Mobile Enterprise Solutions: Adoption by Vertical Industry

Transcription

1 Research Brief Mobile Enterprise Solutions: Adoption by Vertical Industry Abstract: Gartner predicts growth in employee-focused mobile enterprise solutions in the European pharmaceutical, utilities, logistics and telecommunications industries in 2003 By Cathy Tornbohm Recommendations IT service providers addressing mobile enterprise solutions in Europe should: Prioritize and differentiate offerings by developing return-on-investment (ROI) metrics Keenly understand a prospective client's motivation for deploying a mobile solution Focus business-to-employee (B2E) offerings on the field and sales operations of the pharmaceutical, utilities, logistics and telecommunications industries Partner to gain skills in developing the user-interface experience, user-interaction issues and mobile infrastructure platforms Ensure that their mobile solution centers actually show the business benefits of mobile solutions Marketplace: Publication Date: 12 December 2002

2 2 Mobile Enterprise Solutions: Adoption by Vertical Industry What Direction Is the Adoption of Mobile Enterprise Solutions Taking in Europe? Traditional IT service providers in Europe have been heavily focused on servicing the telecommunications industry, helping mobile operators build mobile network infrastructure and related business support systems However, since 2001, many IT service providers have been targeting the whole enterprise But now, with all the hype and subsequent disillusionment surrounding mobile data consumer-facing solutions, IT service providers are focusing on the B2E application of mobile solutions in the enterprise Consequently, it is important for them to consider how specific offers can be differentiated The key to differentiation for IT service providers lies in knowing which vertical industries have the most opportunity to provide business benefits This document outlines some of the major areas of demand for adoption of mobile enterprise solutions by industry Gartner Dataquest Perspective It will be increasingly important for IT service providers to help clients justify investments, for example, by developing ROI metrics The business benefits of mobile enterprise solutions include differentiated service offerings and increased output from workforces These benefits will be the crux of long-term industry investment decisions, and will form the basis of ROI metrics Early Adopters of Business-to-Consumer Mobile Enterprise Solutions More than half of the business-to-consumer (B2C) mobile application projects deployed in Europe have been in the financial services industry These include projects at Abbey National, Barclays Bank, Deutsche Bank, Handlesbanken, KBC Bank and Leonia Group This significant level of adoption is driven by a fundamental shift in the financial services industry away from competing on products offered to competing through channels, especially as products become more commoditized In 2002, banking is still the only industry where significant spending on mobile enterprise solutions is taking place for B2C projects in Europe Rabobank, of the Netherlands, is launching a consumer-facing banking application featuring six main banking services, for which it will charge premium Short Message Service (SMS) rates for sending out account balance alerts The use of channels is now the key differentiator for financial services organizations To win the business of this industry, IT service providers need to display skills in integrating mobile solutions with back-office systems in a secure, robust and scalable manner They should also aim to offer exceptional, innovative, yet sustainable, user experiences as a competitive differentiator Other industries where channel strategies are key are also exploring B2C mobile solutions These include airlines, such as British Airways, Lufthansa and KLM, and the entertainment industry, including news, gaming and portal sites 2002 Gartner, Inc 12 December 2002

