One species of middleware provider in the enterprise mobility space is essentially delivering mobile access to backend systems long established in the corporate world, from sales-force automation to customer relationship management.
That scenario can be characterized as an early phase in the deployment of mobile enterprise initiatives, according to executives at several companies devoted to such deployments and confirmed by an analyst.
“We are in a sort of early phase where we’re taking existing backend systems and pushing them out to mobile workers,” said analyst Kitty Weldon at Current Analysis, who focuses on mobilizing enterprises.
Somewhere down the line, Weldon said, productivity enhancements of a purely mobile nature will hit the market. Until then, getting critical data from existing systems out to folks in the field – or even “corridor warriors” who rarely perch at their desks – is a big part of enterprise mobility, she said.
Another trend in enterprise mobility that is widely cited is the growing insistence of I.T. managers and CTOs that a company’s mobility outlook be strategic and centralized. Many early deployments, for example, were initiated and paid for by, say, a sales division that didn’t want I.T. involved for fear a project might be slowed or spiked by fundamental I.T. concerns such as cost and security.
But those initial projects represented “point solutions” that could be costly and duplicative as they spread to other divisions within an enterprise. And for that reason, a strategic approach more often now involves a “platform solution” that can handle multiple point solutions. Antenna Software, Dexterra and Vaultus Mobile Technologies are three companies that address this market segment.
Forecast calls for … pain?
Hanging over the enterprise landscape this fall, of course, are ominous clouds of macroeconomic uncertainty.
The twin value propositions of mobility – efficiency and revenue growth – should carry the day in uncertain economic times, mobile enterprise executives said.
But the breadth and depth of negative economic news cannot be ignored. The same executives acknowledged that alarming headlines and the events they depict may yet put the brakes on aggressive pursuit of mobility initiatives by corporate America. Next year’s budgets typically get proposed and scrutinized as the fourth quarter gets underway; the current spate of bank failures and bailouts comes at a crucial time.
“Even if there is a fairly articulate return on investment, you may not want to invest today (in mobile solutions) if the pay-off is three years away,” said Weldon.
But the situation is not a clear case of either-or, one executive said.
“In hard economic times, it’s easier to justify mobility initiatives that grow revenue rather than those that increase efficiency,” said Keith Waryas, director of channel programs at Vaultus. “It’s the top line versus the bottom line. We haven’t seen a substantial slowdown yet. Sectors that view mobility as a ‘must-have’ are growing. Those who see it as ‘nice-to-have’ may be cutting back.”
“We certainly see the economic downturn and understand that we need to help our customers build business cases for mobility,” said Benjamin Wesson, VP of product management at Dexterra.
Jim Hemmer, president and CEO of Antenna Software, remains optimistic.
“We’ve not seen an economic impact,” he said. “Mobility has both top-line and bottom-line advantages. I wouldn’t say that revenue growth trumps cost savings in, say, the supply chain.”
From point solution to platform
Vaultus, founded in 2000, provides a platform solution – the Vaultus Mobile Application Platform, or VMAP – that enables mobile access to a number of existing backend systems, roughly akin to competitors such as Antenna Software and Dexterra.
Reliance on those backend systems has grown rapidly with the PC revolution, which now has given way to the need to mobilize available data, according to Waryas. Thus, Vaultus’ work often involves creating “dashboards” tailored to specific executives’ on-the-go needs for specific performance data.
One recent example is Vaultus’ work mobilizing customer relationship management, or CRM, for biotechnology company Genzyme. The solution provides field representatives with access to account management features, contact management tools and a simple means to deliver visit reports.
But those single applications – or “point solutions” – are giving way to more comprehensive, platform-based solutions, Waryas said.
“What we’re seeing now is more companies devising mobile strategies,” Waryas said. “They may need sales-force automation today, but they also see the value in dashboard-style reports for executives. Now, mobility has an impact on more parts of the business. Mobility begets more mobility.”
For instance, the time between a company’s deployment of its first mobile solution and its second and third is getting compressed, according to Waryas. The I.T. department has thus become more involved in the process to ensure cost controls and prevent fragmentation of technology platforms.
Testing the water, then a plunge
Dexterra’s Wesson agreed that many companies have taken a more strategic approach to mobilization.
“Mobilizing the work force leads to more applications and devices and that variety leads to a platform approach,” Wesson said. “Our value lies in bringing all those options together.”
Dexterra, like Vaultus, in some sense connects the dots for its clients. Those clients increasingly may arrive at Dexterra’s doorstep via a carrier relationship – Dexterra works closely with AT&T Mobility and Vodafone Group plc, among others – and Dexterra provides the platform for its partners’ software solutions. Dexterra maintains “Dexterra Central” as a means of collaborating with solution providers.
“We’re getting more traction through our carrier channels,” Wesson said. “That’s just starting to pay dividends.”
The trend from point solutions to platform solutions also describes the arc of Antenna Software’s business, according to Hemmer.
“We’re executing on a significant trend,” Hemmer said. “Companies that may have had several point solutions in place are using more strategy, less tactics. With the advent of 3G networks and new devices, a platform-based approach is gaining with I.T. managers and CTOs.”
In part, that trend has been accelerated by consumer use of wireless, Hemmer said.
“Everyone, as a consumer, has gone mobile,” he said. “As an employee it also makes sense.”
That means that mobility is moving from task-based field workers to knowledge workers who need to collaborate, Hemmer added. But this “outside-in” trend also means that I.T. managers must be “stewards of security and compliance policies.”
“It’s that balance we help with,” Hemmer said. “We give I.T. the ability to manage users’ activities, so certain controls can be tied to a company’s policies.”
