The South African workforce is set to become increasingly mobile, but lack of broadband access and telecoms infrastructure prevents businesses from using mobile applications to their full potential, says Willem Schipper, MD of Hexagon Mobile Technologies.
Schipper notes that SA is on par if not ahead in terms of mobile technology, but is being held back by poor broadband access and outdated network infrastructure. “What puts us on the back leg is the speed of connectivity. If you look at places like Europe and the US, you have speeds of 10Mbps and uncapped lines.”
He adds that MWeb has now introduced uncapped ADSL offerings at competitive prices, but says the lack of infrastructure of network providers remains a major hurdle.
”There's a lot of business development going on in the Northern Cape and Limpopo, but the problem is connectivity. Old technology is a big drawback because the technology on the phone is 21st century, but the infrastructure is still from the 1990s. Companies like MTN and Vodacom must jump on the bandwagon and start deploying more infrastructure.”
In future, Schipper predicts many companies will reach a point where people in the field force do the majority of their business on the road - submitting business plans, sales, and purchase orders from their mobile device. “There will be a move away from physically having to go to the office, and senior management will be able to work remotely.”
This is in line with international trends, as the IDC predicts the global mobile worker population will hit one billion this year, and grow to nearly 1.2 billion people - more than a third of the world's workforce - by 2013. "Vast opportunities exist for bringing a variety of mobile technologies to the world's workforce," said IDC research analyst Sean Ryan, in a recent forecast report.
Functionality on the fly
Schipper notes that a lot of concern in the mobile business app market is around ease of development. ”Often development is very time-consuming and the customer needs ways to make changes to templates for forms or documents on the fly.
“A lot of South African Web-based mobile apps involve static development, but employees in the field need to be able to make quick configurable changes to sales and order forms, and don't have time to wait for customised development.”
He points out that certain business decisions need to be made quickly, such as when a manager is stuck in traffic and needs to sign off a document, and can't wait to get into the office or stop somewhere and take out a laptop.
“In the mining environment, for example, one can't always walk around with a laptop, and may need to submit documentation while in the field, with no time to go back to the office,” he explains. “They need a quick and effective solution available on a personal digital assistant (PDA) or other mobile device.”
Schipper says many companies also struggle to get the pricing structure for mobile business apps right. “Especially as some of the bigger players try to associate quality (or rather perceived quality) with price, and consequently make software very expensive. This effectively eliminates the smaller user or SME, and really leaves a huge portion of the PDA market untapped.”
Acceptance factor
Other challenges involve the perceived value of a mobile solution, and acceptance by end-users. Schipper notes it takes time for people to accept the benefits of new technologies, and that they need to understand the capabilities of new features.
“Compare it to the transition from VHS to DVD - people had to see for themselves that the viewing experience provided so much more. It's the same with mobile business applications; you have to get the message across that it's not just an added platform, it can increase productivity, reduce paperwork, cut down on expenses. But we still find a conservative approach in some areas.”
According to Schipper, there will be an increasing focus on mobility in business, as a lot of productivity is lost while travelling around. “Technology makes this easier, as you won't have to drive hundreds of kilometres to get work done. It will enable people to spread their wings further and work more from home.”
He adds this requires a managed environment, and education of employees on how to work effectively. “In SA, there's a big hang-up about someone sitting in an office in order to be productive. But it's a matter of education - showing people that you can be productive, even when you're away from the office.”
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