A well-planned approach to enterprise mobility is required to derive the best

BANGALORE, INDIA: The recent Citrix survey revealed that Indian companies recognise the compelling need for enterprise mobility adoption due to factors such as IT consumerisation and increased mobile device proliferation. However the potential is marred by inhibitors such as security and data breach, integration issues, regulatory compliance, high cost etc.

The research for the Citrix Enterprise Mobility survey was conducted by Zinnov with 130 IT and business stakeholders in 65 organizations across India. Following are some of the key report highlights:

• Though enterprise mobility use cases are fast emerging, less than 50 percent of the enterprises today have defined enterprise mobility strategy of any form

• It is increasingly being realized by the enterprises that defining a well-planned approach towards enterprise mobility deployments can gain maximum user acceptance, reduce time to ROI as well as mitigate security concerns

• Accordingly, enterprises are required to define a comprehensive enterprise mobility strategy encompassing "User Devices", "Enterprise Mobility Applications", "Data Accessibility & Network Connectivity" and "End Users of Enterprise Mobility" to realize maximum productivity and operational improvements

• Choosing an integrated solution from a single vendor might potentially help ensure homogeneity, minimize support issues and reduce costs thus maximizing ROI for enterprise mobility deployments

Key drivers for Enterprise Mobility Adoption

· 70 percent Technology stakeholders says that unified communications is a key driver for enterprise mobility.

· The second most valuable driver was increasing collaboration amongst employees, resonated by 60 percent of technology and business stakeholders

Key applications mobilized by enterprises

· 97 percent of respondents said that they have deployed corporate email through enterprise mobility solutions

· In the near future, enterprise grade applications such as CRM (planned by 38 percent organizations), ERP (planned by 40 percent organizations), SCM (planned by 31 percent organizations), Sales Force Automation (planned by 25 percent organizations) as well as Time Management / Billing & Field Service / Order Booking applications (planned by 25 percent organizations) are the key applications that are expected to witness mobilization

Key benefits of Enterprise Mobility

· Respondents admitted that the top three benefits they accrued through enterprise mobility included improved productivity, enhanced competitiveness and ensuring better customer service

 

Success Factors

· The respondents identified that ensuring deployment of only approved mobile applications, business rules adherence in mobile applications, ensuring enterprise procedural controls and availing integrated solution from a single vendor are crucial for the successful implementation of Enterprise Mobility strategies.

· For organizations to have a comprehensive strategy on mobility, respondents identified the following key pillars:

• User devices - Android (84 percent respondents), iOS (62 percent respondents) and Windows Phone (46 percent respondents) are gaining popularity requiring organizations to support multiple platforms for enterprise mobility applications

• Applications - After email (96 percent respondents), CRM (68 percent respondents) and Unified Communications (64 percent respondents) form the key applications desired by business stakeholders

• Data accessibility - Desktop and App Virtualization, and Cloud based data storage solutions can help organizations ensure seamless access to data, which becomes essential for a highly mobile workforce

• Users - Employees prefer user friendliness of apps, easy authorization, less device downtime and support for both work and personal devices

Praveen Bhadada, senior director, Zinnov Management Consulting, said: "Enterprise mobility holds tremendous potential for enterprises in improving overall productivity, connecting with the customers and opening up business avenues. However, consistent user experience, without the compromise of security is the key for any successful mobility deployment."

"A homogenised mobility deployment can help enterprise plug the security gaps and maintain highest level of usability. The acceptance has already started coming, the onus now lies on the vendors to provide a comprehensive solution towards mobility needs of enterprises."