This is an age in which people are not willing to wait to gain access to information, and companies need to consider this when planning their mobility strategies.
So says Ross Thomasson, regional director of Africa for Vodafone Global Enterprise, and a keynote speaker at the ITWeb Mobile Biz conference.
“History has changed and we don't want to wait for data to arrive,” he says. This has become a local operating custom, filtering through from the western world, notes Thomasson. “The challenge here is the lack of infrastructure,” he states, although the customer's expectation for delivery doesn't change.
He adds that in Africa, there has traditionally been a limit on the fixed-line capabilities and that there is a strong focus on mobile communications. “Most people in Africa will have their first interaction with the Internet through a mobile phone.
“Enterprise mobility is a different flavour for everyone,” says Thomasson, explaining that some companies use it as a cost-reducer, while others use it for its transactional capabilities. “Companies need to look at it from the perspective of what they want it to be.”
He says when companies are looking to move to enterprise mobility, they need to look at how the move will create a greater customer experience. Ultimately, argues Thomasson, it should focus on the customer.
This encompasses three main areas: customer experience, internal cost savings to the customer, and the expectation to save on costs.
Thomasson highlights that the customer experience is crucial; if it's good, people will come back. “As a consequence, people will recommend the use of a company's services. But the relationship is fragile, so there needs to be a focus on the customer.”
Device governance
“The role of data governance in organisations is seen as both an opportunity and a risk,” says Thomasson. He explains that data integrity and the ability to manage the data stored in devices is key.
“Technology allows us to better manage the data on these devices, and if they go missing, they can be remotely wiped.” According to Thomasson, this helps maintain the security of the device without having physical access to it.
He warns that people still need to be managed by policy though, as removable flash media is still a cause for concern. “It poses big challenges, as companies need to provide the tools to manage mobile devices.”
Ultimate enabler
ITWeb asked Thomasson about the role of unified communications (UC), and whether it's the great enabler for organisations.
“UC has been promised for a long time, but it hasn't been fully embraced by companies.” He says companies are usually looking at the reduced costs the solution provides, rather than the benefits of the technology.
“There is a reluctance to move to UC. The use of legacy applications makes it difficult to migrate as companies have invested resources into the technologies.” He adds it's easy for 'younger' businesses to move into using UC.
“Change is also part of the problem. People don't like change, and when the organisation changes, the people in the organisation need to change too. There is a learning curve involved - it's not just the addition of new features,” he concludes.
ITWeb's MobileBiz conference will be held on 28 and 29 July at Vodaworld, Midrand. The event will focus on the financial, security, and IT implications of implementing a mobility strategy.
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