Moving to mobile. (Software Intelligence).

Companies wishing to evaluate the benefits of a mobile application are faced with an array of industry information, making a satisfactory cost benefit analysis of mobile technology, based on standard ROI alone, difficult to achieve.

A business case for mobile strategy investment should incorporate a forecast of important intangible, as well as tangible, business benefits that can be achieved Assessing how a mobile solution can add value to company performance, in terms of enhanced communication and interaction with enterprise data, is a worthwhile consideration alongside quantifying the financial rewards of using specific wireless hardware or software.

Do the numbers add up?

During times when IT spending is low, and more companies are 'making do' with their existing infrastructure rather than investing in new technology, it's tempting to derive ROI projections only from hard numbers and to ignore 'intangibles', which is understandable up to a point. Where mobile technology and strategy are concerned, the emphasis needs to be less on specific hardware or software, more on the applications to which mobile access is needed, and how such access can deliver productivity and competitiveness gains. An assessment of business needs and employee behaviour can assist ROI calculations in developing a business case, therefore mobile investment should be geared closely to specific employee and enterprise needs, and form part of an overall strategy.

Intangible benefits

Identifying and assessing the intangible benefits that are likely to result from the deployment of a mobile solution is difficult. A synthesis of some of the 'soft' benefits of wireless technology identified by Gartner, together with our own analysis, is listed below:

* Faster and more reliable decision malting: as a result of more effective communication and improved information flow.

* Process improvements: the generation of valuable new information, such as customer behaviour data. Data can be immediately captured and mined to provide an insight into potential business process improvements.

* Increased customer retention: being more responsive to customers results in improved customer satisfaction.

* Broader learning: using mobile devices and applications will spread knowledge through the organisation.

* Reduced employee stress levels as a result of easy and immediate access to critical information: enabling employees to keep in touch with family via email or instant messaging while travelling leads to an improved quality of employee life.

* Enhanced brand value: the company presents a more professional and efficient image to customers.

Personal Information Management

For many organisations the starting point in developing a mobile strategy will be how to enable access to personal information systems (PIM). 'Personal information' in this context is the data that is absolutely critical for people to perform their work. It is information that is pertinent to their daily routines and includes data that can be amended, personalised and managed by individuals. It includes email, diary and contacts but can also include customer relationship and financial information.

Access a range of applications

Enabling mobile access to email represents an important leap forward for staff. But there is growing evidence that mobile access to a wider mix of corporate data is more critical. Mobile staff require contact details when they are away from their office, at their clients' sites or while travelling. They need access to updated customer contact details, a customer relationship history and the ability to amend and manage that data. Access to other data sources, such as financial information is also crucial, it is the combination of data sources that is the key element.

Adapting to the change

Organisations that are sympathetic to change will be more successful in using mobile applications, and financial gains will be greater. Identify, therefore, the process aspects of your business that can very easily benefit from mobile strategy or applications, where you can forecast quick wins in terms of productivity, improved staff performance, and better customer service.

Once you have developed an accurate picture of your organisational needs you need to consider the following issues, before drawing up a specification.

Security

It is critical that all solutions are evaluated in the light of industry proven security techniques in order to ensure the full protection of corporate information and systems.

Usability 

How easy is it to compose emails or access the web? Assess what facilities are available to enable staff to manage their data, using personal alerts and filters. Is remote printing possible?

Data types

Delivering business value from a mobile solution requires a mix of data sources. List the enterprise applications that are critical to your mobile staff Demand for mobile access to certain types of data types and applications is likely to grow rapidly.

'Synchronisation'/'access'

Hand held devices can either synchronise with enterprise network systems and download information to be stored in the device, or can be used solely to access data in real time as and when required. Synchronisation allows for mobile users to store fairly current information, only updating periodically, while real time access allows retrieval of up to date information only when it is required.

When thinking about the cost of these options, consider how frequently staff will need to synchronise, in order to access time critical data, and how long the synchronisation process will take. 'Always on' over-the-air synchronisation is likely to be paid for according to the amount of data transferred, and handheld devices requiring more memory and functionality can push up the budget.

More frequent real time access will typically be paid for in data charges. Using mobile phones for access, rather than higher specification handheld devices, requires less support. This latter option may be a good place to start for organisations looking for a lower cost entry point to a mobile strategy.

Total Cost of Ownership

This is an important issue in developing a mobile strategy consider the cost of supporting the handheld devices you deploy in relation to the original investment. Keeping costs low by encouraging the 'back door' introduction of handhelds (with different staff using different devices with varied mix of operating systems) also has implications for support. The use of ubiquitous hardware may provide an ideal and cost effective platform on which to reach the first rung of the mobile strategy ladder.

Evaluate the solution

Finally, when you have conducted a needs assessment, and drawn up a specification, you are ready to select a solution. Go for solutions that can be tried out with minimal investment. A pilot study is a good starting point. This should involve a good cross section of users, not just technologically savvy staff to help you to get the most out your investment.

Conclusion For many organisations, the question is not if when to adopt a mobile solution, but how to go about it. Jumping on the mobile bandwagon without a careful assessment of how the technology can be used, to meet your specific needs, is a recipe for failure. The emphasis should be less on specific hardware, such as handheld devices, than on the applications and how they can deliver productivity gains. The focus should be on where your company can derive value and must take into account an assessment of the important intangible benefits as well as a calculation of ROI. Developing a business case for investment in mobile technology must therefore be closely geared to the specific needs of the enterprise and form part of an overall strategy.

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