SMB: When Do You Need a Mobile App?

David Scott — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:55:29 +0000

More and more businesses are implementing and leveraging mobile computing for optimal competitiveness. No longer are mobile solutions the sole province of large companies; small-to-medium businesses (SMB) are jumping in and reaping strong reward. If you’re an SMB that has not yet made the leap, should you – and when?

First, recognize that mobile computing is necessitated by many things:

– Frequent travel by staff who need enterprise access “on the go”

– Requirements for situational access to data, such as in airports, meetings, etc.

– Companies that survey and dispense services at dispersed client locations

– Specialized apps for communications with, and services to, customers and prospects

– Marketing requirements, and associated apps

Then evaluate how you might leverage the following:

Targeting: You can target your audience; on-the-go clients have mobile, and they want to engage. That means you’ll want them to engage with you. Once your client population is aware of you, you gain a targeted audience. Also, your employees, solutions partners, and contractors have come to expect ready-communication and access – to information, to decisions.

Communication and support: Apps help customers in their communication to you. Your organization can collect data and feedback from them. Questions, suggestions, and complaints can be addressed with ease and efficiency. But further, your staff can communicate with the org too; whether on travel, in the field, or at the customer-site.

Marketing and promotion: Apps are more essential than ever given the increase in the number of mobile users. eCommerce requirements, payments, and the administration of shopping (such as layaways, “recently looked at” histories, and other sales boosts), make robust mobile enablements a must.

Customization: Apps can be fitted to your specific missions, agendas, goals, products, and services. Also, various features, preferences, and security controls are available for perfect fit.

Increased Earnings: An obvious benefit of increased reach, targeted audiences, and more sales is increased earnings.

For SMB, exploring mobile is not an expensive proposition – at least as a first step. Interview some mobile providers in your area: They’ll meet with you for a free assessment of your environment, requirements, and goals. From there, you can solicit some ballpark figures for forward progression and deliveries.

A mobile app, or suite of apps, is an investment – not just another cost.

The Mobile Revolution: Don’t get caught flat-footed

David Scott — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:36:22 +0000

Is your organization secure? I don’t mean from a content or access perspective: I mean, is it well-positioned for the future? Do the organization and visionaries make effective plans for secure transitions to new business models, allied enablements, products, services, and deliveries?

Anyone can stumble. Let’s consider a high-profile example: Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 19^th. This, in spite of anticipating and trying to make adjustment from film to digital imaging. One has to ask: If a company like Kodak, with its deep financial and personnel resources, can stumble and go bankrupt, can the future impact my organization in a similar way? What is it that we need to be anticipating and doing… right now… in holding a “Kodak outcome” at bay?

Innovation expert Scott Anthony, author of The Little Black Book of Innovation says, “Even an insightful company can go wrong if it doesn’t push far enough, fast enough, into uncomfortable territory.”

And it’s with that realization that we come to the mobile revolution. The mobile revolution is any organization’s – yours – “film to digital” moment. Mobile devices, with ever more robust operating systems, increased processing capabilities, and higher storage capacities – are now able to run more applications and do ever-more sophisticated things. More applications are being developed, and delivering more productivity, all the time. And, custom apps can be fitted to your exact business models and methodologies. Think about it: The organization’s overall productivity enjoys an enormous boost when folks can access, process, and deliver from virtually anywhere - worldwide.

But it’s more than that…

Total Cost of Overhead (TCO) and Time to Value (TtV) are key components in any successful business. TCO needs to be driven down, in service to keeping expense under control, which serves profit. TtV needs to be speedy: Faster development and implementations aid TCO, and quick business enablements also begin serving faster returns on investments (ROI), again in service to profit. Even non-profit environments and government agencies need lower cost, efficient implementations, and best returns.

In view of all that, consider that many organizations are capturing the ready population of existing personal mobile devices that employees already own – they’re a free capital resource. Why buy expensive laptops, tablets, smartphones, iPads, etc., if there’s an existing mobile population already in hand in the form of personally owned assets? All that’s required is a strong Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Policy, and associated Security Policy and training.

All that’s really left is to engage a mobile solutions provider that understands change, innovation, and the streaming present/future environment. A steady partnership with a mobile innovator will be in every organization’s future.

Today, any business has to ask itself: “What is my organization’s standing in the mobile revolution?”

Am I a “Kodak,” or am I innovating appropriately?

The Business-Technology Weave » mobile policies

SMB: When Do You Need a Mobile App?

The Mobile Revolution: Don’t get caught flat-footed