CIOs Miss Out on Mobile Benefits

While many consumers sing the praises of increased mobility, some chief information officers are still weighing their options when it comes to this technology. There are supposedly numerous benefits resulting from the adoption of mobile solutions, but a share of IT executives are unsure if these advantages offset the financial expenses associated with these tools.If CIOs are not implementing mobility throughout their businesses’ functions in the correct manner, then they may be missing out on an opportunity to optimize operations. According to CIOL.com, even though the majority of companies have already adopted mobile technologies to some extent, their IT departments could be failing to utilize them to their maximum potential.The news source explained that a survey conducted by Mobile Helix, a mobile application and data security firm, revealed that over three-fourths of polled IT executives stated that they had incorporated mobile tools into their operations to some extent. That said, 86 percent of these respondents have yet to channel the power of these solutions toward improving the way in which they manage their capital.CIOs are aware they’re missing out on mobileThe surveyed CIOs admitted that they are passing up numerous advantages, such as increased efficiency, because they have not equipped their employees with access to adequate mobile applications. Although they would like to develop more sophisticated solutions that would ultimately benefit their businesses to a greater degree, there are some mitigating factors that have prevented them from doing so. IT executives are concerned about the amount of complicated work required to refine their existing mobile tools, in addition to the expenses associated in overhauling the technologies that they already have in place.CIO.com corroborated this reporting, stating that the Mobile Helix research found that 72 percent of CIOs deemed burdensome costs a principle reason as to why they weren’t making their companies more mobile-ready. Of all the opportunities that IT executives are striking down, these professionals are most disappointed about their inability to protect offline access. Additionally, they recognize that they are in need of improving mobile payment practices and on-device storage functions.IT executives adjust their attitude toward appsPerhaps the most significant obstacle that tends to interfere with IT departments’ efforts to increase mobile efficiency is their perception of this technology. Professionals often consider applications separate entities that are completely unrelated. Instead, CIOs should view these solutions as a cohesive network of programs that can be employed together to realize a single objective.”Part of the problem with mobile is that it is treated as a silo that, by nature, has to be different than existing IT investment. Therefore, there tends to be a raft of tactical mobile solutions deployed,” Mobile Helix President Matt Bancroft stated, according to CIO.com. “Taking an overview that employees use applications in a range of different contexts to do the job from the desktop to the laptop to the tablet and to the smartphone can lead to better thought-through applications. The goal is to enable employees to work and be productive irrespective of location and device they are using.”Professionals focus on ROIIf CIOs still have reservations when it comes to completing the tasks that complex mobility projects entail, then they should simply switch their mentality. Rather than focusing solely on the upfront costs and nitty gritty details that their departments have to sort out to implement advanced apps, they need to think of their potential ROI.”The key to understanding ROI for mobile investments is understanding the new revenue stream that is created through real-time collaboration, access to critical enterprise resources and data from the road, and the ability to get answers to customers more quickly and accurately,” Bancroft said. “With this mindset, the ROI discussion becomes a driver of targeted mobile investment and not a reason to hold back.”IT executives may soon begin to recognize that the financial benefits that may result from mobile development initiatives outweighs any time, effort or funding that they have to spend to improve these capabilities. As a result, more and more companies are expected to integrate the use of their business applications and the utilization of innovative developments in mobile device technology.