The Connected Enterprise: Transformation through Mobility

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1 The Connected Enterprise: Transformation through Mobility Introduction The last 24 months have seen a lasting shift in human behaviour across the world. This is the shift to a connected society - communicative and networked as never before. Facebook, Twitter and easyto-use smartphones have enabled information flow and collaboration across people, countries and economies. Apple took the device industry by surprise, Average Traffic from Smartphones and their success has proved the value of intuitive customer-oriented interfaces and grown a market for mobile applications. Tablets increase the mobile data traffic even more. Technologies, roles and relationships are converging and the boundary is increasingly gray between online and offline, personal time and business time. The paradigm shift landing squarely on CIO shoulders is delivering productivity and user experience for employees while maintaining cost-effectiveness and security. Not to mention coherent access to the myriad corporate applications that surround an employee s days. The Nordic economy was hit to varying degrees by the recession. This combined with the aging population and increasingly global competition has driven an increased business focus on productivity, effectiveness and using ICT for value creation. We see increased demand in the following areas: Increasing request from Nordic CIOs for support in managing mobile devices Support in designing, implementing and managing Hybrid Cloud solutions Use of virtual meeting services and a growing interest in Business Video Improving business processes and increasing ROI on ICT investments Migration to IP and converged mobile-ip solutions Net-based services and services in the Cloud Security and privacy solutions Here we explore some of the key drivers, disruptors and future enablers essential to enabling positive business transformation through enterprise mobility. Drivers The case for wireless working anywhere has existed in theory for several years. However it s only now that ecosystems start to come of age. The success of enterprise mobility rests on several pillars: Device functionality and user experience: Apple s entrance into the mobile device space both handsets and tablets simultaneously grew the market and raised the bar for all device vendors. One of the key differentiators was no doubt the intuitiveness of the user interface for example the pincer interactive screen. We see other market players also adopting gesture-based devices, an example being Nokia phones with the swipe functionality.

2 Ubiquitous access to high speed networks: The ubiquity and speed of 3G, 4G and WLAN networks in developed markets are making it palatable for users on the move to use enterprise applications that require large data transfers or several remote interactive sessions. Continued operator rollout and investment in this area is key to securing high quality user experience. Price and payment models: Data pricing models continue to evolve as do understanding customer needs in the enterprise side often the consumer of the product/application is not the payment responsible and this tends to inhibit use. Several large companies especially in the US market are handling the payment issue by allocating a flat sum per month per user any expenses incurred after that are paid by the employee. Mobile applications: The advent of user-friendly smartphones combined with consumer applications like Spotify and Angry Birds has created a new virtual world and lowered the barrier to mobile working, since people get more and more used to using the mobile as just another user interface into a digital world. Employee choice The consumerisation of IT i.e. the trend of new technology including devices and applications spreading into the corporate world from the consumer side is still debatable. On one side security concerns and payment responsibility concerns are a strong barrier to consumerisation. On the other side the need for talent and skilled workers makes it hard for companies to deny their employees access to tools that they are already used to in their private life. Security and Service guarantees: It is critical to secure that users not only get secure service access but also that they know the level of security they have. Thus user education on the security and devices is critical. Security and communication of the same internally are important, as are service guarantees are needed to provide users with the confidence that critical work sessions will not be interrupted or ruined because of bandwidth limitations (often a risk with an ultimately limited air interface on the mobile side). One of the key disruptors in the workplace is no doubt the new devices and the blurring of private and business boundaries. Business is conducted on the move, via social networks, and during formerly private hours. Location is no longer a constraint rather, it s the access to bandwidth that drives the use case. Cloud Mobility : The value of mobile working This is no doubt the heart of the matter for many C-level decision-makers what is the value of investing in enabling enterprise mobility?

3 Increasing loyalty through employee enablement TeliaSonera together with Cisco systems carried out a survey of enterprises in Sweden, including questions on mobility and the value of mobility. About 50% of endusers and/or ICT in companies have access to corporate through their mobile, and this access was more common in C-level or senior executives. A significantly high percent of respondents clearly saw the value in mobile ways of working. When asked about the value of increased mobility at work (i.e. the ability to work on the move), about 65% of respondents answered that it led to more motivated employees as well as more satisfied customers. In addition to worker satisfaction, we believe that enabling working while on the move or out of office helps balance out the work-personal life convergence and increased nuclear/single family demands that impact and alter the traditional working patterns of the workforce. The convenience of flexible ways of working combined with the freedom of choice to select their own devices is one factor that increases employer attractiveness and employee loyalty. This is likely to become even more important given the demographic shifts in employees, as a new younger generation with different communication habits enters the workplace. Convenience drives creativity It is obvious that flexible mobile ways of working enable the use of otherwise dead time. We believe that this convenience of mobile/remote working in turn frees up more space for employees to be less stressed and more creative, as they get an opportunity for more relaxed thinking time. In an increasingly competitive economy, it is these various edges that make the difference between good and great. What is so transformative about business mobility? TeliaSonera-Cisco Systems Smart Company survey Sweden had over 6000 respondents from enterprises across the company. Over 67% of respondents stated that increased access to mobile ways of working led to more motivated employees. It is clear that smartphones and other mobile devices are becoming a part of day to day business operations. Information workers who are driving this trend often take mobility for granted. But managers who worry about the real costs of mobilization as well as the security of critical business information need to know if mobility is merely a passing fad, or a genuine business advantage? Industry analysts suggest that well thought-through and implemented mobility strategies improve efficiencies and lower operational costs. But how does mobility do this? What is the unique business value offered by mobility which is not available in other ways? And most important of all, does mobility simply make things happen faster, or does it completely change the way you do business? To answer these questions, let s look at a common business process that is based on an actual case. One of the largest media companies in the world recently implemented a simple mobile workflow application to help with travel approvals. This company authorizes many thousands of trips each year. Often, the approvers are themselves traveling, resulting in delayed approvals that then require paying premium prices for last-minute bookings. Here is how a simple mobile workflow application changed this company s travel approval process:

