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Leading THE WAY
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS
Until very recently, business managers could be forgiven for concluding that their people's demands for wireless devices were less about real business improvement and more about gratifying appetites for new toys and status symbols.
But today, increasingly, the desire for greater productivity and the need for access to business-critical information are driving companies to look at mobility devices and solutions as integral parts of their technology strategies. The workforce needs and wants to interact with customers, employees, information, assets and other businesses as and when it chooses.
PwC recently surveyed 8,200 PwC partners and employees from 27 countries, including Thailand, on their current use of mobile technologies and their demand for converged enterprise solutions in the near future. The results suggest that, contrary to popular belief, even a small amount of time spent working away from one's office can significantly affect demand for mobile solutions. Whether employees are out of the office 10% of the time or 90% of the time, global demand was uniformly high.
Our survey confirmed that, in a shrinking world, economies are increasingly having to react to global trends - and not just to local ones. For example, overall demand for mobile services was relatively consistent, with only slight variations from region to region. The reason could be a universal recognition of common business needs as well as the growing availability of wireless services at an affordable price.
Respondents showing the highest mobile demand were, not surprisingly: (1) those serving external clients; (2) those who say they are usually the first, or among the first, to purchase new technologies; and (3) those who pay to connect to the Internet (for example in hotels, airports or coffeehouses) four or more times per month. In addition to these factors, age appeared to influence demand with respondents aged 35 or under expressing greater demand than did older respondents.
The strongest demand was for seamless voice and connectivity services. Respondents want to be able to place a call anywhere and remain on it as they move around. In Thailand, 41% of our respondents wanted this service immediately. They also want access to data services from mobile devices or laptops wherever they are. It's all about having flexibility and autonomy - controlling the day as they choose, not having it control them.
Location-based services (LBS) such as mapping and searching for goods and services ranked highest on the wish lists of mobile professionals. These services make sense for travellers seeking general information (directions or maps for instance) about an unfamiliar area.
Overall, our Thailand respondents had a high demand for LBS. Our survey found that 69% would like to have access to this type of service in the workplace immediately or within the next six months.
Demand for business applications such as timesheet submissions on mobile devices was lower than for other scenarios, likely reflecting the relative lack of applications suitable for mobile screens. As network speeds and devices improve, demand will increase.
Based on our findings, we recommend the following strategies for your organisation:
- Place corporate objectives at the heart of mobility: Understand the benefits the various segments of your workforce expect from mobile devices and applications and how they support the overall goals of the enterprise. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Although employee job satisfaction is critical, decisions about deployment should involve a more direct correlation to business goals, whether it is improving customer service, increasing productivity or driving costs out of the business.
- Align business processes and IT for mobility solutions: Although technology enables a business process, on its own it is not enough to drive results. Enterprises need to focus on the business processes that will benefit most from mobile solutions.
- Address and manage the economics of mobility, which are not the same as those for other technologies. Although it is possible to manage costs by ensuring that employees are on the best possible usage plans, mobility is not, for the most part, about cost containment. It is more about increasing productivity, improving the customer experience and/or employee job satisfaction. Before implementing a solution, the enterprise should define the business process objectives and metrics needed to evaluate whether those goals are being met. They should then assess the change in those metrics over time to determine the financial benefit.
- Manage governance, risk and compliance: As device sizes shrink and capacity increases, the likelihood of losses of significant privileged data increases. In fact, our survey indicates that 18% of Thai respondents have lost a mobile device in the past two years. Procedures should address loss and replacement. Employees need to understand the risks associated with mobile device use, and the enterprise needs effective methods for monitoring and ensuring appropriate usage, protocols for coping with lost data and a governance structure to monitor appropriate use.
While the coverage of Thailand's first 3G service is still limited, and only a few models of mobile phones are compatible, most operators plan to launch this service in key cities later this year, or in early 2009.
How long this process will take is difficult to assess. But one thing is clear: mobile providers will find willing and eager consumers for more advanced mobile solutions in Thailand. And employers will find more satisfied and productive workers if they make the effort to strategically meet the technological needs of their employees.(To download the report "Enterprise Mobility: What the workforce wants in Thailand", please visit http://www.pwc.com/th)
Verasa Attanun is a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers Mekong, which comprises offices in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. We welcome your comments at leadingtheway@th.pwc.com
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