1. The Five Big Lies About ‘Going Mobile’ | White Paper
“
You have proven ability. You’re CEO of your company because
you’re extremely good at what you do. But that doesn’t mean
you are ready to tackle the complex world of mobility. Why?
Because mobile is completely different from anything you’ve
First, man done before, and you need to throw conventional wisdom onto
the dust heap of out-of-date thinking.
defines his You may have a bunch of people in business and IT that are
telling you how you should approach mobile, but beware. They
infrastructure. might not even recognize that mobile is different in every way
from previous technology waves.
Then his More times than not, companies focus on mobile as a task
infrastructure on their to-do list because they are not equipped to deal with
designing, building and integrating a mobile solution that
”
makes a strong impact. As a result, companies create mobile
defines him apps without business value, and they end up throwing away
most of the stuff, after the fact. It’s been reported that 70
percent of all apps built between 2008 and 2011 will become
- Anonymous obsolete and candidates for redevelopment by the end of 2012,
according to MGI research.
What makes mobile so profoundly different from earlier technology waves?
Mobility presents a new set of challenges. Development has to be shifted to a different
technology platform that requires fresh skill sets and experience. A mobile solution should
be something that thousands of people can use on any of the 200+ platforms anytime and
anywhere. You must provide devices for your employees or establish bring-your-own-device
policies. You must sync content with your website, support it and keep the application refreshed.
And let’s not forget that all this must be accomplished without compromising security or
performance.
In order to fully take advantage of mobile, you must resist that conventional wisdom that you
may hear from your staff. The C-suite needs a Truth Meter to spot lies and dispel misconceptions
about mobilizing the enterprise. Here are five Big Lies that might slow your progress.
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2. The Five Big Lies About ‘Going Mobile’ | White Paper
1. We just need a mobile presence . . . fast
What good is speed if it doesn’t accomplish real business value? You only get one
chance to make a first impression in the marketplace, and you don’t want that to
be a bad one. Customers have megaphones and shout their evaluation of your
app with one to five stars. A bad rating is hard to overcome. Do you really want to
waste time and money to get negligible business results that may damage your
reputation? Even if eventually you get it right? It is critical to recognize that mobile
is a business enabler not a check off.
2. You have in place APIs, which let you access all of your enterprise data and software.
So your team just needs to focus on building an app and then connect it
Sounds good, but it’s often not true. APIs can be missing elements or are unable
to support the real-time, high-volume interactions that a widely distributed mobile
solution will bring. There must also be middleware software to hook together
API discrete programs, such as payment systems, to your app. It’s estimated by
Forrester Research that 60 percent of the cost of a mobile solution is the cost
of middleware and integration. Mobile is not simply the thin layer of code on a
device.
Stand-alone websites didn’t drive business value. Web-enabled business
processes did. Amazon is a prime example of exploiting the Web to the fullest. So
too must mobile apps evolve to mobile-enabled solutions that allow companies to
leverage its existing business infrastructure.
3. Our creative team can design the interface
Probably not. Undoubtedly, your staff can design the interface to your website and
visual assets, but designing for an interactive mobile experience is fundamentally
different. You need to understand how your target customers will connect with the
application and then deliver that interaction in useful and compelling ways.
According to Pinch Media, on the day after an app is downloaded, only 20 percent
of users use it again. By day 30, that’s down to 3 percent. User-centered design
Home gets to the essence of the apps functionality and usefulness before you ever
consider its look and feel. Experts in this field test designs with actual customers
and create solutions based on what the customer wants, not what you assume
they want.
You may think you understand your customers from getting up close to them on
the Web. Mobile, however, is getting up close and personal with them. Because a
phone usually has one primary user, you need to know if you are interacting with a
17-year-old girl or a 35-year-old guy. You can customize your content accordingly
through mobile analytics.
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3. The Five Big Lies About ‘Going Mobile’ | White Paper
4. Our staff can handle the development work
Just because a member of your IT staff developed an iPhone game doesn’t
mean he or she can code an enterprise-class mobile solution. There are so many
_ aspects to think about and design and code for. What happens if your battery dies
while using the application? If you get on an elevator, lose the connection and then
get back the connection? How do you cache all information so you don’t have to
restart? If you are in low bandwidth world, does your app detect and act differently
than when you are in a 4G environment? It’s about working cross-platforms,
updating the application and surviving the app store approval processes.
5. Finally, we can worry about security later
While you don’t want security to get in the way of an engaging user experience,
there’s no way security should be an afterthought. You need to follow the data and
secure it as you go—while not compromising usability. For example, an insurance
company’s mobile application is worthless if it doesn’t tie into individual policy data
when an accident is reported, a bill paid or a policy updated. Starting on a mobile
device and ending up on your website is not a great mobile experience.
If you’re not convinced that security is of primary importance, take a look at the
sobering statistics. Juniper Networks found that in 2011, mobile malware attacks
reached a record number, jumping 155 percent, hitting the Android platform
hardest.
It is irresponsible to open your organization to such risks since they can be
minimized when building an enterprise solution.
Contact Mobiquity
We know how to make mobility work for you—no lie. We develop enterprise-class solutions that:
• effectively and seamlessly connect middleware with your APIs
• give your targeted audience—customers and employees—what they want and need
• are secure and capture real-time behavioral insights of users through analytics and social media
www.mobiquityinc.com
781.591.4800
info@mobiquityinc.com
mobiquityinc.com/contact-us
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