Mobilizing Enterprises

Computing has evolved steadily over decades from being centralized to
distributed and from personal to networked. Gupta of Motorola believes that
today is the age of mobile computing with solutions that help deliver
'enterprise anywhere and everywhere'

Enterprises are today fast adopting mobility solutions to enhance work
productivity and become competitive while reducing costs. A high level of
mobility integration has become critical. Solutions like customer resource
management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM) require 24x7 availability, which
enterprise mobility offers.

Enterprise mobility is a rapidly growing market space. Indian enterprises are
witnessing a growing trend of integrating business devices with voice,
messaging, e-mail, intranet and Internet to allow maximizing productivity while
on the move. Mobility solution involves capturing, communicating, moving and
managing informa­tion and devices.

Mobilizing applications

Mobility solutions work on multiple devices connected across networks. It
offers flexi­bility to support innovative business applications and net­work
services. Most enter­prises today have mobility solutions as a part of their IT
strategy, to give them a compe­titive advantage over others. SMS-based
applica­tions, mobile e-mail access and enterprise voice convergence are the
trends leading the way for business mobility.

Anirudh Gupta Country Manager-Channels and Sales, Good Technology Enterprise Mobility Solutions, Motorola India

Security plays a crucial role in the enterprise ecosystem. Enterprises today
are looking for a secure, reliable connection from many mobile devices and
controlled access to enterprise networks to ensure integrity of the network and
the content that flows in and out of it. Large corporations have strong security
implementations but at the same time, have to constantly review these to cater
to the demanding needs of business mobility.

Quality of service (QoS) is another issue. Critical enterprise applications (ERP,
CRM) demand a certain level of network perfor­mance to provide enterprise-grade
service quality.

Major drivers

Increasing accessibility, producti­vity and revenue opportunities; improving
customer service; and high work/life balance for employees are the major drivers
of enterprise mobility.

Sectors like retail, manufac­turing, hospitality and health­care are
experiencing significant growth, and this is where the Indian enterprise
mobility market will lead and help set directions for the future of these
businesses.

The other key industries adopting enterprise mobility are BFSI, BPOs and
software houses, followed by manufacturing, large PSUs and government sector.

In order to capitalize on the opportunity at hand, SPs should have good
technical and domain expertise and an in-depth understanding of mobility
products and customer business processes. It is imperative that they customize
the solution so that it caters to the specific needs of different customers.

According to Informa Telecoms & Media, the market for content and services on
mobile phones is expected to grow to $150 billion by 2011, as access to the web
while on the move becomes easier and faster.

Also, as per a Forrester study, five years from now, search will be a key
application for one-third of the world's mobile users. At that time, nine of the
10 top banks would offer mobile banking and 60 percent of travelers would use
mobile data service. These figures point at the huge market for enterprise
mobility. Enterprises need to serve customers anywhere and anytime. And it is
time SPs cash in on the opportunity.

CHARU KHERA

charuk@cybermedia.co.in