Network - The Lifeline of Mobility

It takes more than devices and applications to connect people in your mobile enterprise to each other and to the information they need. It takes a medium to connect you to the world of information that your smart device acts as a gateway to. It takes the most invisible yet the most critical component of the ecosystem – the enterprise network. All of your communications, business processes and applications depend on it. Smart devices without access can be gaming consoles or notepads, or even coasters, but an enterprise business tool they do not make. Network forms the backbone of your business communication, and needs to remain robust and reliable in the face of changing business landscape, increasing business demands and evolving security risks.

 

What is Network Integration?

 

Network integration is quite simply, the combination of two or more networks. It is the ability to use or combine data from multiple sources while maintaining the integrity and reliability of the data. Enterprise LANs are home to the target data for most user requirements, while the access mechanism, their devices, are on either provider networks or wi-fi. The ability to allow the data and the user to interact without compromising the security of the enterprise or the experience of the user is the key to successful network integration.

 

Since the network plays a crucial role in determining the success of a business, it should deliver high performance and secured and continued access. In today’s dynamic environment, communication networks are key elements to define the success of a business. While developers are concentrating on applications & devices, it is the network of your enterprise that will enable clients and employees to take advantage of the innovations done in IT segment.

 

Networks determine the user experience as much as the application performance. A high-latency network can make users feel the pinch in terms of delays and hung apps. Therefore, it is critical to tune your LAN and last mile (if under your control) to optimize it according to your app data flow parameters.

 

Security is another important aspect of data in motion. What type of data flows between the device and the datacenter, and gets stored in the device determines the type of security that is required. Also, the vertical under which the enterprise falls determines the compliance, and therefore, security requirements. Is the data encrypted? What kind og encryption? What strength? All these factors impact the transfer over the air. Too many security blockades reduce the performance, since extra information needs to be transferred with the data (heads, security bits etc.).

 

The key is to integrate and optimize the network without compromising on security essentials. Network integration services require careful planning, designing, implementation, and management. There are various stages of network integration and successful completion of each phase plays a vital role in seamless performance of the network. This is the reason professional help is sought by enterprises when designing their networks for integration to mobile apps.

 

 How do Network integration services (NIS) help?

 

If done by experienced resources, with a planned approach, NIS can provide a multitude of benefits.

Network design for adaptability to transient needs

• Planned upgrades, expansions and configurations with zero or near-zero downtime
• Resilient architecture that is fault tolerant and high performing
• Cost optimization and efficiency gains
• Better project execution through planned deliverables and on-time execution
• Risk reduction
• Improved service delivery and controls the cost of network monitoring and management

Enterprise Mobility – Size Does Not Matter

A common myth about enterprise mobility is that it is for the big guys. It is usual for small organizations to ignore it without having even evaluated its business case. This leads to many missed opportunities and dissatisfaction among customers and employees alike. People use mobility in their personal lives, and are now demanding it in their professional lives as well. Organizations that fail to take notice and act on this changing behavior stand to lose their standing among them. Enterprise mobility has many use cases, and most of them are irrespective of the size and vertical in which they operate.

