5 Important Considerations for a Business Mobility Strategy

2/8/2012 11:08:14 AM

We have entered the smartphone era. According to Morgan Stanley, smartphone shipments will exceed those of all PCs in 2012. Small and medium businesses are increasingly on the go and require more tools to keep their mobile workforces connected. Here are five important considerations for small and medium businesses to take into account when implementing a business mobility strategy.

1. Device Management: Central to any mobility strategy is the efficient management of devices – from deployment and applications through management of the lifecycle and monitoring usage.
2. Devices: Mobile devices are expected to provide voice, SMS, MMS and email as well as access to data and application platforms. The mobility strategy must accommodate these expectations. Devices are widespread and multiple operating systems make it difficult for IT departments to support.
3. People: It is important to make sure your employees and customers remain productive and secure when using mobile devices to connect to your systems. There are 4 main types of mobile workers all with different business challenges:
• Mobile Residents: To maximize productivity at all hours and allow mobile residents better control of their time you need to provide them flexibility to move between the office and home.
• Road Warriors: To allow these workers to stay mobile while maintaining easy connections with coworkers, partners and customers, and stay productive without a fixed place to work.
• Telecommuters: To enable staffing based on skill rather than location and allow workers flexibility and connectivity. They must be connected, but their computing requirements could be significant.
• Field Workers: To provide environment-appropriate computing that provides access to specialized applications.
4. United Communications: The principle of unified communications has been around for some time, but with the onset of smartphones and tablets, companies’ strategies must quickly address mobility and collaboration. Vendors continue to consolidate more services into their offerings and SMBs are getting on board.
5. Security: The commercial impact of cyber threats is an increasing concern for companies. Worldwide mobile security licensing and maintenance grew 64.5% in 2010, compounding annually at a rate of 35.4% to reach $1.9 billion by 2015.

Source: Kerry Bridge, Dell

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