Contents. Apps for utilities 3. Mobility Drivers 4. The New Mobile Worker Vision 6. Mobility challenges 8. Approaching Mobility 9.

Transcription

1 Transform business operations, workforce management and customer engagement by creating the mobile tools that provide employees, third parties and customers with what they need. White paper prepared by Mubaloo

2 Contents Apps for 3 Mobility Drivers 4 The New Mobile Worker Vision 6 Mobility challenges 8 Approaching Mobility 9 About Mubaloo 11 Sources 12

3 Apps for Enterprise mobile apps can dramatically improve remote workforce management, streamline workflows and transform business processes for utility providers, while consumer apps can help with account management and provide tools for intelligently managing energy usage. Integration with third party systems presents the biggest challenge for multi-functional applications, and information security is a top priority when dealing with sensitive and highvalue customer data. Utility Field Employees Million A cohesive mobile app strategy based on business objectives rather than technology considerations is needed to provide the ultimate end user experience and meet specific business needs. In 2013, there were 1.2 million utility employees working remotely according to a report from Navigant Research. By 2020, this figure is expected to double to 2.4 million. At the same time, according to Oracle, many utility companies face the challenge of an ageing workforce, close to retirement, reluctant to adopt mobile tools. This creates the need and opportunity to implement new workforce management tools on mobile that are designed around the needs of employees. Firms stand to benefit from creating mobile apps designed around specific job functions. Utility companies who have done so have already seen a 20% increase in field force productivity and a 23% improvement in meeting service level agreements, according to PA Consulting. It is clear that understanding mobility can lead to huge benefits, both internally and externally. Understanding where these opportunities lie and how to get the maximum value out of them is the next challenge. By taking a process driven approach to mobility, utility firms are able to help build useful tools that benefit employees, the supply chain and customers. With increasing pressure to improve operational efficiency, adhere to the latest regulations around compliance and operations, deliver better customer service and reduce operational costs; there are many drivers for implementing a mobile strategy Million Apps designed around jobs 20% MORE PRODUCTIVE Service Level Agreement 23% IMPROVEMENT 3 Copyright Mubaloo Ltd 2014

4 Mobility Drivers The utility industry has a large number of roles that rely on remote working, including: maintenance, sales & marketing, designers and planners, engineers, surveyors and other roles spread over extensive geographic areas. Many of these roles are process driven or require collaboration and access to information. Utilising apps to improve efficiency, improve business processes, reduce paper usage and reduce admin processes can lead to huge cost reductions and benefits. According to IDC, 40% of EMEA utility firms expect to increase their workforces mobility over the next months. In the case of companies that have deployed ruggedized mobile devices, often running Windows Mobile, mobility has helped with maintenance and completing work tasks. However, these legacy devices are now old, slow and expensive leading to some employees abandoning them in favour of paper. Internal Improve workforce management: The always-on; alwaysconnected nature of smartphones means that it is now possible to be do real-time management of employees and deliver essential information based on where they are Million PERCENT40% INCREASE MONTHS Million Ageing Workforce: With the workforce expected to double from 1.2 million in 2013 to 2.4 million by 2020 and many highly experienced employees reaching retirement age, now is the time to assess internal processes. By designing with the future in mind, utilising mobile in the most effective way and creating apps around job functions will help companies to not only save costs but also attract a younger workforce. Reduce operational costs: Move away from paper processes to help reduce overall admin costs and drive efficiencies. This can help to free up back office admin to focus on other essential tasks and provide better data intelligence through the collection of real-time information. Legacy hardware migration: Many utility firms are now looking to migrate their employees away from slow, stylus based devices to modern mobile devices that deliver a better user experience and allow for real-time data collection. 4 Copyright Mubaloo Ltd 2014

5 Asset management: Thanks to connected infrastructure via M2M, utility firms can get greater intelligence on infrastructure, minimise downtime, improve uptime and optimise field resources. Through the technology, potential issues with machinery can be identified allowing maintenance crews to respond quickly thanks to integration with workforce management systems. All of this can be delivered in the field, in real-time, through bespoke apps. Design & Planning: Using GIS data, infrastructure diagrams and geo-tagged site notes, powerful apps can be created for designers and planners visiting the field to mark, compare and check on the progress of work. This can be captured and analysed in real-time to help make on site decisions and speed up project delivery times. Channel management: Utility firms rely on a vast network of partners and suppliers, apps can help to deliver better insight and build tools that improve communication, as well as sales & working practices, without compromising security. Companies can utilise mobile apps to improve visibility in how their channel partners are working. Health & Safety: Apps help to ensure standard health and safety checks are being carried out and reduce paper dependency, as well as providie time-stamped, location-based electronic copies of checklists. Mobile apps also introduce the ability to track progress and work completed through photo and video. Corporate administration: Everything from procurement, talent management, HR, financials, expenses and internal communications can benefit from process improvement driven by implementing mobile touch points. Not only does this help with compliance and reporting, but also leads to a reduction of paper wastage and helps attract younger talent. Sales & marketing: Apps can transform the sales and marketing process by creating living brochures that always contain the most up-to-date information. These can integrate with CRM systems and analytics to increase cross-sell and up sell opportunities. 5 Copyright Mubaloo Ltd 2014

