2013 Will be the “Year of Enterprise Mobility.” Don’t be Left Behind

When we talk with clients and prospects we see an increased emphasis on planning for connected experiences across the web, smartphones, and tablets. Firms are embracing the challenges of who to build for, what to build, why it needs to be done and how to build it.

Customers are driving the need for organizational collaboration, while marketing and IT are finally coming together to make sound decisions for the enterprise. Teams are educating themselves on the needs of their customers, best practices in the marketplace, strategic app development direction, approaches such as responsive design, and the products and techniques that are emerging to accelerate testing, development and delivery of mobile solutions.

Flexibility is a common theme, and adopting processes that enable rapid time to market and room for progressive enhancements is the norm. There is a need for improved techniques to understand customer behavior and validate that behavior in cycles of 90-120 days. The era of comprehensive quantitative surveys and in-depth analysis is behind us; efficiency in qualitative and quantitative approaches maximizes early impact and long term optimization.

Organizations need to determine whether to build in-house competency or outsource the planning and implementation of their mobile programs, in either case, competent vendor relationships are imperative. High impact consulting expertise is in demand, and consultants that have successfully delivered projects add value and accelerate the timeline for the planning for and implementation of mobility.

What To Do To Be Prepared

Cantina believes that most firms need help getting their business and IT planning right. They also need to grow in-house capabilities, even if planning to significantly outsource implementation. Our experience is that organizations need to adopt an approach that provides for a ramping period, an apprenticeship, and ongoing consulting and guidance.

Do one, teach one, and watch one is our approach to infuse knowledge into our client’s organization, and ensure the kind of collaboration and integration that will build true in-house competencies, retain technical and UI talent and lower long term consulting costs. Maintenance and enhancements can then be owned internally.

Organizations that are serious about getting it right need to be prototyping concepts now. Validating what is being built with customers before developing solutions, and getting IT systems in order will ensure that processes are in place to enable changes in direction downstream.

2013 will be the “Year of Enterprise Mobility.” Don’t be left behind.