IBM Delivers Mobility Solutions for the Enterprise

Though not particularly known for its mobile expertise, IBM, through smart acquisitions and organic innovation, is empowering enterprise mobility.

Riegel also cited the example of TBC Corp., an IBM customer and parent company to Merchant's Tire, NTB (National Tire and Battery) and Midas muffler shops, among others, which is using IBM's mobile technology. Riegel said TBC wanted to overhaul the in-store experience for its customers and decided to use IBM's Worklight technology to completely rework the customer experience by providing customers with a tablet computer that provides very specific information about the products. Customers also can use the new scenario generator that is part of the tablet environment, he said.

Yet while the opportunities mobile presents are significant, there are a number of challenges clients face when adopting mobile computing. These include the management and security of devices and their underlying infrastructure, ensuring quality mobile app experience for users across operating systems and devices entering the market almost monthly, integrating data to the cloud and analyzing the insights captured in real time, IBM said.

From consulting services to software solutions and industry expertise, organic research and development to key acquisitions, IBM provides a variety of offerings to quickly adopt mobile throughout the organization. Thus, IBM is expanding its portfolio with new software and services that help clients create a mobile strategy, improve customer satisfaction with analytics for mobile devices, build and connect mobile applications, secure and manage the mobile enterprise, and extend existing capabilities.

Working with IBM consultants and new IBM Global Technology Services (GTS) Mobile Infrastructure Strategy and Planning services, customers can identify gaps and plan for the right mobile strategy and supporting infrastructure that incorporates the goals of the chief marketing officer (CMO), chief information officer (CIO), chief technology officer (CTO) and chief information security officer (CISO) into one integrated plan.

IBM is helping customers improve customer satisfaction with analytics for mobile devices. Big Blue's mobile portfolio now also includes capabilities from IBM Tealeaf, providing chief marketing officers, e-commerce and customer service professionals with access to real-time and automated insights into online customer buying experiences across online and mobile devices. As a result, organizations can gain actionable insight that allows them to improve customer support, transform site usability, tailor marketing campaigns and increase online conversion rates, IBM said.

And with its developer tools and services, IBM helps customers better build and connect mobile applications. IBM supports, integrates, manages and deploys mobile applications for Apple (including support for iOS6), Android, Windows (including support for Windows 8) operating systems and the BlackBerry. Enhancements to the IBM Mobile Foundation—which encompasses development, cloud integration and device management—will better support native app development and provide offline data synchronization to make it easier for developers to build apps that work when there is no network connection, Riegel said.

In an effort to offer clients accelerated application-delivery tools that support a team-based development environment, IBM announced the IBM Mobile Development Lifecycle Solution. This helps developers quickly develop across multiple platforms and produce higher app quality, and has been proven to improve delivery time by 25 percent. It also helps reduce the cost of development and lower defects by 20 percent.