More businesses than ever are deploying apps for their employees to use. That should mean that those businesses have a strategy for which apps to deploy and why—right?
Not so fast. Though a new study from Adobe found that the majority of departments (62%) think it’s important to “be ahead of the curve compared to competitors” with mobile apps, most departments (66%) believe they’re “on par or behind the curve” of their competitors.
Writer Stephanie Condon discusses the study in a piece for ZDNet. As she notes, strategy (or lack thereof) is a big factor in this widespread discomfort about how to get ahead. “Without a clear strategy for deploying enterprise mobile apps,” Condon says, “most don’t feel they’re ahead of the curve as they should be.”
We see a couple positives in the study. Companies do realize how important mobile apps are to productivity, and they’re also growing more confident that a strong mobility strategy will be mission-critical moving forward. 61% of respondents said that companies are at a competitive disadvantage if they aren’t deploying mobile apps; they also believe that sales enablement and employee onboarding apps will be mission-critical to success in three years.
Nonetheless, the strategy problem is a real one—and we agree with survey respondents that companies are at a competitive disadvantage if they aren’t deploying enterprise mobile apps. So: what’s the answer?
Our answer is simple in theory but not so easy to execute in practice: slow down. Rather than employing a “deploy first, ask questions later” strategy, don’t be afraid to slow down and look at real business needs before jumping on the app bandwagon and producing something with marginal business value. We’ve found that some of the best applications are those that help transform key business functions, rather than just translate them to a mobile format.
Developing a viable long-term mobility strategy means being deliberate about your choices, even if that means falling behind your competitors in the short-term. As we’ve seen time and time again, good decision making—even if it’s slow—pays dividends in the long run when it comes to an enterprise mobility strategy.
