Moving Toward Enterprise Mobility

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Moving Toward Enterprise Mobility

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) LLP recently published the second in a series of studies on convergence technologies. The report, Convergence Monitor: Enterprise Mobility (PDF, 1.6 MB), provides information to help organizations understand the use of mobile applications in the workforce and the anticipated demand for converged enterprise solutions in the future. The study summarizes the results of an online survey of 8,100 PwC partners and employees in 27 countries, including Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Among the survey's main findings is the expected and quick growth of converged services and technologies among savvy, security-conscious users. Approximately 75 percent of survey participants work out of the office some or all of the time, and the vast majority of respondents — 92 percent — have a mobile phone to stay connected to their work, regardless of the amount of time they are away from the office. Furthermore, overall demand for mobile services was relatively consistent, with only slight variations from region to region.

"The reason for consistent demand globally could represent a universal recognition of common business needs for wireless services as well as the growing availability of wireless services at an affordable price," says the report.

The survey also found that respondents who showed the highest demand for IT mobility serve external clients, are the first or among the first to purchase new technology, and pay for Internet connectivity in hotels, airports, or coffee shops four or more times per month. Additionally, while younger workers — 35 and under — tend to express greater demand for mobile technologies than their more senior counterparts, gender and region slightly influenced mobility levels. To improve productivity for these workers, organizations need to support efforts to reduce downtime and increase communication. Workers also need to be connected to knowledge sources, including customers, other employees, the Internet or intranet, and back-office systems.

One of the first tasks organizations should address as part of their mobile strategy is to analyze and profile their workforce to ensure they select the mobile solutions that best meet the needs of the organization and their employees. As the report explains, mobile employees want solutions that offer seamless voice and connectivity services, location-based services, and business applications. Furthermore, employees want these solutions sooner rather than later — 50 percent of mobile professionals would like to see features that enhance remote connectivity implemented within the next six months.

"This survey provides a good picture of how emerging wireless technologies are being embraced by the mobile workforce improve job satisfaction and increase productivity, while creating a competitive advantage for organizations," says Robert Roman, an advisory services partner for PwC. "However, there are numerous business risks that need to be addressed, and internal auditors need to be aware of red flags when their company adopts a mobile strategy."

One red flag is the lack of policies and procedures regarding mobile technologies. As Roman explains, auditors need to identify whether established policies and procedures, IT security and privacy standards, and employee training programs address the use of new technologies and whether they are up-to-date to ensure effective use of the new technology in a controlled manner.

Furthermore, auditors should consider the benefits of mobile solutions and technologies when discussing their recommendations with management. "Mobile technologies represent a real solution to help companies increase their competitiveness in a fast-paced business environment," Roman says. "For example, mobile technologies have been used by many companies to track inventory and shipped products with radio-frequency identification devices and to enable round-the-clock visibility to their product."

For more information about the report or to download Convergence Monitor: Enterprise Mobility, visit the PwC Web site.