Enterprise mobility is the biggest single trend across tech industry investment and innovation, even outpacing the cloud computing trend, states the Forrester report entitled, "Another Year of Outperformance for the Tech Industry -- Forrester's 2011 Tech Industry Predictions."
Enterprises and SMBs in 2011 will put mobile strategies at the top of the list by expanding the use of smartphones and investing in mobile applications that address the needs of all types of employees, from information and task workers to "mobile wannabes" who bring their personal smartphones to work.
Forrester analyst and report author Chris Mines cites "the breakneck pace of consumer adoption of smartphones, tablets and applications" as a driver for enterprise IT to mobilize their own core applications such as CRM, ERP, expense management, inventory management and time tracking.
The Benefits and the Complexities
Indeed, an effective mobile strategy is no longer just something "nice to have" but is becoming a necessity for business growth. In an article on CIO.com about choosing the most secure mobile architecture, Sybase CTO Irfan Khan outlines the benefits of enterprise mobilizing.In addition to helping workers get more done in less time, Khan writes that mobile devices and apps "can improve customer engagement, customer service, improve supply chain operations and partner/supplier collaboration as well as faster, more effective business decision making."