6 The New Mobile Worker Vision In the 90s, John s company tried to roll out a mobile workforce management system using state of the art, ruggedised PDAs and mobile computer terminals. The company invested millions. Within two years, John and his colleagues resorted back to paper processes. They found that using the PDAs actually created more work because the devices were unreliable, heavy and clunky to use. The user experience of searching through hundreds of different menus actually meant it was quicker for the workers to use paper. In the years since, they relied on paper and mobile phone calls or SMS messaging. Recently, the company provided employees with durable Android smartphones and apps designed around their role to include a vast, searchable, repository of information about equipment, live job updates and allocation, network information, the ability to order new parts and communicate with the rest of the team via private messaging or video calls. Thanks to fast connection speeds, cloud computing and intelligent data systems, the company is able to provide real-time job prioritisation and details. Unlike the last time they used mobile, the new system is intuitive and features the same sort of design that John and many colleagues are used to doing with the apps they use every day. As a result of using the app, in addition to other improvements that tie advances in technology together, John s company has seen a massive increase in productivity and collaboration. The app not only lets them get priority job information but also gives them the ability to perform high quality video calls to get in touch with experts to overcome unforeseen problems. 6 Copyright Mubaloo Ltd 2014

7 External When creating a mobile app roadmap, it is important to look at how mobile can be used to help customers as well as employees. Many firms will start with external apps to help customers manage their accounts and receive bills via mobile and online. Push notifications and device features such as sensors or cameras can be used to help provide new types of customer service that cut down on the number of incoming enquiries and improve loyalty. Increasingly, we are seeing energy companies promote the benefits of being able to manage home energy usage with mobile apps. This is something energy companies should be looking at in their mobile strategies to stay ahead of their competitors and give their customers more control. Improve customer service: Outside of providing powerful work tools for employees, utility firms can help to improve customer service by providing mobile apps to customers to manage and monitor their account usage. Renewable Energy Initiatives: With a connected infrastructure, utility firms can better manage their networks and demonstrate to customers how much of their energy comes from renewable sources through a customer facing app. Maintenance: Installing a connected utility infrastructure will take time and involve investment by utility firms. Including tools within customer facing apps for reporting problems, photos of issues can be sent that include geo-location information to pinpoint where issues in the network are. This can help in decreasing call centre costs and improve customer service, as well as provide more accurate information to the maintenance team. Payments: Letting customers set up their payments via their mobile devices and manage their accounts in new and easier ways. Mobile users are increasingly using their devices to help manage their lives and there is a huge opportunity to enable customers to control their utility usage via mobile. Customer app example Over the past year, Laura has found that she s been able to save 15% on her energy bills since installing a smart meter that helps to manage energy in her home. Using her mobile app, Laura is able to see how much energy she is using and reduce the amount by making sure that rooms not being used are switched off. As her energy company has more insight into peak data times, they ve been able to better manage the flow of energy to regulate it around peak times. These savings are passed onto the customer leading to a higher level of retention. 7 Copyright Mubaloo Ltd 2014

8 Mobility challenges There are some obvious challenges when it comes to mobilisation. For many utility firms, these will largely be linked to legacy backend systems designed to be contained in a corporate network. It is vital that companies build the right foundations before starting any mobile project. Trying to retrofit web services at a later date will only add to additional costs and delay any projects, or result in apps that fail to deliver the desired result. Web Services: Despite how long mobility has been used by utility firms, there are clear concerns about what happens when opening up corporate data on mobile devices. The first step for any company is to work on building secure and robust APIs and web services that help firms to stay competitive by being able to deliver the right information internally and externally via mobile. Security: It s vital to ensure that systems and devices are protected against attempts to disrupt services. One of the reasons utility firms would use custom app design is to better control the data. For customer facing apps, firms need to consider how to protect the databases and corporate network against possible attacks. BYOD: Bring Your Own Device is both an opportunity and a challenge. Whether organisations allow it or not, it is happening. According to a Microsoft study looking at BYOD, 67 per cent of employees across 13 countries use a personal device at work to some degree. Whilst many firms have implemented policies around the use of personal devices in the workplace, there are many who don t know how to cope with the change in employee behaviour. Another potential worry for utility firms is whether employees are also using their personal devices to send or receive corporate information on non-approved, third party apps. According to research by Ovum, up to 31% of employees are sourcing their own applications and bypassing the IT department. Part of the issue here is that many employees will feel that if they are using their own devices, they can use them in the ways they see fit. It is only if policies are in place or if Mobile Device Management (MDM)_ software is being used that firms can get a better control of how employees use mobility. 8 Copyright Mubaloo Ltd 2014

