VMware has revealed the findings of study of business decision makers and IT practitioners in the UK that reveals the strides that have been made towards improving mobile efficiency at work. For more than half (55 percent in EMEA, 53 percent in UK) of organisations, increased security is the critical driver to embrace a mobile model, with other critical priorities cited as improved mobile workforce effectiveness (38 percent in both EMEA and UK), and improved end user experience (29 percent in EMEA, 35 in UK).
Although technological advances having been made to improve efficiency of individuals at work, the research also looked into the concerns that pose as obstacles to businesses shifting to a mobility model that focuses more on business mobility and less on individual productivity: Security (61 percent of respondents) was cited as the top barrier to investing in business mobility, ahead of budget (49 percent in EMEA, 47 in UK).
While the survey reveals a chasm that must be overcome when it comes to embracing business mobility, it also details the top operational benefits seen by those who have successfully deployed: improving mobile workforce productivity (45 percent in EMEA, 53 in UK), streamlining business processes (39 percent in EMEA, 41 in UK) and reducing cost of support (29 percent in EMEA, 34 in UK).
It’s not only operational costs that are significantly improved when successful business mobility strategies are implemented. The appetite to embrace a mobile-led strategy results in significant returns on investment to the business; EMEA organisations reported a return of almost one and half times their investment (1.43 in UK), with the most notable gains involving increasing end-user effectiveness (39 percent in the UK saw this as where they saw the majority of their returns), and increased self-service capabilities (29 percent). In addition, IT and operational staff save 30 percent of their time when business mobility software has been deployed.
"Every organisation has mobile users today - but there are many others who would be more productive if their work could move with them. Likewise, businesses could be more competitive if their applications were mobile and secure and more so if linked directly to revenue generating activities. Investments in business mobility can and will drive a significant return, but should be targeted to maximise impact and result," said Alex White, Vice President, End User Computing EMEA, VMware. “It is absolutely right that IT departments ask how to address mobile security, as well as how existing infrastructure and assets can be used to maximise ROI – but these are addressable and the reality is that the benefits of mobility are having significant impacts on business operations. A mobile-first strategy simply makes business sense. This study shows that when it comes to business mobility, it is a case of taking risks is the lowest risk.”
With the demands placed on IT growing more and more complex all the time, it is important that the advocacy for business mobility comes from across the organisation. The study demonstrates that senior business executives remain one of the top advocates for pursuing a business mobility strategy, with 45 percent of respondents reporting that they see the senior leadership team as advocates for pursuing a successful business mobility strategy. Despite this, closer integration between IT and senior management is required, with over a quarter (29 percent in EMEA, 26 in UK), measuring their organisations business mobility effectiveness on the number of user complaints about IT.
Alex White concludes: “In order to stay relevant today, businesses must adapt in keeping with the evolving environment they operate in, an environments that is increasingly disrupted by competitors from other industries. Instigating change to adapt is no longer just part of a business plan; it’s an essential survival tool.”
