Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column where C-level executives and advisory firms from across the mobile industry share unique insights and experiences.
Mobile application development and management is key to enterprise mobility success in today’s fast-moving, increasingly digital landscape. Yet, the growing number of devices and apps – and the myriad ways in which users are able to interact with them – is leading to complexity on an unprecedented level. Failure to put a coherent app development and management strategy in place could lead to organizations falling behind their competitors and failing to keep pace with technology change.
In recent research by Forrester on the mobility strategies of 2,258 IT decision makers, 43% of European respondents said they have implemented or plan to implement a corporate mobile app store within the next 12 months, compared to 26% in North America. While that indicates less self-sourcing and more active guidance on corporate devices and apps in Europe, says Forrester, mobility strategies are not as joined up as they should be.
“European mobile deployments look unstructured and often lack stakeholder alignment,” says the report. “While there is much activity around building out mobile application delivery and investing in the right infrastructure to support mobile engagement, there is no visible pattern or strategy behind many deployments.”
The reality is that enterprises face some considerable challenges when it comes to taking control of app development and management in the workplace. Mobile solutions often are not aligned with business priorities and objectives, and the lack of a consistent set of standards and best practices can increase time to market as well as leading to inconsistency in design and development. In addition to creating branding and positioning challenges, lack of a uniform mobility approach could lead to costs spiralling out of control.
One of the biggest challenges is the fact that diverse mobile operating systems, device formats and screen sizes all affect the performance of an application, and they are all continuously evolving. Enterprises need to stay ahead of the platform and feature updates that affect apps, and ensure that their mobile solutions deliver optimum performance. Many organizations will need native and cross-platform development skills across all major environments, and be able to ensure secure integration with back-end systems.
Without a dedicated mobile technology group, app development can become fragmented, wasting substantial time and money. To resolve this problem, enterprises should look to put in place a mobile center of excellence and appoint a chief mobility officer or a chief digital officer to ensure a structured approach to mobile app and service deployment and management throughout the company. By then using best practice tools and frameworks you can ensure that business drivers are fulfilled.
Indeed, app development and management need not be the considerable burden to enterprises that it threatens to become. By building a coherent business case for mobility, organizations can avoid a siloed app ecosystem, speed up deployment, lower the cost per app and keep pace with rapid technology advances. And by outsourcing the build and management of apps and mobile webs, organizations are left to focus more firmly on the associated business transformation.
Fernando Alvarez is VP and leader of Capgemini’s Mobile Solutions practice. A thought leader and mobile solutions/technology subject matter expert, Alvarez has worked closely with multiple multinational corporations as well as global independent software vendors with regard to their enterprise mobile needs and strategies. Prior to joining Capgemini, Alvarez was president, CEO and chairman of Abaco Mobile, an Atlanta-based software company that provided enterprise mobile software solutions for more than 21 years. In 2000, Alvarez was honored as one of the 100 most influential U.S. Hispanic business leaders by Hispanic Business magazine. He is also a past recipient of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Alvarez has a background in business, economics, and law, and is a frequent guest lecturer at industry events around the world.
