Today I had the privelige of representing SAP at the Enterprise Mobility Bootcamp 2011 at CTIA. The event, run by Philippe Winthrop of the Enterprise Mobility Forum, was packed to overflowing. Here are a few takeaways that I learned from the event.
1) “Mobility is no longer a privilege”. Philippe concluded his opening session with this statement and I couldnt agree more. In the past it used to be an issue to decide who gets a mobile devices – today that is not relevant because everybody has one. Because if this, enterprise mobility is not about the devices anymore – it’s about the apps.
2) “The IT-ization of the consumer”. Yes, this is a made up word, but the concept is absolutely true. We often talk about the consumerization of IT . But there is a second side to this coin – with mobility, consumers have become more tech savvy and know enough to ask for what they want.
3) The UI is incredibly important when building mobile apps. Enterprises have a vast amount of critical data within their walls, they jsut need to free it up in a way that users want. We still want access to ERP and business intelligence data – but we don’t want a clunky user interface. The importance of a great UI will become critical going forward.
4) Fire, Aim, Ready is the wrong approach! Even though you want to move quickly you still need to start thinking strategically. In my session I asked ‘How do you eat an elephant’? The answer of course is ‘one bite at a time’. It’s important to have a strategy for growth up front. I recommend you think big but start small. Start with an app that will gain significant adoption and showcase the ROI of mobility.
5) “We are at the end of the beginning of understanding what enterprise mobility really means”. I think this just about sums it up.
