Preparing for the mobile revolution

Organisations must begin assessing and preparing for the short and long-term impact of mobile technology on their workforce – or face being left behind. Here, Francois Bornibus, VP of Nokia Enterprise Solutions, EMEA, offers his thoughts on why the move towards mobility will have such a big impact on working practices.

CXO. Traditionally it has been sectors such as utilities and telecoms that have driven the adoption of enterprise mobility technologies. But as an increasing number of companies recognise the time and productivity benefits of enabling workers on the move, what innovative applications are you witnessing?

FB. Implementing a mobility strategy among field and sales personnel can change the entire dynamics of this segment of the workforce. With instant information suddenly available at their fingertips, they need no longer return to the office to look up information or log an item. In addition, the customer stands to benefit by receiving the quote or necessary data instantaneously from the worker empowered with information on the go. But it’s not just the road warriors and field employees who benefit from mobility. Commuters and office-bound workers, commuting to and from the office and going from meeting to meeting, are just as mobile and can also benefit greatly from mobile technology.

Organisations must now focus on what type of information is most important in order to drive productivity. Individual processes and daily work routines should be evaluated as potential areas in which mobile applications can deliver productivity improvements. Mobile technologies can be employed to streamline work processes, reduce dependence on paper and encourage and enhance automation. For instance, instead of requiring workers to come into the office to fill out time and expense reports, they can perform these functions directly on their mobile device from a remote location. The net result is an increase in the speed of transactions and information exchange. By providing workers with access to rich push e-mail and calendars (in addition to other collaborative applications), efficiencies can be achieved that will yield measurable productivity gains. And along with these productivity improvements come critical cost savings.

As mobile technologies are effectively integrated across an organisation, workers are able to carry out routine business processes remotely, which leads to an overall improvement in performance. This results in a compound effect as the company starts to operate more efficiently and is able to react far more quickly to market dynamics.

CXO. How should organisations go about formulating a mobility strategy?

FB. As an organisation adds mobility, it is imperative that the correct building blocks are put in place so the organisation can achieve maximum benefits. The building blocks of an effective mobile infrastructure have distinct interdependencies that often affect different aspects of an organisation and must be considered as part of a larger whole in order to avoid costly mistakes and failures.

In developing an effective mobility strategy, an organisation must look at the overall impact of mobilisation from a business perspective. Access networks, security, devices and device management, voice and data applications and service and support all require a thoroughly planned and carefully integrated approach.

As more workers are able to take technology on the road – ranging from Wi-Fi enabled laptops through increasingly capable PDAs to powerful smartphones – the variety of applications that they demand access to is broadening. Once communication tools are in place through voice and e-mail, mobile access to intranet and corporate data (such as customer databases and financial reports) can be provided. Finally, applications can truly enhance business processes – enterprise resource planning applications, CRM packages and supply chain information can offer real-time visibility and substantial operational efficiencies.

Once mobile device hardware and software is determined, middleware to connect the different applications on the device to an organisation’s network has to be standardised. Middleware is significant in ensuring interoperability between voice, business e-mail, calendar and contacts, rich messaging, voice, applications and content. Improving efficiency and enabling new business processes is the goal, which becomes possible when diverse applications and content needs drive platform thinking.

CXO. Revisiting device decisions will be a key part of managing any enterprise mobility solution over the coming years. How should companies approach this?

FB. Deploying the right mobile devices is key to providing workers with the tools they need to achieve business objectives. Form-factor and functionality will impact how useful and readily accepted mobile solutions will be by the workforce. One size does not fit all, which is why it is important to select the right device for the right task and time.

As mobility is integrated across the business, many organisations face an inevitable struggle between employees wanting to select their own devices and IT dictating which solutions they can provide the most support for, those that fit best within the operational systems in place.

Nokia offers a full range of business-optimised, open standards-based mobile devices complete with applications and enhancements that meet a rapidly growing array of employee needs from messaging and web browsing to document editing and virtual meetings, all well suited to both the voice and application experiences. From its vast mobility experience, Nokia knows that it’s not good enough to simply repurpose a consumer device with new software – the software and applications must drive the design of a device.

CXO. How are companies using mobility applications and wireless devices to extend the enterprise beyond the traditional four walls of the office? What advantages do these solutions offer?

FB. It is fair to say that businesses wanting to go mobile today have encountered a patchwork of possibilities – a collection of admittedly worthwhile and interesting horizontal and point solutions – but nonetheless, a do-it-yourself jigsaw puzzle which has left many businesses wondering where to turn.

Nokia saw this jigsaw problem as the biggest hurdle to overcome so the company brought together the essential components of business mobility, drawing from within Nokia and from its channel partners.

In the real world, few companies can or should, work in isolation. Nokia has strong alliances and working relationships with hundreds of other businesses. Some partners help craft Nokia solutions through specialised hardware or software. These are important industry players who know the business space inside-out, and include IBM, Oracle, BlackBerry, Good, PointSec, CheckPoint, Symantec, Avaya, Cisco and the 400 partners within Forum Nokia who are today developing business applications. Still other partners help us bring our solutions to market by incorporating our solutions in their business offerings.

So, acknowledging the scope of a business’ needs, Nokia acts as an orchestrator of solutions, reaching out to the industry and delivering businesses with the best combination of skills, resources and innovation. The opportunity to effectively mobilise an organisation’s workforce is here. Nokia is serious about the business mobility market and, with the help of its partners, is able to bring businesses of all sizes a truly integrated mobile business solution.

To find out more about how Nokia can help mobilise your organisation, visit: www.nokiaforbusiness.com/emea