4 This very scenario, which plays itself out thousands of times every year, now reduces the media company s travel expenditures by more than $1,000,000 per year. This case also contains the key elements that are unique to mobile business processes. Let s see what those are. Mobility s Unique Operational Advantages By speeding up the approval process, this company avoids paying premium prices for last minute bookings and takes advantage of early bird discounts. Travel approval is a simple example, but it shares elements common to most business processes. There are many dependencies that need to come together; people need to make informed judgments, and the timing needs to be just right. All this is complicated by the fact that key people in the process are on the move. In reality, the actual time spent reviewing information and making a decision is very brief. Most of the time is spent finding decision makers, communicating with different people in the process, getting necessary information, and finding appropriate times to perform these tasks. If one link in the chain breaks (for instance, an administrative assistant being out), the entire process grinds to a halt. When a process like this is mobilized, most of the timeconsuming parts vanish. People have instant access to each other, and they have instant access to information. Additionally, mobile devices (in this case, smartphones) are convenient and always on. That means Bob s manager can review information and make a judgment at any time, even while walking between meetings. Because of this, people are more likely to make

5 information-driven decisions immediately, rather than push them off to another dependency in the process. These, then, are the key attributes that taken together are totally unique to a mobile process: Planning and implementing a mobility strategy Whether corporate and IT management is ready or not, information workers are bringing mobility into the workplace. Mobility is taking hold because it gives workers an edge. It enables them to accomplish more. It enables them to deliver better service. It provides them with better information. As more powerful mobile devices and higher speed networks come to market, there will be even greater demand for extending lines of business applications to mobile devices. New business applications will increasingly take advantage of new device capabilities such as: More camera- and image-enabled applications Real-time anywhere video conferencing Accurate voice recognition that vastly alters the data input capabilities of smartphones and other mobile devices New device form factors like slates, tablets, and more specialized devices More integration between mobile devices and back-end information systems Unified collaboration applications with mobile conferencing and data share More powerful mobile commerce capabilities for consumers and business

6 This means that planning for mobility is planning for change. To take full advantage of what mobility can do for business operations; to mobilize the entire enterprise - organizations need to think outside the department. They need to consider mobility strategies that not only provide access to business information across the enterprise, but also capture valuable business data at its source. In the same way that IT infrastructure and systems depend on strategic planning and development to effectively serve business processes, organizations need to think about mobility strategically. Mobility is not just a loose collection of devices and applications. It is a system that supports and integrates a wide variety of devices, applications, and back-end data systems. When planning for mobility, there are two fundamental considerations all organizations must keep in mind: Security Protecting proprietary and confidential information is paramount. In addition to having security policies in place, organizations need to consider the tools and functions they will use to extend their security policies to the mobile network, right down to the device and application levels. Some features that are important include: User authentication Password or PIN user authentication prevents unauthorized use of a device. Remote lock and data wipe This makes it possible to remotely lock and wipe data from a lost or stolen device even if you do not know where the device is. Data fading If the loss of a device is not discovered right away and therefore no lock and wipe procedure is initiated, the device can be configured to automatically destroy its sensitive information after it has not connected to the network for a period of time. Data Encryption Prevents interception of data as it is transmitted over the air. Platform Many organizations approach mobility by adopting devices and applications on a pilot and departmental basis. This can quickly lead to an unmanageable situation because every device or application has its own configuration and management tools. A platform strategy allows an organization to plan for its mobility holistically, so that all devices (even new, over the horizon technology) can be managed from one console using one set of management tools. A platform strategy is essential for maintaining control over a mobile environment with many device types and diverse security requirements. Conclusion; The networked enterprise always online We no longer talk of value chains. Instead, we see value webs, networks upon networks of human collaboration across the traditional physical borders of enterprises. Access to necessary information and speedy response times are key. Being able to work remotely, flexibly, anytime gives employees the ability to swiftly share information and respond to business-critical matters. Lead times between internal company communications shorten as employees respond as soon as they are able to. Our premise is that tools that enable communications and collaborations regardless of time and place in a secure and easy manner make for better business. They enable collaboration and networking for innovation, free up much-needed time in today s frenetic connected life, and facilitate improved customer experience. *****