Companies undertaking concurrent development are likely to see their mobile business strategies become increasingly fragmented.
U.S. and U.K. businesses are
embracing mobile technology at an unprecedented rate, with average current
investments of $422,000 rising to $926,000 in the next year and a half, and a
third of companies planning to launch four or more mobile projects in the next
12 to 18 months. But frustrations around the cost, complexity, management and
timescale of those projects are growing, too, according to the "Mobile
Business Forecast 2012" released today by Antenna Software, which
commissioned Vanson Bourne to poll 1,000 CIOs and business unit leaders in the
U.S. and U.K.
The survey revealed that U.K.
and U.S. companies are working with an average of three separate mobile
solutions vendors simultaneously, highlighting the general inability of suppliers
to address multiple aspects of the mobile value chain. The report indicates
that companies undertaking concurrent development are likely to see their
mobile business strategies become increasingly fragmented, hampered by
redundant technologies and difficult to manage.
Jim Hemmer, CEO of Antenna,
said mobile devices are now so ubiquitous that a business without a mobile
strategy is a business without a strategy. Investment in mobile technology is
growing at a meteoric rate, and thats partly due to companies thinking beyond
the app and beyond the idea that mobility is only critical when it comes to
consumer engagement.
Of course, the challenges
and strains of joining the mobile revolution are still too much for many
businesses to handle, he added. Only when companies can quickly, securely and
cost-effectively mobilize themselves whenever, wherever and however they need
to, will we see them unlocking the true potential of the mobile channel.
The survey found 45 percent
of IT and business decision-makers in the United Kingdom and the United States
are dissatisfied with the speed at which the mobile projects they commission
get to market. In addition, 42 percent of respondents attested to being
frequently dissatisfied with the eventual cost of the solutions deployed. The
report revealed that, on average, projects commissioned by U.S. and U.K.
companies take more than six months to come to fruition, with one in 10 taking
a year or more to complete.
Mobile technology has
changed the way that people interact, and the implications for business are
equally profound, said Eugene Signorini, senior vice president of research for
Yankee Group. "The question today is how companies seize the opportunities
afforded to them by mobility while still maintaining control and visibility.
Today, an organization must consider the entire mobile experience and approach
enterprise mobility in a holistic, unified fashion to satisfy both employees
and customers and drive new revenues and growth.
The release of the "Mobile
Business Forecast 2012" coincides with the launch of AMPchroma, Antennas
cloud-based, mobile business suite, which allows companies to design, build, deploy
and manage mobile assetsincluding native and hybrid Web apps, mobile Websites
and corporate app storesfrom a single Web-based console. The suite has been
designed to support a holistic approach to mobile management by helping CIOs
unify their mobile business strategies.
Nathan Eddy is Associate Editor, Midmarket, at eWEEK.com. Before joining eWEEK.com, Nate was a writer with ChannelWeb and he served as an editor at FierceMarkets. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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