How to Hit a Homerun with Your Mobile Strategy

If mobile initiatives were once seen as a humble part of the wider digital strategy, these days, mobility IS the digital strategy for many companies. That’s because more people than ever are choosing mobile engagement as their preferred method of interaction. It’s not just devices, as everyday objects are increasingly becoming networked (like Caeden’s Sona bracelet). Mobility and Internet of Things (IoT) initiatives have radical transformational powers for business. The stakes have never been higher: enterprises that embrace the mobility transformation open up new revenue channels, increase profits and boost their brand. The flip side is that those who don’t evolve are effectively outmaneuvered by competitors, leaving a trail of disgruntled customers along the way.

Understanding what to prioritize isn’t easy. At Apexon, we work to a blueprint that maps onto the business results that are needed. This approach has two advantages: it keeps us focused and ensures that we’re responsive. If you need to reboot your mobile strategy, how can you make sure that all the bases are covered? There are a number of key considerations, and I’ve grouped them into three main categories.

Vision

Your strategy needs an underlying rationale! Sounds obvious, but scratch beneath the surface, and we find some enterprise strategies are based more on following the latest technology trend or buzzword than solid reasoning. In the 12 years Apexon has been defining, refining and delivering mobility initiatives across the globe, we’ve collectively amassed a ton of experience on building a compelling mobile strategy. So, here a few of the questions you should be able to answer, including:

• Where’s the value? What specific use cases will benefit and how?
• How does your trend analysis inform the strategy?
• What best practices will you prioritize? What Agile approach would work best?
• How is it going to be benchmarked?

Implementation

This is what we’d call “strategic execution”. Basically, it’s time to dig deeper.  Here the challenge is to match enterprise-grade delivery with a deep technical understanding of mobility and IoT. When tools and methodologies abound, it can be hard to know which to follow and to understand the implications of each decision.  Here are the main areas to investigate:

• Product roadmaps. It’s important to understand whether your choice of technology will grow with you and how your ecosystem can support.
• Constraints and opportunities in your tech platforms, architecture design and operational efficiencies
• Next steps for implementing Agile methodologies
• Key success factors

Fine-tuning

A few years ago, apps were talked about as the “next big thing in mobile”.  They’re ubiquitous now and we’re already starting to see a new era of “build your own apps” approaching. The point is that with the goal posts constantly moving, short of becoming clairvoyant, the best way to future-proof your mobile strategy is to remain flexible. Understanding the technical and competitive landscape is a must. Regular, formal reviews should be implemented because in this space, if you don’t spot the opportunity early, it very quickly becomes a threat.

If you’d like to discuss strategic issues you may be facing, for example, in leveraging Shift Left practices, or if you’re unsure on the best technical foundation for your initiative, do get in touch.