Last week Engage Mobile, in partnership with TechOrchard, hosted mobileBLEND featuring a panel that discussed the integration of mobility into business strategy. Panelists included Darrin Clawson of Engage Mobile; Randy Spivey, owner of CrewTracker Software; Dustin Burns, IT Director at McCownGordon Construction; James Robertson, VP of Technology Solutions at TechOrchard; and Todd Churchill, VP Technology Strategy and Principle HealthCare Architect for Netsmart.
The panel discussion started off with the question, “What is mobile strategy?” Every strategy needs to include three things: people, process and technology. It is also important to acknowledge with these three facets that technology is always evolving and changing and that the need to stay fluid within one’s mobile strategy is critical. However, what is the impact of these facets on an organization? Like accounting and marketing, how will mobile devices impact employees on an individual basis as well as organization as a whole? Is it functional to include mobility in your company’s plans, and how will it impact ROI? Changing the company workflow from paper form to the digital world to make a project outside in a dynamic environment can be strategically challenging.
Panelists shared that one of the key areas when developing a strategic plan addresses human resources and IT management. IT and HR are coming to the employer as a consumer to help deliver and make their departments’ content more accessible and easier to use and support. From the perspective of HR, the consumer is the employee pushing for greater visibility in the world, which leads to how size can effect your company’s strategy.
Other questions surface concerning how to improve the approach for the external use of devices for the end-user’s view. How should users interface with mobile vs. desktop, all the while providing the services and tools for customers? Company size, as well as proper leadership and knowledge, are critical determining factors. For example, small- to medium-size businesses are able to be more aggressive with implementation, while this can prove more challenging for larger entities. With larger organizations, it’s critical to rely on the KISS acronym, keeping things simple and allowing the platform to receive and provide feedback. But how do you keep it simple when the target is always moving? One solution might be bringing together a Cross Committee derived from different departments and different employee levels to help outline the use and strategy for mobile devices, ultimately ensuring a higher level of buy-in and engagement throughout the organization.
Presenters reminded us that mobile devices aren’t the solution for every situation in every company. There are times when the super computer approach for productivity makes more sense, whereas mobile devices may be used on a job site in ways a desktop never could be. Overall, beware of the over-justifications for the use of mobile devices in the workplace without first identifying new ways to use mobility in advancing the narrative of productivity.
This brings us to one of the major pushbacks seen in regards to the adoption of mobility: ROI. The express nature of mobility can often beat the time it takes to reboot the desktop computer. In some cases, a small device pays for itself in the amount of time that it saves, both in terms of support and dedicated time spent on troubleshooting, thereby decreasing the total cost of ownership. Still, a well thought-out sales pitch that highlights the point of a preserved value while helping justify an enterprise-level purchase is imperative — and showcasing value through real-world examples or stories can clench the deal.
In the end, we must consider how we are using mobiles devices now and how that may change in the future. This approach, along with knowing your audience, is critical for handling the ROI piece of a mobile management purchase.
The final thought from mobileBLEND 2013: Always remember that it’s not about how many features and functions we have, it’s how to address the key stakeholder in partnership with people, processes and technology that will help you win with mobility.
