EntErprisE Mobility
and thE Wolf
Mobility PoiNt oF ViEW
EntErprisE Mobility
facEs thE big bad Wolf
Mobility is
penetrating
every part
of today’s
enterprise,
often from the
outside in.
Mobility is entering the enterprise through any available opening — planned and
unplanned. Due to the consumerization of it, it’s more often the latter. but it’s
also clear that many companies are still in the earliest stage of adoption. that’s
a good thing. Companies that leapt into adding mobility to the business without
much forethought may have gained an initial boost of innovation, but that edge
can diminish rapidly as questions mount about issues such as security, branding,
compliance, maintainability, sustainability and more.
this paper examines the mobility adoption curve and the typical stages a company
goes through on its way from testing the waters all the way to full mobile and
digital maturity.
thE APPEtitE FoR Mobility iS iNSAtiAblE
Unlike technology advances that have come before it, mobility represents a seismic shift in the way companies can and will do business. A completely mobilized workforce and a thoroughly mobile-enabled business represent our future way of working. Customers expect companies to offer mobile access to services and information, and will look elsewhere when this isn’t offered. the same can be said for employees. new recruits expect the flexibility and collabora-tion made possible by mobile and digital-enabled work styles. Companies unwilling to em-brace this are putting themselves at a significant competitive disadvantage.
Mounting research on mobility in the enterprise is clearly documenting the shift. for example:
• Eighty-two percent of workers say they need to collaborate with others to accomplish work tasks.1
• Eighty-nine percent of millennials prefer to choose when they work instead of adhering to the traditional “9 to 5.”2
• sixty-seven percent of it professionals see enhanced workplace productivity from supporting bring-your-own-device policies.3
To take the
next step
forward,
your company
needs to
develop a
strategy for
mobility
…
Mobility is such an engaging technology that it’s easy to understand why companies are in a hurry to adopt it. Customers are clamoring for anywhere, anytime access to their records. through mobility, employees can be productive from wherever they happen to be, with access to innovative tools and all of their documents, on a device of their choosing.
As a result, mobile devices are rapidly transforming business processes, driving down costs and improving decision making. in many respects, mobility is an enabler for next-generation applications, including full-stack integration and leverage for other major next-generation technologies such as big data, cloud and cybersecurity.
What’s more, easy availability makes it possible for anyone to introduce mobile applications into a business unit. business services outside the enterprise are widely available as mobile-friendly, utility-based models. productivity apps can be downloaded from app stores, and the social hooks that companies build into their products encourage people to sign up so they can connect and collaborate with others.
As an example, let’s look at how mobility is a critical component in the field of telematics. Manufacturers now have the ability to send products into the field bristling with sensors that continuously record and report on the operating environment, performance and more. Armed with a continuous flow of data, manufacturing is taking a new leap forward in productivity. product engineers can now fine-tune components based on real-world operating conditions. floor managers can wring more production from equipment and avoid unexpected downtime. logistics managers can change delivery routes on the fly to avoid snarled traffic.
the applications are nearly endless. Mobility is rapidly becoming a core company necessity in all areas and aspects. How far has mobility penetrated your enterprise? And what plans have been made to manage its spread?
thE ENtERPRiSE ANd MobilE MAtURity
in our conversations with it leaders over the last few years, we find that companies generally fall into one of three categories of mobile adoption. you might compare their situation to the one confronted by the three protagonists in that classic tale of strategy and consequences: the story of the three little pigs.
Just about every company experimenting with mobility finds itself in the situation of the first little pig, who built his house with straw. Eager to reap the benefits and cachet of “being mobile and digital,” a forward-looking business unit in the company swiftly pushes an app or two through a public app store to provide evidence of its innovative thinking. Another unit may develop a custom app to automate some business process. often, it’s a common productivity tool that replaces an existing paper-based process, such as order entry. Employees in growing numbers bring in their smart devices to gain access to work products and apps. it’s an organic, slow approach to mobility; some period of experimentation like this is acceptable in many companies.
left unchecked, that straw-house strategy begins to evolve into something more permanent and pernicious, such as the second pig’s approach, which was to make a house out of wood. More business units may begin publishing apps — each targeting different audiences and different platforms, using different toolsets and vendors. that order-entry app built in one business unit is duplicated by others, with just a twist to accommodate their special require-ments. Data goes zipping in and out of the company on many different file-sharing services, with little or no gatekeeping. Meanwhile, the amount of sensitive data collecting on personal devices is growing rapidly, with no centralized way for it to govern, secure or erase it, in the event that a device is lost.
studies that document the penetration of mobility throughout the enterprise highlight some of these challenges:
• two-thirds of employees bring unmanaged, personal devices to work.4
• Employees manage an average of nearly three devices each.5
• s eventy-two percent of companies say that mobile device use has increased security incidents.6
4 “The State Of Workforce Technology Adoption: Global Benchmark 2012,” forrester research, inc., 2012. 5 CsC Cio barometer, 2012.
