Education

Not Just for Customers: The Role of Enterprise Mobility

Photo of author

(Newswire.net — December 23, 2016) — As predicted a few years ago, 2015 and 2016 were the years that everyone adopted mobile apps. More consumers than ever are mobile now, 86 percent of people aged 18 to 49 own a smartphone, and businesses have catered their websites to meet this style of thinking. Many companies have created customer-oriented mobile apps, aware that the ability to do business on the go is vital to growth.

Furthermore, use of mobile apps on smartphones and tablets has increased by about 600 percent,and studies show that 80 percent of the time spent on phones is spent using mobile apps. Consumers spend time shopping, playing games, surfing social media, and exploring the appstore. This should be enough to convince any company that the use of enterprise mobile apps holds a huge role in the present and future of businesses.

There’s a Long Way to Go in Mobile App Adoption

A new survey from Adobe shows just how much enterprises have embraced the use of mobile apps. They questioned more than 1,500 people in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and Germany. They focused on leaders of human relations, sales, and marketing – the three areas they felt were most relevant to the discussion of mobile apps in companies.

According to the study, approximately 62 percent of departments within companies said that their enterprise mobile app strategy was integral for staying ahead of their competitors. However, 66 percent said they felt like their strategy wasn’t enough to propel them ahead of their competitors.

Bridget Roman, a senior product marketing manager at Adobe, told ZDNet that they identified the disconnect here as a lack of apps for consumers. “Essentially, what we learned is that companies are adopting mobile apps for inside of the enterprise,” Roman said. “However, their perception was that they are lagging behind — that their mobile app strategies aren’t in line to compete.”

Unfortunately, many companies aren’t as close to competitors as they want to be. They aren’t equipped with the mobile capacity that consumers crave. We can see pretty clearly that mobile apps are a big part of consumers’ lifestyles, but their apps are either underperforming or non-existent.
Shopping Takes the Cake

Research surrounding #MobileMonday sales strongly indicates the power of enterprise apps in the retail sector. A recent report says that enterprise apps will be responsible for $128 billion in revenue by 2022. By the end of 2016 alone, that number is expected to climb past $74 billion.

This is a clear sign that everyone in the retail sector should be looking at the development of an app for their online store. Small businesses often ignore this possibility because it’s expensive and more complicated than developing a website, but it’s a very important part of having a strong platform.

Apps Improve the Workforce

There are also a lot of changes being made in the workforce to increase productivity and efficiency. “The changes are really being driven by the market, an increasingly mobile workforce, the need to remain competitive, the need for instant communication,” Roman said. “Companies are in the midst of adopting apps at an increasing rate, looking to increase worker productivity, perform tasks, equip employees with tools and information, and connect with customers and stakeholders.”

There are hundreds of software as service (SaaS) apps already available to increase productivity. DialPad, for example, is a common app used by small to mid-sized businesses to increase communication. Basecamp is also very popular for collaboration and task management.

Mobile apps are changing the dynamic of business and technology. The Adobe survey showed that 34 percent of companies are happy to let their competitors go first with new technology and ideas as they follow after, always two steps behind.

These companies aren’t poised for their true growth potential. Mobile integration has plenty of growth left, and businesses should use it to get ahead of their competitors.

Only 25% of Staff Enjoy Christmas Parties

Three Passive Income Ideas to Consider for Retirement