Whilst recently investigating various mobile platforms with a view to making a decision as to which of the many mobile technological ecosystems we should opt for, it became clear that what was really needed was some direction from the business. Without a full appreciation of where mobile fitted into the company's overall business strategy, it was impossible to gain any real traction on the problem.
For example, having definitive answers to questions such as these is important.
- What are the company's overall corporate objectives?
- How can a mobile initiative help the company in meeting these objectives?
- What does the company hope to achieve by using mobile technology?
Before making any decisions regarding mobile technology, it's important to unsderstand as clearly as possible how the mobile strategy is aligned to the overall business strategy. If the two are not aligned, then do you really need a mobile offering in the first place? Assuming that you do need a mobile offering, it should be clear where it fits into the overall business strategy.
Before embarking on a mobile strategy, it may be useful to know how many of your existing customers are currently using the web version of your application (assuming you have one). This will give you hard numbers to help sell the idea to other areas of the business. It will also tell you what devices your customers are using you so know what mobile platforms to target.
It may be the case that all you need is a responsive web site which can then be packaged for the required mobile platforms. This is a good first step onto the mobile landscape without incurring the costs of going full blown mobile. From here, you can then gauge how your app is received and decide what next steps to take (if any).
The key is to ensure you have a clear business strategy and that the mobile platform forms a cohesive part of that strategy. Going mobile just for the sake of it is not a strategy.
Going mobile needs to align with the overall business strategy to stand any chance of success.
For example, having definitive answers to questions such as these is important.
- What are the company's overall corporate objectives?
- How can a mobile initiative help the company in meeting these objectives?
- What does the company hope to achieve by using mobile technology?
Before making any decisions regarding mobile technology, it's important to unsderstand as clearly as possible how the mobile strategy is aligned to the overall business strategy. If the two are not aligned, then do you really need a mobile offering in the first place? Assuming that you do need a mobile offering, it should be clear where it fits into the overall business strategy.
Before embarking on a mobile strategy, it may be useful to know how many of your existing customers are currently using the web version of your application (assuming you have one). This will give you hard numbers to help sell the idea to other areas of the business. It will also tell you what devices your customers are using you so know what mobile platforms to target.
It may be the case that all you need is a responsive web site which can then be packaged for the required mobile platforms. This is a good first step onto the mobile landscape without incurring the costs of going full blown mobile. From here, you can then gauge how your app is received and decide what next steps to take (if any).
The key is to ensure you have a clear business strategy and that the mobile platform forms a cohesive part of that strategy. Going mobile just for the sake of it is not a strategy.
Going mobile needs to align with the overall business strategy to stand any chance of success.
"There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies. The first method is far more difficult." - C.A.R. Hoare
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