Nothing has changed in business as quickly as the adoption of mobile technologies. The mere speed in which these innovations became available was staggering on its own, matched only by the pace in which even traditionally stoic company leaders came on board. Now, the enterprise must keep pace with the evolution of mobile goals and challenges when it comes to pleasing the customer and managing productivity.
Interestingly enough, in the process, these company leaders are also focused on application deployment. They understand the value these apps bring to their everyday processes and how they can also contribute to a more secure network and better access for mobile employees. It also supports the need to keep pace with the rate of development, deployment and spending to support mobile initiatives.
A recent Mobile Enterprise post highlighted a survey from CIO Strategic Marketing Services and Triangle Publishing Services, sponsored by Oracle (News - Alert) titled, “The Connected Enterprise: Keeping Pace with Mobile Development.” The survey points to increased spending over time as the enterprise aims to keep up with the latest and greatest in mobile technology.
The survey also pointed to the increasing concerns among IT professionals with regards to mobile security and the needed integration with backend systems. One of the key challenges identified in the survey is the lack of consensus regarding methods of mobile development and deployment. As the battle rages on, security continues to be the number one concern within the enterprise.
In fact, 93 percent of respondents pointed to data loss and other security breaches related to mobile device use as their primary concern. While some have put measures in place to train users on the proper methods for limiting exposure, organizations are increasingly turning toward centralized management instead of relying on the user to ensure security measures are kept.
Organizations plan to spend more time focusing on device data encryption, centralized updating and troubleshooting, remote data wiping and the lockdown of features. Considerable time is spent on application development on the front end, although the majority of time for the IT department is spent on integration, security, testing for quality assurance and overall design work.
Mobile apps change at a rather rapid pace. To keep up, IT departments have to dedicate more time to updating their portfolios and applications. This pace is only expected to continue to intensify, which will put more pressure on these departments in the next two years. Many will aim to balance development with deployment, although corporate and consumer demands will play a part in the selected direction.
The key to ongoing mobile success for all companies is to stay abreast of the latest developments and how integration into their mobile strategies will deliver the desired benefits. In doing so, companies are better positioned to leverage full value from mobile innovation.