IT Management: A Chief Mobile Officer Now Critical For Companies?

jeudi 16 février 2012

A Chief Mobile Officer Now Critical For Companies?

Par Ivory king 16 février 2012 man surfing on mobile device and earth

Companies must have a chief officer who can manage mobile apps and initiatives. Some already are seeing returns on customer satisfaction and company efficiency.

In just four years from now, the smartphone and tablet owner population will reach one billion global consumers. This creates a drastic need for companies to form a team who understands that mobile apps are the face of new engagement systems. Apps are context aware - they feed off of location data, sensors, history and social data, and companies cannot simply log that data. Instead, companies must harness mobile and social strategies to help their users complete tasks, connect with others and make decisions. But by forming a mobile strategy, Forrester analysis predicts unexpected consequences: companies must resolve multichannel complications, ensure that middleware and servers can handle traffic growth, and build a mobile-optimized experience for consumers.
Mobile strategizing should be led by a chief mobility officer
Forrester’s solution to this shift in usage paradigms is that companies must form a new role in the company - the office of the chief mobility officer that the CIO will work with to implement an enterprise-wide mobile strategy. The CIO/CMOO team should design for mobile first, a methodology that will benefit them in a number of ways. Mobile is a nearby and “sticky” offering that customers can use to help themselves - this fuels profitable growth, mobile first design moves a company faster along the mobile learning curve, project budgets can fund “needed engagement technology, and IT grows from focusing on systems of record to systems of engagement.
Properly deployed mobile apps trigger investment returns in customers and companies
Companies are seeing a return on mobile investment - it boosts customer engagement and makes companies more productive, according to GigaOM. One-quarter of Walgreens transactions came from its mobile app, and Aflac agents handled the equivalent of 25 million customer calls through theirs. In response to these kinds of results, many types of companies should consider a robust smartphone and tablet engagement strategy. These devices are not just another screen to port pre-existing content and expectations onto - mobile comes with its own set of rules, strengths and usages.