Copyright © 2012 The
Unified-View, All Rights Reserved Worldwide
December 23, 2012
By Art Rosenberg, The Unified-View/ UC
Strategies Expert
Until
Apple introduced the first multi-modal smartphone in 2007, there was relatively
little UC benefit to end users sitting at their desktops or even using cell
phones. Now that there is huge adoption of mobile smartphones and tablets, the
UC market has exploded in many ways.
There
are now many forecasts about changes in business communications technology and
you might want to check the recent
podcast by the experts at UC Strategies discussing expectations for 2013.
It is clear that UC-enabled mobile communications (including “mCEBP”?) is at the top of
everyone’s list for tablets and smartphones. However, there is a big difference
in how such devices will be used, depending on who the end user is. In
particular, it is necessary to differentiate consumer usage vs. employee work
usage, especially when it comes to “BYOD” concerns for security.
We
really have to look at mobility activities from several perspectives including:
·
Device form factors and
User Interfaces (screen size, controls)
·
Mobile Operating
Systems
·
Multi-modal Mobile
Applications
·
Access Security and
Privacy controls
·
Costs – Who pays for
what?
·
End user “Help Desk”
(technology) support
When
it comes to choosing a mobile device, especially when it will be used for
personalized contacts, there is little question that consumers will choose what
they like and can afford for all their needs. That is what I have referred to
as “Consumer BYOD,” and will have as great or a greater effect on any IT
organization as will employee BYOD concerns, for two main reasons:
1. All
employees, by definition, are also consumers and therefore customers of other
organizations.
2. As
customers, consumers are the source of revenue generation, as opposed to cost
savings and productivity benefits of self-service applications and more
efficient communications for organization employees.
So,
since mobility has value for any end users inside and outside of any
organization, the challenge is how to support and manage both mobile online
business applications and mobile communication applications for anyone
interacting with the organization.
Interesting New Survey of IT Perspective of BYOD Mobility
There
have been all kinds of surveys done in an effort to identify where the market
is going with new disruptive online and mobile technologies. It is clear that
it is a cultural evolution that requires strategic planning for migrating from
premise-based hardware and software to more “virtual” and hosted services in
private and public “clouds.” Regardless of how various mobile applications are
actually implemented, there will be an ongoing responsibility for internal
organizational oversight of the management and support of applications that
will be used by a variety of internal and external end users.
A
recent survey
by a recently formed consortium of enterprise software companies focused on
mobility, the Enterprise Device Alliance, confirms some mobile impacts and
trends for internal IT organizations. These include the following:
·
86% of organizations
allowed BYOD in 2012 (75% in 2011)
·
2013 percentage of
smartphone users to increase for iPhones (92%), Android (77%), Windows (44%) –
decrease for Blackberry (56%)
·
Tablets will be a
principal employee mobile device (over 90%) that IT will support, replacing
laptops
·
Email is the leading
productivity app for all mobile devices supported
·
“Help Desk” support to
mobile employees is given or planned to be given by 45% of enterprise
organizations, in addition to other resources
·
Mobile security is
leading concern of IT; 71% want to authenticate with Active Directory
·
Mobile access because
of mobile OS capabilities is limited by 60% of respondents
·
MDM usage in 2013 to
reach 60%
·
Despite increase in
mobile usage demands, IT staffing will not increase for most organizations
Remember Other Considerations For Mobility
There
are other considerations that mobility will affect, including hosted, “cloud”
applications and supporting mobile “Consumer BYOD.” While employees will exploit
tablets in using work-related mobile applications, consumers will more likely rely
on smartphones of their for all their communication contacts, including voice,
video, chat, and notifications/responses, as well as online self-service
interactions. This will certainly change the traditional Call/Contact Center
game into what I have called the “Multi-modal Interaction Center” to support
mobile customers.
While
“Help Desk” support has traditionally been provided to organization employees
for their desktop needs, it is being extended to mobile employees, as reflected
in the survey results. However, there is even more demand for such technology
support for consumers, reflected in the “Consumerization of IT,” where
consumers with mobile computerized devices need technical help. It’s not just
about mobile contacts with people, but mobile interactions with application
software.
Such
change will put more pressure on organizations to support all leading mobile
and desktop devices and operating systems that the consumer public adopts, as
well as providing UC-enabled self-service “mobile apps” through enterprise and
service provider “app stores.” This will include increased use of proactive, outbound notifications and alerts from automated applications ("mCEBP") to a variety of consumer mobile smartphones and tablets.
2013
will be putting more “meat on the bones” of both enterprise and service
provider mobile applications and support tools. However, as pointed out in the
survey report summary, “Mobile devices have not yet saturated the enterprise,
but they are pouring in.”
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