3 Despite European mobile operators keenly seeking data solutions, demand for IT service implementations for B2C mobile projects will remain low until mid or late 2004 This is especially true for B2C projects in the retail, education, government and healthcare industries Among the industries that are predominantly customer facing, retailers are always under extreme pressure to keep IT service costs to a minimum Retailers typically spend the least of all major industries on IT services Funding for retailers to invest in mobile projects is more likely to be available from marketing departments than from IT departments Hence a managed service approach to SMS, where IT service providers or telecommunications companies team up with advertising and creative agencies, is probably a more realistic practice than expecting retailers themselves to spend on mobile infrastructure, until 2004 Travel and transportation companies are also under strong pressure to keep IT service costs to a minimum Railway operating companies, airlines and hotel chains are starting to explore commercial applications of wireless LAN (WLAN) However, European travelers are not yet seriously adopting these solutions, as they do not have the required devices, WLAN cards or work patterns This may well change during the next 18 months as wireless hot spots take off, especially in hotels Mobile operators want to continue to provide consumer-facing solutions, such as gaming, videostreaming and Internet access These will require sophisticated billing systems, creating new opportunities for IT service providers However, as most mobile operators are still building their 3G networks, this opportunity is not likely to arise until late 2003 Predicted Early Adopters of Business-to-Employee Mobile Enterprise Solutions Companies in the pharmaceutical, utilities, logistics and telecommunications industries are characterized by having significant numbers of field sales, field service and knowledge workers These types of company are at the forefront of reevaluating and implementing new mobile data strategies In an increasingly competitive labor market, companies will need to learn how to derive higher productivity from knowledge workers, field sales and services personnel Companies will also need to be able to differentiate business offerings and operations An example of this would be the ability to instantly check stock availability, place the order and schedule delivery in real time with the client Gartner predicts that demand for B2E mobile solutions will continue to grow slowly through 2003 The main inhibitors to projects are cost (of device, bandwidth and support), lack of security and lack of proof of opportunity for the client to gain ROI Therefore, competitive differentiators should incorporate helping the client understand what level of commitment IT service providers can offer regarding ROI metrics Few European companies are looking to acquire, or are able to justify, new separate mobile devices to add mobile capability to , corporate portals, the technology used by field sales staff and customer data interfaces Gartner estimates that 800 Europe-based companies have piloted a new mobile enterprise application with an IT service provider since 2000 Less than 10 percent of these companies have taken the project past the pilot stage Gartner, Inc 12 December 2002

4 4 Mobile Enterprise Solutions: Adoption by Vertical Industry However, many IT service providers are still trying to convince companies to "mobile-ize" a myriad of solutions, from enterprise resource planning to consumerfacing solutions Most large businesses have turned to their incumbent IT or e- business service provider to support a mobile initiative, before looking at the open industry Figure 1 shows which industries have a high percentage of remote workers and a significant propensity to adopt mobile solutions Figure 1 Mobile Enterprise Solutions: Business-to-Employee Adoption by Vertical Industry in Europe, 2003 High Adoption of Wireless Enterprise Solutions Low Central Airlines Government Lawyers Wholesale Banking Healthcare Retail Education Manufacturing Oil and Gas Pharmaceuticals Insurance Utilities Logistics Telecom FMCG Police Construction Low Number of Remote Workers High FMCG: fast moving consumer goods Source: Gartner Dataquest (November 2002) Partnering to gain skills in developing the user-interface experience, userinteraction issues (see "Successes and Failures in Wireless Data Applications," COM ) and mobile infrastructure platforms (see "Wireless Application Gateways: An Emerging Technology [an Update]," R ) is critical to developing differentiated mobile capabilities quickly IT service companies have developed three types of mobile enterprise solution center during the past 18 months, as follows: An incubator to foster the "killer application," generally based in Helsinki or Stockholm A customer demonstration center A mobile center, offering IT service employees training on mobile technologies and customer demonstration The key to success for IT service providers is in ensuring that mobile enterprise solution centers actually show the business benefits of mobile solutions, rather than merely showcasing technology Key Issue How does the market opportunity for mobile enterprise solutions differ by industry? 2002 Gartner, Inc 12 December 2002

5 2002 Gartner, Inc 12 December

6 6 Mobile Enterprise Solutions: Adoption by Vertical Industry This document has been published to the following Marketplace codes: ITSV-WW-DP-0436 For More Information In North America and Latin America: In Europe, the Middle East and Africa: In Asia/Pacific: In Japan: Worldwide via gartnercom: wwwgartnercom Entire contents 2002 Gartner, Inc All rights reserved Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice