Mobile is Causing a Y2K Event in the Enterprise - Forrester Research

I had the privilege last week to present alongside Forrester Research's enterprise mobility expert John McCarthy in London.  I was able to write a full page of notes from his presentation that I share here with you.
  • The Age of Cheap and Cheerful Mobile is Over!  It's now going to be complex and innovative which equals expensive.
  • "Enterprise Mobility will be as transformative as the introduction of ERPs,” ~ John McCarthy.  Seems CIOs will use enterprise mobility as a driver for change to transform old systems that cannot support the real-time and speed requirements of a mobile era.
  • Smart products (i.e. Internet of Things/M2M) are much cheaper today because of the evolution of mobile platforms and security.
  • Mobile apps guide people in their physical world.  Merging physical context with virtual intelligence to take the next most likely action (context aware).
  • IT Systems will become much more proactive, because they will be context aware and know your patterns and habits.  This will change business processes.
  • New mobile apps and businesses like My Taxi, Hailo, Uber offer benefits to both customers and service providers (Taxi drivers), not just to the consumer.
  • In markets where products and services are very similar and hard to differentiate, companies like Deutsche Bank, have developed mobile apps for iPads and other tablets to help with financial planning in ways their competition has not.
  • Delta Airlines has developed "proactive" capabilities  in their mobile apps.  The apps will automatically show you alternative flights and options when a flight gets canceled, instead of making you do it all manually by standing in line and searching for options with a customer service person.
  • In the near future - apps will change features and functions based upon context.
  • Video cameras can now watch store shelves and alert for stocking issues.
  • ERPs are about cost cutting.  The new Mobility and Internet of Things are about revenue generation.
  • The dark side of mobility - we are automating huge numbers of people-intensive processes which are eliminating middle-class jobs.
  • Lowering high IT costs is no longer the top priority of CIOs, rather meeting customer’s increasing expectations.
  • Mobile apps drive 3x to 10x more traffic than the same app on a web/desktop apps.
  • People expect the same treatment and functionality regardless of choice of device or platform.
  • Companies are still budgeting for mobile apps out of silos, when the projects are really about enterprise-wide transformation.  This must change and be recognized as strategic.
  • Old IT model, simple front-end, complex backend.  New model, complex front-end, simple backend so the business can be fast and agile.  This is a requirement of the future.
  • The mobile app is the company brand.  Companies need to invest appropriately.  Mobile apps are how we interact many brands.
  • Mobile is causing a Y2K event with backend systems.  Many backend systems cannot support the new mobile world and the clock is ticking.
  • If the bank branch is in your pocket, why does it also need to be on the corner?
  • The average smart TV has 25 software applications in them.
  • People are fatter than ever, but they are not joining weight loss programs like Weight Watchers in the same numbers.  Instead, they are downloading mobile apps.
  • Systems of records must give-up their maintenance budgets to systems of engagements.
We live in very interesting times!

*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant
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***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

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