramount. The integration of a mobile device management solution will be an asset to your business. Find a partner able to assist you in setting up an MDM.
5: The user experience
In order to develop great apps that improve efficiency, generate more sales and / or improve the user experience, you need to consider the importance of user experience (UX) and user interface (IU). The perception of mobile solutions by users is much more connected to emotion than it is with more "traditional" IT solutions. It is therefore true to say that the aspect of the user experience is paramount to successful mobile solutions.
Tip : You will need to find the right balance between a nice user interface, a rich user experience and the informational needs of your organisation. The design of your solution should focus on the task at hand and make it as easy and enjoyable as possible. Partner up with an organisation that utilises platform development standards, such as the "Human Interface Guidelines"
6 and 7: Integration and Analytics
The integration of enterprise mobility solutions to back-end systems is a necessity in order to take advantage of existing data, and also add value to data collected with mobile applications. The aim should be to mobilise the business intelligence of your organisation and reach the full potential of your solutions.
In practice, this integration can prove to be tedious and expensive, which is why the implementation of a middleware is definitely preferred. The analytics aspect, the cornerstone of mobility, is therefore enhanced by a complete integration to the back-end and provides unparalleled business intelligence.
Tip : The standards for developing mobile solutions dictates that the approach should be to develop the UI / UX first, and focus on the integration in a second step. However this approach involves many risks. It is essential to have an overall vision of your solution and have a project manager mastering the whole of the elements of the solution. We encourage you to find a partner who can accompany you on all project stages, from beginning to end.
