PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Mobility and high speed ubiquitous access has changed the speed and sources of innovation. Major mobile OS upgrades roll out annually. Apps grab our attention and just as quickly fade off our home screens. Most smartphones don’t last as long as our standard two-year contracts. 2015 is shaping up to be no exception, with a steady flow of app, smart device and wearable technology launches, including Apple’s range of smart watches.
But it’s not just consumer devices and software where innovation is abound; enterprise software, cloud technology and security threats are moving equally quickly.
What do all these advances in technology evolution have in common? They change how a company works. It’s all too easy for businesses to feel overwhelmed at the new technology coming to the market, or new consumer mobile devices penetrating the workplace. The challenge for businesses is how to keep pace, particularly with mobility innovations, especially as many are just starting their enterprise mobility journeys.
To keep up requires a complete shift of mentality when compared to traditional enterprise software, which has historically required a lengthy implementation process. After research, tendering, proof of concept, implementation, testing and rollout, months turn into years and the financial investment is significant.
In today’s environment of innovation, the time needed for one of these projects would leave the technology outdated and the business way behind the market. Years of implementation and significant investment later and you’ve missed out on generations of technology innovation.
Gartner now defines legacy software as: “any system that is not sufficiently flexible to meet changing business needs”. The speed of innovation is forcing more and more systems into this ‘legacy’ category as new technologies further out-pace implementation of old ones.
It’s up to the technology industry to provide a framework for implementation that enables businesses to move at the speed of innovation. Tools must be simple and quick to deploy. They must grow with the business and offer flexibility as its needs and strategies change.
From a mobility perspective, businesses need to secure iOS, Android, Windows and more. Then there are the multiple devices that seem to be on a continual launch cycle and the plethora of apps that sit on them.
Modern businesses need to accept the explosion of mobile apps as a meaningful and productive tool. But to set up an app environment and constantly update it can be a burden on IT departments.
This is where tech vendors can step in. They can provide cloud and on-premise options for service delivery. They can package up deployment of mobile management and apps in a way that gives businesses the flexibility to move to more sophisticated mobile strategies as their requirements evolve.
It’s a necessary evolution: confining a mobile strategy to secure email doesn’t provide employees with the flexibility to be fully productive while on the go. Instead, when businesses embrace mobile strategies that do keep pace with the speed of innovation, they can transform the productivity of their workforce. Fast-evolving mobile technology has made it possible to change a workforce’s primary computing platform to mobile. They can make all key lines of business apps easily and securely available to employee devices. Mobile allows businesses to deliver instant productivity. From CRM and ERM to HR apps, users can get secure access to the information they need and the ability to collaborate with colleagues, clients and partners, all the way to the edge of the business.
This is just one example of how businesses can make the most of the technology evolution and ensure mobile is not just more pervasive, but more effective in the modern enterprise.