1. Productivity: Simple tasks like email, chat, document sharing and collaboration can be made many times more effective and efficient through mobilization. Teams that can communicate and collaborate on the go are far more productive than the ones who are chained to their desks for doing the same tasks. Most of the times, it is just about a message that needs to be passed along, or an update to be sent, or an approval received. If the user has to stop to find a wireless enabled area and use his / her laptop in order to accomplish these uncomplicated tasks, we have a major efficiency loss. Mobilifying these mundane chores can benefit an organization irrespective of their size.
2. Workload Management: Managing teams that are geographically distributed, or even at different points in the same city is a daunting task if you need to have everyone working through a personal computer. Task assignments, updates, and executions in this model lead to wastage of time, since people need to return to their desks to accomplish their jobs. This is also a deterrent to the work-from-home  model, which is a big cost saver especially for smaller organizations who cannot set up an office in every city they want to operate in. Imagine a start up that wants to sell in 20 states. If they need to rent office space for every one of them, just to seat a sales guy, any hopes for profitability are lost.
3. Field Services: Any organization that has a field operation team needs to track and manage them. They need to be provided with customer information and location while on the road, and the distribution of jobs also depends on the physical location of the resources. It is not exactly elegant trying to manipulate a laptop while driving. Also, the not all field service staff is necessarily high skill candidates. Therefore, it is best to use a medium they are familiar with – their smartphones. Allowing the Field Services teams access to customer data and job queues on their smartphones makes them efficient, and saves the company money they would have spent on personal computers or handhelds.
4. Inventory / Asset Management: Asset Management is a complex process. It includes the cradle to grave lifecycle for all things important to you. This means planning / requesting, ordering, receiving / stocking, building / configuring, deploying, retiring, and disposal of assets are all in there. Even when the Asset Management process is defined, documented and followed, sifting through thousands of records while chained to your desk becomes a challenge. That is where mobility comes into the picture. If you have an Asset Management application on your smartphone or tablet, you can manage your assets on the go, through an intuitive and helpful interface.

These are but a few use cases of mobility which an enterprise of any size can benefit from. Typically, the tangible and intangible benefits of mobility more than justify the cost of mobile application development, and provide a highly positive ROI. That’s the reason companies of all sizes and from different walks of trade are embracing the M-life world over. When will you?

Enterprise Mobility Consulting and App Strategizing

Mobile phones were earlier considered as the medium of communication have now become an integral part of our lives. From making calls to accessing social networking sites and doing online shopping, we rely on smartphones for most of our needs.

 

One of the most important factors for this change is mobile application. They have changed the way we use smartphones and tablets. Applications are always accessible and help us in staying connected, irrespective of location barrier.

 

Mobile applications are also getting popular amongst enterprises. Businesses are looking for smart ways to work and going mobile is one of their most preferred approaches.

 

Not every organization has the team of most experienced IT individuals and developers. Therefore, it might be a daunting task for companies to create and implement a mobile strategy at work.

 

Mobility consulting is the solution to all the mobilizing worries of enterprises. Enterprises planning to become a part of the app world can seek help of mobility consultants to create a robust application that is beneficial in terms of internal management and client support.

 

A mobility consulting company will help you in determining the best mobile solution that fits your business model. It is the job of the consultants to identify your business needs, strategize about the development process, calculate the risks involved, and successfully implement the solution.

 

Hiring a Mobility Consultant:

Things to Consider

 

• The success of mobile applications has fascinated many to get into the business of development. Therefore, it is important for you to consider the relevant experience of a consulting firm before hiring it for work.
• There are enterprise mobility firm that offer one-stop-solution to clients. Instead of hiring a consultant, developer, and designer separately, it is a good idea to get in touch with a mobility consultant who offers complete solutions. This will result in better co-ordination and more cost-effective mobility solution.

 

Other than finding a mobility consultant, it is necessary for enterprises to have the right mobility strategy. The right mobile application strategy will help you in successfully accomplishing the project and deriving the desired objectives. There are certain things a company must consider in creating a mobile strategy:

 

• When it comes to choosing between native or mobile web applications, enterprises should consider pros and cons of both. Native apps are either device or OS specific and use some internal features of the device. Mobile web apps on the other hand support cross-platforms.
• If maximum exposure or consumer reach is what you are aiming at with the enterprise application, opt for mobile web solution.
• Enterprises have to decide if they want an application for the internal purpose or to improve the customer reach. Consumer-centric applications are a trend these days as they lead to better branding, marketing, and revenue generation. However, for more organized and managed work environment, businesses are also opting for an internal mobile application that is accessible to all the employees.
• Data infringement is a major concern of enterprises. It is necessary for the IT department to figure out the security issues or the possible ways of data theft. Once, we are well-versed with the hurdles, it gets easier for developers to create a robust application that would be tested on various security parameters.

 

Mobility consulting and strategizing will have a great impact on the growth of an enterprise. Therefore, businesses are suggested to go through each process carefully before starting the mobile application development process.