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A mobile enterprise can be defined as one that enables its constituents to access information, to communicate, and to collaborate in real-time, on an as-needed basis, from any location, at any time. Mobility is generally facilitated by smart mobile devices such as tablets, smartphones, etc. and often delivered using mobile applications.
Recently, Springboard research did a report on Enterprise Mobility in India. They found that India is one of the world’s fastest growing wireless market, but the adoption of mobile enterprise solutions is still in its nascent stage and set to grow tremendously in the next five years.
As Springboard Research discusses, India’s path to enterprise mobility will go through three phases. The first phase of mobility is called “The Automated Workforce.” This level of enterprise mobility involves solutions such as Document Management Systems (DMS), Field Force Automation (FFA), Salesforce Automation (SFA), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).These are critical applications that integrate internal processes and client-facing resources. They allow mobile workers to minimize paperwork, reduce back-to-office visits, improve productivity, and achieve higher sales closing ratios by simplifying and automating their day-to-day processes.
The second level of enterprise mobility adoption is known as the “Always Connected” level. These solutions include Unified Communications (UC), Location-based Services (LBS), and Business Intelligence (BI). These applications extend anytime, anywhere, any device real-time communication and collaboration capabilities to employees. Enterprises can leverage LBS to track vehicles and employees in real-time, while information can be extracted, analyzed and reported using BI. This will help to break organizational silos and enterprises will eventually benefit from increased synergies.
Finally, the highest level of enterprise mobility is the “Pervasive Mobility” stage. Enterprises embracing Pervasive Mobility will deploy key applications such as Mobile Point-of-Sale (MPOS), Social Networking Services (SNS), Financial Management System (FMS), and Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS). This is the advanced stage of a mobile enterprise, which integrates function-specific applications. These applications enhance brand image and facilitate efficient administration of internal operations such as finance and human resources. Incorporating these applications into the enterprise’s implementation strategy will achieve enterprise-wide mobility.
Traditionally, Indian enterprises have not been proactive in embracing mobility, due to limited budgets, knowledge and awareness. Enterprises have been indifferent about including mobility as part of their strategy, planning, and processes. In 2009, less than 7% of mobile workers in India used a smart mobile device. Those businesses that do have an enterprise mobility strategy are primarily still in the first phase: “The Automated Workforce.”
However, due to dynamic economic conditions and rigorous business requirements, CXOs are increasingly becoming aware of mobility and are even willing to implement it within their organizations. Furthermore, smart mobile devices will find their way to nearly two9thirds of the country’s mobile workforce by 2015. Going forward, Springboard Research believes that India, Inc. will undergo a mobile revolution over the next four years and move steadily toward “Pervasive Mobility”.
About Uniphore: Uniphore Technologies Inc is the leader in Multi lingual speech-based software solutions. Uniphore’s solutions allow any machine to understand and respond to natural human speech, thus enabling humans to use the most natural of communication modes, speech, to engage and instruct machines. Uniphore operates from its corporate headquarters at IIT Madras Research Park, Chennai, India and has sales offices in Middle East (Dubai, UAE) as well as in Manila, Philippines.