The 5-Step Roadmap to Mobile Collaboration

Mobile Collaboration
I talk and write a lot about enterprise collaboration and collaboration tools.  Workforces are becoming increasingly mobile, globalized and include members who work remotely.  This requires an increasing focus on how teams of people (employees, partners, customers, advisors, contractors, etc.) can work closer together in virtualized workplaces.  I asked Harmon.ie's VP of Product Strategy, David Lavenda to share, in this article, some of his insights and strategies.
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Enterprises can no longer ignore what it takes to get the job done on the go, and must accept that reaching their end goal of mobile empowerment starts with a comprehensive roadmap. While business users are eager to collaborate on the go, having IT jump straight into the deep end with a new company-wide mobile collaboration tools is a surefire way to fail.

The greatest enterprise asset is a worker’s attention. If a tool fails to capture that attention, it will be of little use. True mobile enterprise collaboration at both the cultural and technical levels can only be achieved once companies are able to marry the choice of collaboration tools with specific business needs. Getting there starts with a clear roadmap:

1. Identify the killer use cases that produce real business results – IT innovators must start by identifying business use cases that provide demonstrable ROI. IT leaders in industries that have mobile field workers – such as construction, transportation and emergency services – will have the easiest time formulating these cases. For example, provisioning offline access to standard operating procedures for emergency response personnel has clear-cut benefits. These personnel must often work quickly to save lives, including work in remote areas where network coverage is unreliable. Saving more lives through offline remote access to complex operating procedures is a very easy way to measure ROI.

Another compelling example is providing remote access to construction plans, schematics and blueprints to contractors, architects and construction workers. Engineers and contractors frequently need to make changes to construction plans while onsite. If they are able to make edits in the field, they are less likely to make errors or reference out-of-date documents thanks to faster in-the-field maneuverability. Find your company’s use cases and work towards implementing technology that will directly lead to those uses – do not wait for the technology to tell you how to use it.

2. Agree on the right tools to enable your business use cases – Once you’ve identified a killer use case, work as a team to decide which tools will best benefit your cause. Is there a need for on-premise documents to be accessible to field workers away from the office? If not, then maybe an Office 365 implementation is the way to go. Are workers frequently sending revised copies of documents back and forth, causing email to become cluttered and difficult to follow? Then maybe an Office 365 implementation with a Yammer site will provide the overhead and document collaboration capabilities required. Whatever the need is, make sure that a consensus is reached and that it is tied to a key business use case – if people are going into the implementation already dismissing the solution, it’s sure to be dead on arrival.

3. Never lose sight of the user experience – Remember that the most valuable enterprise asset is an employee’s attention, and so any mobile collaboration project will live or die based on its ability to capture that attention. Providing a more feature-rich tool does not always mean that tool will be used, as changing user behavior is often the most difficult aspect of any project that seeks to implement new technology. From the start, the user experience must be a key component of your initiative. Not just the experience of the solution itself, but also the experience of its implementation.

4. Create an initial pilot followed by an onboarding program – Before going the whole nine yards and pushing mobile collaboration solutions out to your company, it is important to test the products on a smaller scale. This can be done by inviting a select few, likely those who are interested in new technologies, to pilot the program, provide feedback on what worked and what didn’t and, ultimately, champion the new implementation. From there the program should expand in scope to invite leaders from different departments to test among themselves, providing further feedback on a larger scale.

As an example, NIBC, a bank client of harmon.ie’s, singled out individuals who excelled with the company’s new Office 365/harmon.ie solution, and tasked these individuals with leading informational learning sessions for the company. The sessions were followed by onboarding sessions for the entire company, and the solution was finally rolled out on a department-by-department basis to iron out issues and gain support along the way. With this strategy, the bank achieved near complete adoption of their solution. Nothing was left to chance – everyone was ready to go when the solution rolled out in earnest, and champions from each department were available to help with any issues that arose during and after the rollout.

5. Never stop learning, teaching and analyzing – Just because the implementation went smoothly and adoption soared does not mean department leaders should sit back and call it a day. In fact, if high adoption is achieved, it is likely because people enjoy the product and would likely benefit from learning more about it on a regular basis. Continue to schedule learning sessions where employees who best understand the product can share information, tricks and tools they’ve learned with others. Also consider analyzing how individuals in the company are using the solution and drawing on that data to make sure it continues to meet the company’s needs.
X Marks the Spot on the Mobile Collaboration Roadmap

Enterprise mobility initiatives enabling personal productivity and collaboration have been gaining steady momentum, but without the right roadmap from both a cultural and technology standpoint, the end results typically fall flat.

Despite its many obvious advantages, new technology does not equate to easy implementation. To arrive at the desired end-state of mobile collaboration in the enterprise – where employees and mobile workers alike can get work done without being tethered to their desks – a roadmap is a powerful tool. With a concrete roadmap tied to key business objectives, you will have a guide to navigate to the “New World” of true mobile collaboration.


