A look forward to 2010...
A look back to 2009...
Looking forward to 2010, what can we expect to see from the mobile enterprise?
"Over the coming year, you can expect to see more organisations seeking to gain greater value from their mobile devices by using them to run multiple applications with multiple uses – for example a device will be used for stock checking in a warehouse on a wireless LAN during a night shift and then reassigned to deliver the item and record proof-of-delivery the following day.
As a start to managing these devices, you can also expect to find Mobile Device Management capabilities becoming embedded in more software platforms, applications and hardware and it will become integral to those working in mission critical line-of-business environments.
However, MDM is only part of the story. To deliver true value from a mobile enterprise and to gain strategic competitive advantage, organisations must look at the various stages of the mobile project lifecycle – from how you manage the technology (this is where MDM comes in), through to how you can gain business intelligence from your complete mobile enterprise, which in turn will enable you to make informed decisions. Ultimately, companies will need to look at how they can monitor and improve performance across their mobile populations to gain that competitive edge."
How can businesses develop their mobile deployments?
"For businesses where mobility is critical to their operations, the primary aim must be to ensure that solutions are robust and give users confidence in the information that is delivered. This means organisations must have total confidence in the management platform on which the whole mobile operation is reliant.
With this solid management platform, companies can expect to achieve a major strategic advantage from improved workforce performance and a deep level of understanding of their mobile processes. An analytics capability is the key to identifying opportunities to leverage investments in mobile technologies. These analytics will deliver detailed feedback on the impact on business processes and will help guide improvements; they will embrace all elements of the mobile enterprise (devices, networks, applications, printers, help desk operations, location based information, etc.) to provide a deep, multi faceted analysis at all levels of the organisation."
What are managed services all about?
To help manage this complex situation, a number of resellers, service providers and global systems integrators are already making a major strategic play in the market by setting up new businesses on a complete mobile managed services platform usingmprodigy®. The timing for these services is perfect as many cost-conscious organisations look to outsource aspects of their IT to reduce capital expenditure.
Flexibility is one of the key benefits of a Managed Service – a customer should be able to use as little or as much as they require from their service providers. In turn, the service providers will be able to capitalise on the market opportunities by offering a whole new range of services. As an example, a service provider may offer helpdesk and support services to several customers on a single installation of a management platform - the service provider can then offer each customer exactly the services they need whilst keeping their own overheads low, thereby giving them their competitive edge.
What should I look for in a managed service provider?
When considering a managed service, you need to ensure your service provider is ready to take on the ongoing changes that are likely to typify mobile deployments over the next five to ten years. Only by taking a strategic approach, can a service provider help you to minimise mistakes when choosing and managing suppliers of hardware, applications and networks and then help you to look at how to improve the processes that are undertaken by your mobile workers.
Another big challenge is the need to future-proof mobile projects. Again, ensure your service provider can deliver a future-proofed solution that is able to offer a management capability over a population of devices that will increase over time. The mobile population is also highly likely to be characterised by diverse models from multiple manufacturers running multiple software applications.
Your selected service provider should help you to adopt a continuous improvement approach across the whole lifecycle of a mobile project in order to maximise profitability. This continuous improvement in mobility projects is particularly important in line-of-business (LOB) environments, where the entire organisation is dependent on a mobile workforce to deliver a product or service.
And finally…
I see 2010 as being a very exciting year in terms of growing awareness of the real opportunities for both our Customers and Partners to improve their business performance based on a robust and future-proofed mobile management platform. I believe that this awareness is resulting in projects which are focused on tangible requirements which can only be delivered where mprodigy is a key component of the solution.
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Looking back over 2009, what have been your top highlights?
"A major highlight has been the phenomenal success of our mprodigy® Managed Service which was launched at the start of '09. It's at the forefront of technology and is playing an instrumental role in carving out the future of the mobile market."
Increasing number of partnerships
"The new Managed Service Solution has been instrumental in driving our rapidly expanding partner base this year. The ability of the Managed Service to deliver value across all parts of the channel has enabled us to start working with and have agreements in place with partners across all tiers – resellers, managed service providers and global systems integrators. They view it as being integral and strategic to the growth of their own mobile businesses.
Flexibility is one of the key strengths of the Managed Service – it can be used as little or as much as our partners require. For resellers looking for new markets, we help them to capitalise on opportunities by offering a whole new range of services via mprodigy. This is leading to a growth in smaller projects where the needs of the users are being met by a provider delivering a managed service. For example, a service provider may offer helpdesk and support services to several customers on a single installation of mprodigy - the service provider can then offer each customer exactly the services they need whilst keeping their own overheads low, thereby giving them a competitive edge."
Maturing market
"The maturing market is one of the biggest developments over this year. End users are now moving away from technology-based purchases to a point where they want an integrated solution, often for larger global projects. To support this, ecosystems are forming with suppliers working together to meet these needs."
System Integrators enter the market
"And one of the most notable markers of this maturing market has been the growing interest of the systems integrators, demonstrated by the emergence of mobile practices and centres of excellence within these organisations. B2M has always focused on the value it delivers to the end user but also the value to the channel. As a result, our traction with systems integrators has been phenomenal.
Major systems integrators and device manufacturers are utilising mprodigy to offer strategic value-added services. A systems integrator’s business model, for example, is focused on the delivery of a five year plus managed service and mprodigy provides the enablers for this complete service. Firstly it gives them the tools to bed-in technology in a first year to 18 months; they can then get the helpdesks working properly, rollout the software effectively and move swiftly to business intelligence consultancy. Finally in year’s four and five, they can progress to change management programmes using mprodigy to analyse and model mobile processes improvements across the enterprise.
It’s very satisfying to be working with these tier one suppliers on how we move this model forward over the next five years and beyond, and we can achieve this through our agile software development team and correspondingly, with our agile commercial approach."
Adoption of a continuous improvement strategy
"We’re also working with our partners and customers to adopt a continuous improvement approach across the whole lifecycle of a mobile project in order to maximise profitability. Continuous improvement in mobility projects is particularly important in line-of-business (LOB) environments, where the entire organisation is dependent on a mobile workforce to deliver a product or service. We are very proud of our relationships with our existing customers and we work closely with them to understand their requirements as they move through their project lifecycles; this plays a large part in informing our product roadmap."
International expansion
"And finally, it’s been particularly gratifying to see our company expand into US and European markets. This includes the beginning of our global OEM business which was marked by a deal with Syclo… and we’ve many more in the pipeline.
However, whilst B2M has grown substantially, we’ve managed to maintain a dynamic and creative environment that still adheres to the core values on which we were founded. We now face some huge opportunities as the market really starts to pick up pace – and we’ve a fantastic team who are in a setting where each individual can truly flourish."
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