Investing in Mobile Applications to Empower the Field Workforce: Risks vs. Rewards

Regardless of whether field employees are involved with service or sales, their productivity and the quality of interaction with clients has a direct impact on the overall health of the business.
 
Aug. 23, 2011 - PRLog -- There is absolutely no doubt that organizations operating globally across all manner of business sectors and markets are finding that mobile apps are invaluable tools for people on the go. This is understandable, as a company's field workforce spends by far the most time with its most valuable asset – the customer. Regardless of whether field employees are involved with service or sales, their productivity and the quality of interaction with clients has a direct impact on the overall health of the business.

One of the main debates to have emerged from the rapid adoption by firms of mobile tools is whether or not companies should deploy applications that are individually customized for each type of device used by their field workforce. Alternatively, an organization could try to get by with the relatively inexpensive option of investing in web-based apps that can be used by all, regardless of the mobile equipment they carry.

A potential argument for the development of native enterprise apps is that companies equipping personnel with expensive handheld devices should leverage all the functionality the device has to offer, in the interest of maximizing return on investment.

One of the biggest concerns for organizations is the issue of data management and security. "I think in the next year we're going to see a lot of awareness for application privacy. People install dozens of applications and they leak your private data like it's going out of style. Ultimately, you're trusting your users to do the right thing, and even with a BlackBerry, a lot of security comes from policy and user awareness that you shouldn't do these bad things," said Jeremy Allen, principal consultant with the Intrepidus Group.

Mobile applications and the associated risks and rewards of investing into standard or custom apps as well as involved security issues will be discussed in more detail at the Enterprise Mobility Exchange taking place at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas November 2-3, 2011. The Enterprise Mobility Exchange is an exclusive, invitation only Director’s forum for strategy makers from global field service organizations implementing mobile technology for the field workforce. Attendees will network with peers and meet with the industry’s leading solution providers in the only forum of its kind in the US that is 100% focused on enterprise mobility. More information can be found here: http://www.enterprisemobilityexchange.com/Event.aspx?id=5...

-ENDS-

Note to editors: For further information about the Enterprise Mobility Exchange see: http://www.enterprisemobilityexchange.com/Event.aspx?id=517808&utm_campaign=PressReleaseCP1&utm_medium=online&utm_source=PressRelease&utm_content=event&utm_term=USMOBILITYEX&MAC=20261.001_PR2
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