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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Senior Analyst
Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Subscribe to Kevin'sYouTube Channel
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

A Walk Through Boston - Talking about Digital Transformation, Code Halos and Mobility

If there are ever awards given out for people that take shaky, corny and unrehearsed videos of themselves talking about digital transformation, Code Halos and enterprise mobility while walking around Boston - I should be considered.  Grab some popcorn!

Video Link: http://youtu.be/w2ZrHnd0L2o?list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw




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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Senior Analyst
Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Subscribe to Kevin'sYouTube Channel
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Digital Devastation in the Mobile Hardware Market and Emerging Trends

HP's PC and laptop division missed the emergence of the smartphones and tablets markets.  They must now pay the penalty and split into two separate companies which will need to seek new paths. Over the past few years, the list of mobile device losers has grown from Ericsson, HTC, Motorola, Psion, BlackBerry, Nokia, and now it looks increasingly like Samsung will join that list.  Dell returned to being a private company in large part as a result of missing the mobile device market. What can we learn from these casualties of digital transformation?

I think it is very difficult for hardware manufacturers to understand that successful products are not just the results of better storage, memory, processing power, screens, cases, radios, keyboards, etc., but about people, lifestyles, experiences, simplicity and ecosystems.  The way people live, interact, communicate, consume entertainment and find fulfillment are all contributing factors to the success of technologies today.

Developers are busy people with limited resources.  They want to develop for the largest potential markets.  This market turned out not to be gadget geeks, but music lovers.  Music lovers who became amateur photographers, and then mobile app consumers - i.e., us.  Who knew?  Steve Jobs.

It was a digital transformation where physical items were being digitized and made available through new and innovative Internet-based digital sales channels - App Stores.  App store usage, functionality and design were not what hardware engineers spent their days thinking about.  It was someone else's job - Steve Jobs.

I have to imagine Steve Jobs, a few years back, asking himself over a vegan meal, or a glass of green organic vegetable juice, "What things in our day-to-day life can be digitized, and how will it change the world?  This was unlikely the line of questioning the average electrical engineer or computer scientist in Finland, Dallas, Waterloo or Taiwan were asking themselves.

The competitive field has now moved beyond hardware and digital Internet-based marketplaces.  It is now about interacting closely with customers and markets to provide hyper-personalized services tailored for each individual.  How is this accomplished?  Read Malcolm Frank, Paul Roehrig and Benjamin Pring's book on Code Halos or visit the Future of Works website at http://www.futureofwork.com/codehalos.  It is about providing incredible user experiences based on knowledge (collected and analyzed data, i.e. Code Halos) about the customer's preferences and history.

Here is how I see it:
  1. Enterprise hardware and industrial grade gadgets sold through brick and mortar markets which then morphed into consumer lifestyles devices, application ecosystems and digital markets.
  2. Each of these trends generated exponentially more data that are now increasingly analyzed for "meaning-making" and used to provide more intimate levels of hyper-personalized experiences.  These experiences are highly addictive and increasingly mobile.  We crave them and will spend our money with businesses that give us personalized experiences and spoil us. Consumers will quickly recognize the difference between companies with an effective "Code Halos" strategy and those without.  Consumers will spend their money with those that effectively and transparently use "Code Halos" to give us what we individually want.
  3. Hyper-personalized user experiences require a different level of IT infrastructure - a real-time IT infrastructure.  An increasing amount of commerce, research and shopping is conducted on mobile devices and this requires new and different real-time IT infrastructure to support mobile applications.  In a recent survey I conducted with over eighty participants, 77% said their current IT environment is inhibiting or limiting mobile strategies and plans.  82.7% said mobile app support would force them to make major investments in their IT infrastructure.  Over 70% answered that having optimized mobile applications and user experiences were "important to very important" for their company's future success.  
Making the transition to a real-time IT environment and infrastructure is BIG!  How much will it cost to support this Code Halos supported, hyper-personalized, mobile first IT infrastructure and environment?  61.7% said it would have a "Significant to Huge" impact on their IT budget.

It is critical for companies to take an inventory of their IT environments and to learn what it will take to digitally transform their businesses into a real-time, mobile first enterprises.  Budgets will and should be impacted.


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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Senior Analyst
Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Subscribe to Kevin'sYouTube Channel
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interviews: Citrix's Brian Dye

What are the mobile security vulnerabilities that enterprises are missing? How is the mobile security industry changing in 2014? How is securing mobile solutions in the cloud different than on-premise? What do you do when you can't patch stupid?  These are a few of the topics I discuss in this interview with Citrix's Group VP, GM of Mobile Platforms group, Brian Dye. Enjoy!

Video Link: http://youtu.be/cXR21m-ox3E?list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw



The cost and time to mobilize enterprise applications can actually meet or exceed the original cost and time to implement those systems. In their new report, “StarMobile Transforms Enterprise Apps into Mobile Apps”, 451 Research details the advantages of StarMobile’s app development tool and how it can drastically reduce the cost and time to mobilize enterprise applications.

