As enterprise mobility has matured through better smart connected devices (SCD), better access technologies, controls and platforms, the need for all these elements to be unified with a coherent strategy has only increased. To ensure that organisations get the best from enterprise mobility, the emphasis must move beyond devices, operating systems and applications. And the maturing market has thrown up some key lessons that must be borne in mind in developing an enterprise mobility strategy.
First of all, in a delivering services to a mobile device, it remains a personal experience for the user. And that means, says Suhas Uliyar, VP, Mobile Strategy product management, Oracle, not only is a high-quality experience is essential, user convenience trumps everything. Uliyar cites research that found one in four mobile apps, once downloaded, is never used again, from which he concludes that a high percentage of apps fall short of expectations, and users are not shy about what to do in such circumstances. Companies and people want — even demand, he says, immediate benefit from the mobile experience.
Integration with back-end systems is also a necessity, maintains Uliyar, with users enjoying the ability to have key functions supported by the right context information, irrespective of which system or silo that comes from. But when it comes to integrating customer-facing apps, he says, IT departments often face a complex, costly, and time-consuming task.
Despite these challenges, one aspect appears to be getting easier and that is security.
Security features within enterprise mobility management solutions have come on in leaps and bounds, and have allowed organisations to match the solutions and features to their strategy and policy goals, said Gartner in a paper on the subject. It is also advised that a single, robust solution will be easier and less expensive to implement than integrating point solutions, as long as certain key functions are included, said the analyst, such as encryption, identity and access management, data leakage protection, policy management, remote wipe, secure remote access and compliance reporting.
These various developments have allowed organisations to balance security and user experience, as each are equally important, acknowledging that a personal device, even used for work, must be respected if user buy-in is to be maintained.
On Wednesday 11 November the latest in the TechFire series of technology briefings, in association with CWSI and Mobile Iron, will present experts to guide the way toward developing and implementing an enterprise mobility policy that will reap the benefits for productivity and access, while maintaining security and user support.
With customer interviews with AIB on its advanced mobility implementation, and Information Security Assurance Services across multiple customer experiences, the event in the Gibson Hotel Dublin will ensure that the burning questions in enterprise mobility are answered.
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