Unlike
technology
advances
that have
come before
it, mobility
represents a
seismic shift
in the way
companies
can and will
do business.
this is clearly an untenable situation, but it’s a common maturity path for many companies now and, likely, in the future. the allure of mobility is so strong and the barriers to entry are so low that many enterprises will find themselves hip deep in dozens of disconnected apps and shadow it — all supporting a rainbow of devices and platforms.
in either situation, companies will eventually begin to realize the consequences of an uncoor-dinated approach. Without a centralized, cooruncoor-dinated governance program, mobility projects that may have begun as skunkworks initiatives will create more problems than they solve. When the big bad wolf comes knocking on the door — in the form of escalating support costs, growing risk exposures and declining productivity — it’s the Cio who will be saddled with the responsibility of rebuilding the house from the ground up.
now let’s talk about that third pig, or enterprise, and his “house of bricks.” this is the enterprise that recognized the true upending potential of mobility and all its implications. this is the company that quickly developed a mobility strategy for the entire enterprise, appointed a mobility director, made key decisions about the types of platforms it would support, and created a list of approved vendors with which it would work — establishing clear guidelines for mobile adoption, consumption and utilization, empowering each individual line of business while maintaining management control over the entire system.
bUildiNg A StRoNg FoUNdAtioN
the journey toward mobile and digital maturity is different for every company, but there are a few common elements. it begins by identifying your starting point.
if you realize that your mobility strategy most closely resembles the house of straw or the house of wood, take heart. to begin with, very few companies have achieved the highest level of mobile maturity. Many don’t realize that it even exists. secondly, any company can find its way to this higher state with the right approach, the right tools and perhaps a little help. if your company is deep into stage two, the task you’re facing is of a larger scale, but still achievable. to take the next step forward, your company needs to develop a vision for mobility in the enterprise and identify a leader or a team that can carry the vision forward. this is the person or team who can begin to corral and coordinate enterprise mobility efforts, consolidate platforms, tools and vendors, and establish policies for governance that will help business units begin to move in a common direction.
Mobility is
entering the
enterprise
through any
available
opening —
planned and
unplanned.
Will yoU bE PREPAREd?
ready or not, you surely recognize that mobility is penetrating every part of today’s enterprise, often from the outside in. its influence is already felt by the demands customers are making, and from employees who expect greater freedom of choice and information at their fingertips. it’s okay to let the early adopters and innovators experiment with mobility, to explore what’s possible and develop new ideas that can lead to innovations. but let history serve as a guide. it’s imperative that the enterprise step in to offer a guided path before the excitement over mobility leads to a patchwork of investments that later must be untangled and sorted. sooner or later, that big old wolf will come huffing and puffing at your door. And for sure, you’ll want more than “the hairs on your chinny-chin-chin” standing between your company and him.
hoW CSC CAN hElP
CsC helps companies build strong mobile and digital capabilities that can scale and support the enterprise over the long term. our offerings center on best practices and core elements of an effective enterprise capability that covers the mobility life cycle, from setting an initial strategy to providing services that support the varying work styles of mobile users, applica-tions and content. our approach avoids developing point soluapplica-tions that accelerate the issues many companies face — instead, we focus on establishing a mobility roadmap and strategy that serve as a solid foundation for each customer’s unique situation and needs.
beyond our mobility strategy offerings, CsC offers a range of core services that underpin a sound enterprise mobility strategy. these include: providing services such as developing a mobile center of excellence, offering the assistance of a centralized mobile development organization, helping companies standardize their mobile and digital technology partners, and standardizing on a single set of infrastructure or cloud services. Everything we offer is designed to help companies build a better house — one that is made with bricks.
CSC Mobility
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about csc
CsC is a global leader in next-generation it services and solutions. the company’s mission is to enable superior returns on our clients’ technology investments through best-in-class industry solutions, domain expertise and global scale. for more information, visit us at www.csc.com.
