You might have not realized but the lines have already blurred. As consumers, we have changed and beyond amends. We drink instant coffee, book tickets online, plan holidays on this thing called 'Cloud', connect with friends,and even make enemies, through the internet.
The precise speed at which the world out there is expanding its digital footprint,is mind-boggling. Big businesses are now growing bigger and wise consumers are getting wiser. And what is causing this major technological change is that tiny little app that rests on most device screens.
Gartner predicts that by 2015 most mobile apps will sync, collect and analyze deep data about users and their social graph and that by 2017; wearable devices will be driving 50% of total app interactions.
Many businesses fail to realize that data from mobile apps, whether deployed on the premises or in the cloud, is not currently managed as part of an organizations information infrastructure. In fact, data collected from mobile apps is often siloed. However, the fact remains that an enterprise must harness the power of mobile apps to stay competitive and relevant.
Sample these:
-- Forrester hints that nearly 50% of Indian CMOs are in search of new suppliers with specialized technologies and processes to build new digital engagement systems such as mobile apps or social media applications.
-- Another recent scenario-check by Vanson Bourne tells how 60% of organizations either have an enterprise-wide mobility strategy or are planning to implement one in the next year. Also, most organizations are prioritizing mobile apps versus internal BYOD programs (63% vs. 37%). Yes, customer demand is fueling the growth in enterprise mobility, but over 75% have seen or expect to see significant benefit from their mobility initiatives.
-- A survey by market research firm IDC shows that businesses developing customer relationship management (CRM) apps for smart phones and tablets are on the right track and 31% of business respondents have in fact identified CRM as the most-wanted mobile app.
All above instances show that the world is moving to a new digital decade and cloud century. You would only be left behind if you do not catch up with your consumers and employees and arm them with the applications of 'this' world. Besides, the truth is that more and more of your workforce is already getting habituated to the app cloud. It only makes sense that you provide them with something more enterprise-appropriate.
Forrester's Frank Gillett has also noted, "Microsoft has already said that it plans to bring together the app-stores and developer tools for Windows and Windows Phone and is likely to go further and unify Windows across devices. It must show that it will be much easier to upgrade and update Windows, that the new OS will be easier to learn and use for traditional PC users than Windows 8, and that theyve preserved mobile capabilities." This means that big PC-era firms like Microsoft have already re-invented themselves to the new enterprise-app era.
You can always look for the so-called 'small-market' economy solutions, but why would you do that if companies like Microsoft can offer you scalable, affordable and flexible ones?
So, which are these enterprise apps that have the businesses excited? Collaboration and social networking ones (email, calendaring and messaging) come first. While there are plethora of social messaging apps of the likes of Facebook and Twitter on the consumer side, enterprises look for something safer and more importantly a place where the IP of the firm is not compromised by sharing. Little wonder, a private social network like Yammer is much more popular in the enterprise space as it allows collaboration with all the administrative controls. The likes of CRM or customer resource management that come in second, let you manage client interaction in a seamless and intelligent manner. Then there are apps for human capital management (HCM), sales force automation, asset management, ERP, supply chain management and so on.
While apps have no doubt changed the face of businesses, some challenges do remain. For instance, Gartner warns that security can be a major issue and that this is where current major application testing efforts should be applied. Also, the app space is rapidly evolving and hence requires a frequent update, unlike traditional applications, necessitating a sound and comprehensive strategy.
Nonetheless, the writing on the wall is clear for Indian enterprises: Get out and embrace this new world of mobile apps. They are not just what your employees and consumers want but also something that will help you extract better, smarter and faster work without burning a hole in your pocket. The road to the future leads to the clouds, with apps being the building blocks.