Download report here: http://starmobileinc.com/report-451research-starmobile-transforms-mobile-apps-into-enterprise-apps/
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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Senior Analyst
Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Subscribe to Kevin'sYouTube Channel
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interviews: Oracle's Lyle Ekdahl

This is the last in a series of interviews I recorded at Oracle Open World 2014 this past week.  I recorded five different interviews with Oracle's enterprise mobility experts on different aspects of their mobile platform and enterprise mobility apps.  In this interview with Oracle's SVP Development, GM Oracle JD Edward, Lyle Ekdahl we discuss their ambitions and goals for their enterprise mobility solutions and platforms.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://youtu.be/_cOZa9EPbW4?list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw



Mobile App Testing Strategy Webinar: Shift Mobile Testing Left Using Selenium and Eclipse
Date: October 7, 2014, 11am EDT

Learn how the “shift testing left” dynamic is impacting Developers and Testers. Learn how Perfecto Mobile can facilitate this while supporting your Agile and Continuous Integration effort. The webinar includes a hands-on demonstration of the MobileCloud, including:

  • How to create a new mobile testing project in Eclipse
  • How to run a sample project on multiple devices in parallel
  • How to leverage existing Selenium scripts and extend them to mobile 
  • How to "Shift Left" and decrease mobile app time to market

Registration link: http://bit.ly/1nH42g4

************************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Senior Analyst
Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Subscribe to Kevin'sYouTube Channel
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interviews: Oracle's Kaj Van De Loo

In this interview recorded this week in beautiful and warn San Francisco, I have the pleasure of asking Oracle's VP, Development and Middleware, Kaj Van De Loo, many questions about their newly announced suite of enterprise mobility solutions.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://youtu.be/EVEoz6YMkes?list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw


Upcoming Mobile App Testing Strategy Webinar: Shift Mobile Testing Left Using Selenium and Eclipse
Date: October 7, 2014, 11am EDT
Description: Learn how the “shift testing left” dynamic is impacting Developers and Testers. Learn how Perfecto Mobile can facilitate this while supporting your Agile and Continuous Integration effort. The webinar includes a hands-on demonstration of the MobileCloud, including:

  • How to create a new mobile testing project in Eclipse
  • How to run a sample project on multiple devices in parallel
  • How to leverage existing Selenium scripts and extend them to mobile 
  • How to "Shift Left" and decrease mobile app time to market

Registration link: http://bit.ly/1nH42g4

************************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Senior Analyst
Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Subscribe to Kevin'sYouTube Channel
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interviews: Oracle's Chris Tonas

I was able to attend the Oracle's Open World user conference this week in sunny and warm San Francisco.  This year was a special year.  It was the public unveiling of Oracle's suite of enterprise mobility solutions - both on-premise and cloud.  In this interview with Oracle's VP Mobility and Development Tools, Chris Tonas, we discuss how these tools and platforms will be used to mobilize all of Oracle's solutions and for use by their customers to mobilize their bespoke apps.

[Apologies]: I have a new microphone that does not require me to yell into, however, it takes me a few videos to realize it...

Video Link: http://youtu.be/JxqoloukitE?list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw



Upcoming Mobile App Testing Strategy webinar: Shift Mobile Testing Left Using Selenium and Eclipse
Date: October 7, 2014, 11am EDT
Description: Learn how the “shift testing left” dynamic is impacting Developers and Testers. Learn how Perfecto Mobile can facilitate this while supporting your Agile and Continuous Integration effort. The webinar includes a hands-on demonstration of the MobileCloud, including:

  • How to create a new mobile testing project in Eclipse
  • How to run a sample project on multiple devices in parallel
  • How to leverage existing Selenium scripts and extend them to mobile 
  • How to "Shift Left" and decrease mobile app time to market

Registration link: http://bit.ly/1nH42g4

************************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Senior Analyst
Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Subscribe to Kevin'sYouTube Channel
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interviews: StarMobile's CEO Todd Fryburger

In this interview, recorded at Oracle Open World 2014, StarMobile's CEO Todd Fryburger stops by the Cognizant booth to share his insights and strategies on how they are approaching the enterprise mobility market.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://youtu.be/cHyBfDEW7u8


************************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Senior Analyst
Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Subscribe to Kevin'sYouTube Channel
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interviews: Oracle's Amit Zavery

2014 is the year of mobility in the calendar of the Oracles.  This year at Oracle Open World 2014, Oracle made a series of announcements about their end-to-end mobility solutions for both on-premise and in the cloud.  In this interview with Oracle's Amit Zavery, VP, Product Management, Oracle Fusion Middleware, we discuss these announcements and what they include.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://youtu.be/GW8uAqxJZe4


Upcoming Webinar: Shift Mobile Testing Left Using Selenium and Eclipse
Date: October 7, 2014, 11am EDT
Description: Learn how the “shift testing left” dynamic is impacting Developers and Testers. Learn how Perfecto Mobile can facilitate this while supporting your Agile and Continuous Integration effort. The webinar includes a hands-on demonstration of the MobileCloud, including:
  • How to create a new mobile testing project in Eclipse
  • How to run a sample project on multiple devices in parallel
  • How to leverage existing Selenium scripts and extend them to mobile 
  • How to "Shift Left" and decrease mobile app time to market
Registration link: http://bit.ly/1nH42g4
************************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Senior Analyst
Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Subscribe to Kevin'sYouTube Channel
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

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