What do Mobile Technology Vendors Really Think?

I am writing an analyst report based upon the survey data from last month's 2012 Mid-Year Enterprise Mobility Survey.  Thanks again for everyone that took it!  I filtered the data to learn the opinions of those that identified themselves as mobility vendors.  I find these answers very interesting because mobility vendors talk to a lot of people, as a result, their opinions are often a reflection of what they hear in the market.

Q: What are your biggest challenges to implementing enterprise mobility today?
A: The number 1 answer was, "Developing an enterprise-wide mobile strategy."  There was a tie for the next 2 between, "Determining anticipated ROIs" and, "Educating stakeholders on the potential impact of enterprise mobility on the business."

Q: Where do you expect to find the biggest ROIs as a result of implementing mobile solutions?
A: The number 1 answer was, "Increased productivity of mobile workers."  The number 2 answer was, "Improved decision making due to real-time data."  The number 3 answer was, "Improved customer service."

Q: How important is it to select a standard MADP (mobile application development platform) before developing mobile solutions for your company?
A: This answer surprised me.  The ranking was from 1 to 4, with 1 = Not important and 4 = Critical.  The weighted average answer was 2.9.  It seems there are a lot of mobile app developers that are developing apps without a MADP involved.

Q: How important is mobile security to your company's mobile strategy?
A: The answer (a weighted average) was 2.8 out of a 3 - very important.  As these are mobility vendors answering, you would expect them to believe in the importance of mobile security.

Q: How important is HTML5 or HTML5 hybrid apps to your company's enterprise mobility plans?
A: The answer was 2.8 out of a 4 - with 1 being "Not Important" and 4 being "Critical." The 2.8 weighted average is between "Somewhat Important" and "Very Important" on the scale.  It seems vendors are still still hedging their bets.

Q: How difficult is it to find third-party consulting talent with the right expertise in enterprise mobility?
A: The answer was a weighted average of 2.2 out of 3 - with 1 being "Not difficult" and 3 being "Very difficult."  It seems there remains a shortage of experienced talent around enterprise mobility.

Q: How important do you believe tablets will be to your enterprise mobility plans?
A: The weighted answer was 2.9 out of 3 - with 1 being "Not important" and 3 being "Very important."

I hope you found this information useful.  Stay tuned for the full report.

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Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus

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Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.