Mobility and Productivity Trends: A Discussion

We recently sat down with two Infragistics insiders to discuss the BYOD movement, mobile productivity, and the future of enterprise mobility. Read on to learn what Phil Dinsmore, Director of Enterprise Sales, and Tomas Ball, Director of Global Presales have to say about these topics and more.

 

Now that the BYOD movement is gaining more popularity, what does that mean for the enterprise?

Phil: BYOD means being flexible to accommodate employees’ desires and make them happy while still providing for a more productive employee.  While this makes the job of Enterprise IT harder, it also saves on hardware costs. It’s really about keeping your employees happy by using their own hardware.

Tomas: That’s the basis for BYOD, but the enterprises that quickly jumped into the Bring Your Own Device frenzy are now struggling to calculate a justifiable ROI. The device alone does not improve productivity, and the lack of standardization complicates the support efforts and can quickly increase costs. BYOD is great; but it is only a small piece of what an enterprise needs to consider when forming their Mobile Strategy.  It is the usability of the apps on the device that will truly improve productivity.

 

How has data visualization revolutionized mobile productivity?

Phil: In making our mobile workers more productive, I think we’re just getting started.  When you can look at a phone or tablet and realign your priorities or react positively to something that has just happened, that is revolutionary. To be mobile, we all need personalized dashboards to manage our day. If I can get to my work with just one or two clicks, that’s productivity.

Tomas: Well, a Chinese proverb says that “One picture is worth ten thousand answers” and that sums it up: visualization is the key that allows users not just to access data, but to understand useful information.

 

Many mobility solutions claim to be “the answer”. What makes Infragistics different?

Tomas: I am not sure there is any product that can be “the answer” to all situations, but I hear plenty of companies trying to make that kind of claim.  At Infragistics, we take a different approach.  We want to clearly understand the question before we offer up any answers.  Mobilizing YOUR enterprise means understanding your business and the unique value you bring to the industry, clearly identifying which business functions need to be exposed and executed from a mobile device, and allowing users to accomplish these needs securely and efficiently with a great user experience.

Phil: You know, a lot of people say they need “the right information at the right time”.  I take a different approach and say I need “the right information all the time”.  Infragistics Enterprise Mobility suite allows each employee to be as productive from a mobile perspective as they would be at their desk.  I can collaborate with other employees, view and edit documents, provide my customers the latest, real time information from any data source while standing in front of them; I can literally do almost anything I can do in the office while I am mobile, thanks to Infragistics Enterprise Mobility suite.  This great user experience makes Infragistics customers happier and more productive.

 

What are some common mistakes that enterprises make when mobilizing their sales forces?

Phil: First, companies get caught up in providing access instead of providing an experience. Sales people will tolerate having to spend time searching for data when they are at their desks, but when they’re on the road they need their information and they need it now. What better way to keep my workforce happy but to provide a visually stimulating way for them to have everything they need, no matter where they are? 

Second, many companies treat everyone the same.  In reality, salespeople are some of the most individualistic people we have in a company.  A dashboard that works for one salesperson does not work for another.  The channel organization needs something different than the salespeople, yet we often treat them the same from a mobile perspective. Our Enterprise Mobility solutions address those differences perfectly.

Tomas: In addition, in the rush to go mobile, I think many companies have not taken the time to define what they need to achieve from their mobile strategy, nor have they defined metrics to measure their success. Once you clearly define and understand your mobile audience, then you should determine your goals and how to measure them.

 

What’s your prediction for the role of mobile devices in the enterprise in the next 5 years?

Phil: I’ll stick to predictions around the workplace. We already have clients that have switched their sales forces to 100% mobile devices and this trend will continue.  If you think about it, mobile devices were created to be the ultimate in collaboration, and I think this trend will continue. In 5 years we will be a completely “Mobile First” society. I can see desktops and laptops fading away for a significant portion of our workforce.  Creation will start at the mobile platform and expand backward.

Tomas: I agree, Phil. “Mobile First” will become a commonly accepted strategy in the most successful organizations.  There is a window of time between getting information and taking action, and the most successful organizations are the quickest to take action. That window of time is going to continue to shrink and companies will need to free their decision makers from the confines of the office just to stay competitive.  That means having access to the right information, immediately, regardless of time and location.