Security is the main limitation hindering local organisations from adopting mobile technologies.
This was one of the biggest takeaways from the ITWeb, EOH and Kofax Mobile Survey, which ran online for 14 days in November 2013, and attracted 141 respondents.
According to the study, security issues (24.17%) ranked as the main obstacle for organisations planning to implement mobile technologies; followed closely by cost of mobile technology implementation at 21.67%.
Commenting on the results, Jeff Ballard, head of Kofax Market Development at EOH, the exclusive Kofax distributor in SA, says a proper mobile solution will address security within its capabilities.
"A mobile solution needs to encrypt and protect all content and ensure it is only being used for the purpose intended. Since security is so important in a mobile implementation, you really need to get the security as close to the app as possible, preferably built-in.
"As for the cost of implementation; that really comes down to making sure the mobile and other applications in your paperless process can easily integrate into your core backend systems."
According to Ballard, the costs of mobile integration can be greatly reduced if the solution chosen adheres to industry standards, or at least to the standard core systems that an organisation is using.
It is also preferable that the standards are addressed directly in the application, but if nothing else, at least through APIs, or at the very least in some form of software developer's kit, he explains.
Age of the customer
According to the survey, 64.17% of survey respondents are looking to integrate smartphones and tablet computers into their business processes, only 14.17% said they are not.
"Quite simply, those that don't integrate these platforms into their processes today will be left behind quickly. This is the 'age of the customer', and the market leaders today will be different from the market leaders of the 'information age' we just emerged from.
"The customer will dictate that shift in leadership, so for long-term viability and sustainability, companies will have to incorporate mobile into their customer interactions. For any company looking to sustain itself for the long-term, incorporating mobile devices is not an 'if', but rather a 'how soon'. And how soon and how well will dictate how they fare down the road."
It also emerged that nearly all of the survey respondents estimate that there will be an improvement in productivity if field-based workers or travelling staff are able to capture content at the customer site. Only a small percentage (4.31%) chose 'no improvement'.
With smartphones and data packages becoming more affordable and applications and functionality putting the power in the hands of more and more customers, Ballard believes that organisations are poised to see a dramatic market shift like never before.
"So in this way, the mobile device evolution will be greater - and faster - than the PC and the Internet waves coming before it. Businesses today need to determine if they are going to ride the wave or hold out, hoping not to get crushed by its impact. The choice, really, is a no brainer. Go mobile - now," Ballard notes.
Going paperless
According to the survey, the response was almost evenly split when the respondents were asked if their organisation had adopted a paper-free process, with 47.54% answering 'yes' and 45.90% stating 'no'.
"There are several benefits to going paperless," advises Ballard. "The most strategic among them is customer convenience. Enabling the customer to communicate with you in their preferred channel makes it easier for them to interact and buy from you. That ease and convenience will translate into more revenue and better long-term loyalty."
However, Ballard notes that there are security and compliance benefits when taking the paperless route. In a paper-based environment, an organisation runs the risk of losing papers, having them fall into the wrong hands, and then trying to recall them for audits, investigations, etc.
With a paperless environment, an organisation has better control over who has access to its data, and recalling documents can be done in a manner of minutes, he notes.
"Lastly, there are the logistical processing times and storage costs when going paperless. Routing paper from the customer to the processing centre to the person who does the manual data entry takes a significant amount of time - and money."
Ballard goes on to say that digital documents enable customers and companies to route the information in seconds rather than the days and weeks paper management requires.
He also stresses that paper-based documentation requires human effort which can go wrong, be forgotten, or lost.
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