The rise of enterprise mobility and with it, apps, means business leaders now need to adapt new working practices in order to keep up to date.
Nearly 60 per cent of British employees* use apps on either a mobile or tablet device in the workplace every day and it is predicted that by 2015 the number of workers using these devices will surpass 1.3 billion**. While a recent study found one in five people are now thought to be using dedicated department-specific business apps*, most people still rely on consumer apps such as Facebook or WhatsApp to share sensitive data.
The security concerns this presents are clear, so it is important to try and collate all business processes and conversations onto one secure channel that can easily be accessed from multiple devices.
If employers want to deter their employees from using consumer channels to share confidential information then they need to offer a competent business alternative that facilities people’s need to work seamlessly and unhindered as they visit clients, partners, work from home or hot-desk.
Finding such a solution may seem challenging in the modern ‘always-on’, digital business age – yet it is more important than ever. Rightly or wrongly, the way we communicate has evolved and people would rather send a quick simple message from their mobile, which they can attach documents to, than log onto their computer to type out a lengthy email.
Central to this change, is the rise in the use and popularity of apps. Research firm Gartner’s latest market forecasts estimated a phenomenal 103bn mobile apps were downloaded in 2013: a 59.4% rise on 2012’s total.
Unsurprisingly, the key concerns for any business when it comes to apps, or any new technology for that matter, are security, compliance and integration, and apps designed with consumers in mind generally fail to meet these strict requirements. With this in mind, it is vital that employers are ‘in-the-know’ when it comes to the most up-to-date apps out there so they can guide their workforce towards platforms that offer a safer way of exchanging data.
Communicating with staff and receiving feedback is imperative for business leaders, as what works for one company may not be suitable for another.
Let’s use chat apps as an example. These apps emerged with the digital revolution and are used by virtually every person today who has a mobile phone or tablet.
The rise of consumer chat apps has led to the development of ‘Enterprise Chat’, a collective, business critical approach to digital communication, which has developed in the modern business world and should be central to all firms’ working processes and strategies.
These kinds of channels discourage social chatter and encourage the user to stick to the important information – yet still have the informal feel of every day consumer chat apps. This makes it more appealing as users already know their way around the app and it allows them to continue a conversation across multiple devices.
As the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend takes hold, most apps are now available to download to any mobile or tablet device on any platform (iOS, Blackberry or Android), as well as a desktop, making them easier to use while at work.
A recent Gartner study found that 75% of businesses reported more than twice as many personal devices are now connecting to corporate networks than there were two years ago – the problem is that the likes of WhatsApp is simply not sophisticated enough to deal with sensitive content in a business setting and firms must find a seamless way to introduce new enterprise apps.
Ensuring they meet security and compliance needs and can associate data into organisations’ existing long term storage and archive solutions is imperative.
Employers don’t want to be seen to be intruding on employee’s day-to-day tasks yet still need to maintain a sense of control and ensure that efficiency levels do not drop.
The advent of digital means distributing information via multiple devices and channels has become increasingly confusing and on some occasions, time consuming.
If employers invest in their technology infrastructures, and streamline communication into a single, capable channel that can be accessed via smartphone apps, as well as on a desktop computer, it will revolutionise their business.
By Annekathrin Hase, director of marketing and strategy at MindLink Software.
**Research conducted by IDC
*Study commissioned by Salesforce.com