9 Approaching Mobility Firms in all industries still tend to start the mobility conversation with something along the lines of We want to do mobile. For the utility industry, mobility is a pressing need. Factors such as environmental transparency, regulation, competition, geographic dispersion of workers and infrastructure, the size of the workforce and job types all mean that it is important to understand and act on the opportunities mobile presents. The utility industry has had bad experiences in the past with field service application deployments on expensive devices in the 90s. For those who remember them, the applications were unintuitive, required a large amount of input from back office staff, had poor connectivity and largely led to more stress and work for employees. However, technology has moved on rapidly since then. Modern smartphones and tablets are designed around usability and intuitive design. If a company approaches mobile transformation as a technology project, rather than to meet a set of defined business objectives, projects are likely to fail. It s important for organisations to consider technical aspects, such as future-proofing mobile strategies by thinking about cloud-based platforms, the changing device landscape, the marginalisation of certain operating systems, and the need for approaches like cross-platform design. With mobile, first and foremost, you need a clear vision of what you re trying to achieve: is the emphasis on customer satisfaction, retention, acquisition, cost reduction, employee productivity or something else? In many such situations the speed and quality of information, combined with excellent usability, could be the factor between improved efficiency, or a customer choosing one company over another. Mobile device-specific capabilities access to digital media audio and video capture Bluetooth device connection device tilt and movement information multi-touch interaction from gestures and actions geo-location contextual awareness messaging push notification When embarking on a mobile strategy, it s important to: 1. Objectives: Start by identifying core business objectives and the company s mobile vision. User needs will need to be explored by looking at internal & external processes, services & communications 2. Measurement: Define the KPIs you ll measure and report on to understand success and return on mobility. You ll need a business case to demonstrate the value of mobile initiatives, as well as a budget for marketing your app. Don t forget to first measure what is happening today in your pre-mobile world so 9 Copyright Mubaloo Ltd 2014

10 you can demonstrate how customer behaviours change as a result of mobile deployments 3. Roadmap: Map out opportunities for mobile solutions across that are aligned to the strategic objectives of the business. Opportunities may then be phased and a roadmap created 4. Solutions: Identify any business obstacles that lie in your path, and herd resources towards a joined-up mobile vision using a clear implementation plan. Explore if small technical advances are possible remember it s easier to justify larger scale transformation once you ve proven an initial test 5. Expertise: Identify a partner that has experience in building apps for large companies who can deliver tangible value through mobility. They should be able to address not only the snazzy front-end design and development but also the tricky back-end integration. What s more, they should also be able to contribute to your strategy by helping you quantify the financial, legal and customer benefits of rolling out these types of apps, which can equip you to sell in the concept internally This only touches on some of the opportunities for utility firms. Each company is different in its approach, its needs and its goals. Working on a mobile strategy is the first step to help identify the opportunities and set goals. Contact Mubaloo to discuss these topics further or arrange a meeting to help identify the opportunities. 10 Copyright Mubaloo Ltd 2014

11 About Mubaloo Over the past five years, Mubaloo has worked across a number of different sectors to help companies understand where mobile fits in their organisation and how it can be used to open up new opportunities or improve business processes. Mubaloo s work within the enterprise space, planning, designing and creating mobile apps, has led to multiple awards wins including: App Developer of the Year at the Appsters 2012 & 2013 Mobile Entertainment App Developer of the Year at the Mobile Entertainment awards 2012 Finalist for the 2013 National Business awards for BlackBerry Business Enabler Recognised as the top developer outside of the US by research firm Sourcing Line To find out more about building a mobile strategy & to further explore what s possible for utility firms, please contact: Gemma Coles Director of Mobile Strategy Mubaloo gemma.coles@mubaloo.com Sarah Weller Managing Director (London) Mubaloo sarah.weller@mubaloo.com Bristol: Mubaloo Embassy House Queen s Avenue Bristol BS8 1SB London: Mubaloo 2nd Floor 1 Heathcock Court 415 Strand London WC2R 0NT +44 (0) Copyright Mubaloo Ltd 2014

12 Sources Navigant Research, Utility Mobile Workforce Management, January 3rd Oracle, Mobile Workforce Management and the Aging Utility Workforce, PA Consulting Being Smart with the Mobile Utility, BYOD-is it Good, Bad or Ugly from the User Viewpoint. Microsoft Security Blog. See also: Ovum: BYOD is Here to Stay. CloudTimes. See also: Oracle, Mobile Workforce Management and the Aging Utility Workforce, Copyright Mubaloo Ltd 2014