Last week we talked about the challenge of too much choice when it comes to mobility. The solution? A mobility strategy that defines:
• How, when and where to deploy mobility.
• Which user groups need specific mobile devices, services and applications.
• How mobile devices and services will be secured and managed.
As always, though, there’s a “gotcha”. In this case it’s the fact that fewer than 40% of the companies I work with have such a mobility strategy. That’s a problem, because (as I noted last week), mobility is an expensive budget line item — and it’s about to get even more so.
If you’re one of the firms lacking a mobility strategy, start by assessing your current state. How many carriers do you have? (If you’re typical, it’s two or more.) Which devices are deployed? Which applications enabled?
It’s particularly important to compile your user profile. Which categories of users currently use mobile technology, and which would like to? Which applications do they have access to today, and which do they need?
Don’t forget to assess the level of security and management. For example, are all mobile devices password-protected by default? Can they be automatically wiped in the event of loss or theft (to protect sensitive information)? Do you have an asset-tracking system in place so you can tell exactly how many devices you have?
Don’t worry if the answers to the last few questions are no, no and no. Understanding your starting point is the first step in remediating the situation.
Speaking of remediation, your next step should be to figure out your goals. Are you aiming primarily to reduce costs and complexity? Increase productivity? Improve performance? Improve functionality? Or maximize scalability? Of course, in most organizations the answer is “all of the above” — but typically they’re in some sort of priority order. For example, if the plan is to increase your current 100-person rollout to 10,000 by the end of 2007, maximizing scalability is probably a top goal.
Once you have the current state and future goals, you can begin to put in place the strategy. Some guidelines:
• To reduce costs, buy in bulk. Have an explicit goal of reducing the number of carriers as low as possible (one or two is ideal). Limit the number of devices that users can deploy, and make it clear which users have the right to deploy specific devices. Finally, focus on the “soft costs” associated with asset configuration, deployment and management. Automate these as much as possible.
• To improve performance and functionality, push vendors on their plans for capabilities, specifically integration with wireless LANs, VoIP PBXs, and key applications. For example, RIM recently announced plans to move forward with a Wi-Fi-enabled version of its popular BlackBerry.
• Finally, plan for investment. Mobility will be a critical business enabler for the next few years. By 2009, companies that lack a mobility strategy will be as outdated as companies that lacked Web sites in 2000.
