Since the introduction of tablets and smartphones into the office, companies everywhere have been mobilizing their business processes and developing apps to handle day-to-day business needs. If your company has not yet joined the mobility movement, and your employees are stuck doing everything from the desktop, it’s time to go mobile. However, going mobile can be tricky. For those less tech savvy, you may be wondering, where do I even begin?
Here at DataXoom, we work with companies every day who have successfully made the transition. Here are our top-notch tips for going mobile.
Decide which processes to mobilize.
The first step to going mobile is deciding exactly which processes make the most sense to mobilize. Developing tablet-friendly applications is a costly endeavor for IT employees, so some processes, like customer service for example, may not be as valuable to mobilize. On the other hand, processes like sales and field service management are very mobile-friendly, and make more sense to mobilize. Bottom line: make sure you are creating value and not unnecessary costs.
Make back-end connectivity a priority.
In order to add value, mobile apps must be effectively integrated with business data and processes. Make sure IT employees understand this so that they can integrate mobile apps in such a way that they provide security, speed and scalability. If mobile apps do not interact well with established business data and processes, they could result in disorganization of data and content, or unnecessarily high overhead costs.
Choose more simple development approaches.
When developing mobile apps for your employees, your IT team will need to select a mobile architecture that is suitable for the app’s needs, some are simple and some are more complex. HTML5 architecture is good for simple, content-based apps, and while it has some performance limitations, it is perfectly suitable for most processes. For more complex transaction-based apps using integrated device capabilities, a mostly native or hybrid architecture with parts of the UI or business logic wrapped in a native container may be preferred.
Get employees involved in the interface design of apps.
It may sound somewhat obvious, but your employees are more likely to effectively utilize mobile apps if the interface is more attractive and user-friendly. How can you ensure that employees are satisfied with the interface design? Get them involved! Allow employees to test out apps that are in the process of being developed, and get their feedback. Figure out what they like about the interface, or what makes the interface difficult to use, and adjust accordingly.
Make security a top priority.
When implementing mobile apps, security should be a top priority. Management should consider security at the device, application and user levels. We mentioned earlier that secure communication between devices and back-end processes is an important security factor. In addition, authentication and access right management, policy management, provisioning, sandboxing, are also important to consider. Make sure to have these tools in place when implementing new mobile apps.
Decide how to go about implementing new apps.
The last step in going mobile is implementation. One approach is to have the IT department manually install enterprise apps through USB connections or SD cards. However, this method is costly, time-consuming and not scalable. An alternate approach you should consider involves implementing your company’s own enterprise app store, which can make the app update process easier, enhance IT control and identify service quality issues.
DataXoom is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) which provides 4G and LTE mobile data services exclusively to businesses in the United States. Regardless of which business processes you choose to mobilize, you will undoubtedly require mobile data. Interested in how DataXoom can help you seamlessly integrate new mobile apps? Drop us a note at sales@dataxoom.com, or follow us on Twitter @Dataxoom.
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