MEET THE NEW MOBILE STRATEGIST CIO & MOBILE LEADER SURVEY JANUARY 2015 2015 Kinvey, Inc.
Research identifies a new role within today s enterprise: the Mobile Strategist 75% of enterprises have created a new role to define, manage, and deploy a consistent enterprise-wide mobile strategy the Mobile Strategist. The creation of the role is driven by enterprises need for mobile apps across every major industry and use case, including Business to Business, Business to Consumer, and Business to Employee. On average, the Mobile Strategist is a senior-level IT Architect with over 16 years of experience and a well-rounded technology background in IT architecture, applications development, and IT operations. Their work experience includes a combination of hands-on and leadership roles. The Mobile Strategist s educational background is typically a combination of business and computer science degrees. The new role provides a driving force for his/her organization to deliver positive business impact and gain competitive advantage via mobile apps. This includes engaging customers in new ways, reducing operating costs, creating new revenue paths, increasing employee productivity, and in some cases using mobile to enable their businesses to disrupt the market. Mobile Strategists are responsible for delivering creative and practical solutions to maximize the value that mobile apps can bring to their organization. Specific areas of responsibility include defining the enterprise-wide mobility strategy, determining the technical architecture and solution requirements, testing and evaluating new technologies, and establishing best practices for mobile and Internet of Things application development and delivery. An interesting finding is that 53% of Mobile Strategists report into the CTO s office instead of the CIO s office. This finding supports the new trend towards what Gartner calls Bimodal IT. Bimodal acknowledges the need for an organization to have two speeds of operation. One that is rock solid and secure and one that is agile and enables developers and lines of business to innovate and iterate more quickly. 1 Not Created Role 25% 75% Created Role 2
Mobile Strategist Profile Titles for the new mobile-focused professional vary across organizations. As seen in the figure below, these titles include a common theme of enterprise-wide mobile strategy and architecture. NEW MOBILE-FOCUSED PROFESSIONALS Mobile Strategist 25% Mobile Architect 23% Director Global Architecture 17% Director Mobile Solutions 15% Director of Mobile and Digital Innovation 13% Other 8% The reporting structures for this new role are as varied as the titles. 53% of Mobile Strategists report into the CTO office, while 13% report into the Chief Digital Officer (another new role). Interestingly, only 27% report into the CIO office. This may reflect a shift in the market towards creating a function dedicated to digital innovation, working across the organization to foster transformation. WHERE DOES THE ROLE REPORT IN THE ORGANIZATION? 53% Reporting Organization 27% 13% 7% CTO CIO Chief Digital Officer Other 3
THE MOBILE STRATEGIST S BACKGROUND There is a common theme across the experience and background of the new Mobile Strategist. Undergraduate and graduate degrees cluster around a combination of business and computer science, with an average of 16 years work experience in IT architecture, development, and administration. Undergraduate Degree Other Computer Science 31% 8% 15% 46% Business 69% have graduate degrees Other Technical Graduate Degree Other 11% Computer Science 44% 44% Business 4
The Role of Today s Mobile Strategist 71% of app development is currently being led by product lines or functions (e.g. marketing, sales, human resources, etc.) rather than centralized via enterprise IT. This fragmentation causes mobile apps to cost too much and take too long, a source of CIO frustration (see the CIO & Mobile Leader State of Enterprise Mobility Survey). This frustration has given rise to the need for an enterprise-wide mobile strategy with a senior leader driving the process: today s Mobile Strategists. WHICH ORGANIZATION IS LEADING THE NEED FOR MOBILE APPS? 25% Enterprise-led (centrally-led) Functions (sales, marketing, HR) 42% 33% Lines of business (product groups) While every organization varies slightly when it comes to the specific role and tasks of the new mobile-focused professional, Mobile Strategists are busy creating overall mobile strategy, defining the mobile app development and delivery platform, and measuring the impact of mobile on their organization s success. WHAT IS THE MOBILE LEADER S ROLE WITHIN YOUR ORGANIZATION? 47% 40% 39% 22% 22% 14% Create overall strategy Measure the impact / results Define the mobile platform Create center of excellence Test & Pilot new mobile tech All of the above 5
The Mobile Strategist s Goal: Drive Business Impact In today s enterprise, mobile often plays many different roles and supports a variety of functions across the organization. But when it comes to today s Mobile Strategist, the goals for mobile are simple: drive business impact. WHAT ARE YOUR BUSINESS GOALS WHEN IT COMES TO MOBILE? Engaging customers wherever they are 76% Creating new revenue paths 75% Reducing operating costs 72% Increasing employee productivity 62% Disrupting the marketplace 15% 6
A Troubling Finding: Disconnect Between CIO and Mobile Strategist The research reveals a significant disconnect between two of the organization s most important mobile leaders: the CIO and the Mobile Strategist. This is not surprising given that 53% of Mobile Strategists report into the CTO s office instead of the CIO s office. This finding supports the new trend towards Bimodal IT, combining the agility required by lines of business to deliver apps with new capabilities quickly and IT s need to deliver rock solid, secure, consistent, and reliable enterprise services. For mobile apps to be transformative, lines of business require the flexibility to deliver any use case they need and tap into enterprise systems and data sources in a secure and consistent way. Continued fragmentation will lead to escalating costs, inefficiencies, and risk. While the Mobile Strategist and CIO have their own roles and responsibilities, they both are important in driving the organization s mobile agenda forward. But today s Mobile Strategists don t always feel they are on the same page with the CIO. In fact, nearly 20% say the CIO doesn t understand what it takes to develop and deploy an effective mobile strategy. While less than half (47%) say they work closely with the CIO, CIOs paint a different picture altogether 81% claim they work closely with the Mobile Strategist. MOBILE STRATEGIST: WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CIO WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR ORGANIZATION S MOBILE STRATEGY? Relationship with CIO Mobile Leaders 11% 24% 18% 47% Does not work with CIO Mobile not a priority CIO does not understand what it takes Work closely with CIO 7
CIO: WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF YOUR ORGANIZAITON S MOBILE STRATEGY? Does not have person Relationship with Leader of Mobile Strategy CIOs 3% 3% 13% 81% Does not work with Person does not understand what it takes Works closely with person When it comes to reasons for not having a formal mobile strategy, these two professional groups offer differing perspectives. 37% of Mobile Strategists cite it s because decision-makers cannot agree, while 45% of CIOs claim this is not a problem. When it comes to developing and deploying an enterprise-wide mobile strategy, it is critical for all players to be on the same page. A fragmented approach increases costs, redundancies, and inefficiencies. As mobile becomes even more ubiquitous, it s crucial that CIOs, Mobile Strategists, and other executives work together towards the same goals. Footnotes: 1 Gartner Report: Predicts 2015: Bimodal IT is a Critical Capability for CIOs, November 18, 2014, analysts Simon Mingay and Mary Mesaglio. Doc # G00271840. 8
Methodology Kinvey and Research Now conducted the survey in the Fall of 2014. The survey results include answers from 100 Chief Information Officers and 100 Mobile Leaders in North America who work at companies with more than 500 employees across more than 10 different industries. The research study was conducted in the Fall of 2014 and surveyed 100 Chief Information Officers and 100 Mobile Leaders in North America. INDUSTRY Manufactoring 24% Technology 18% Financial 14% Government 9% Healthcare 9% COMPANY SIZE Number of employees 500-1,000 16% 1,000-5,000 40% 5,001-10,000 21% 10,001-30,000 13% Above 30,000 11% Energy/Utility 6% Education 4% Retail 3% Media/Entertainment 3% Pharmaceutical 2% Other 10% 9