What’s Behind the Latest Data on Mobile? | FTNI Blog

In today’s connected world, there is no escaping technology. It is literally everywhere you turn and plays a role in nearly every aspect of our daily lives. This means our customers are definitely connected and entrenched in digital technology. Given that, the next question that comes to mind is … are our businesses keeping that same pace?

It seems like several businesses we run across are trying to catch up – especially when it comes to mobile. But, the data on mobile usage is overwhelming and is becoming the new “norm” for conducting business. That means we need to start preparing and embracing mobile technologies to stay in lock step with our customers, get ahead of competitors and be operating at the highest level of efficiency for our internal staff.

I recently ran across a study from Accenture where they interviewed 1,500 C-level, worldwide executives to get a picture of their company’s current view on digital technologies. The results were interesting and mirrored what we have been seeing with many of our clients as well.

Mobility is a top item of importance among all major digital technologies (i.e. analytics, cloud, big data, mobile, social, etc.).

• 77% of executives considered mobile technologies among their top 5 priorities for the coming year.
• 43% said it was in their top 2 priorities.

Companies are clearly focused on mobility and adopting technology and apps to help them achieve specific business objectives.

• 4 in 10 companies are actively pursuing and investing in mobile technologies across their business and consider it a key part of their business strategy.
• 87% of companies have a formal mobility strategy in place to guide their initiatives, whether it is for the entire organization or just a strategy developed for specific business units or functions.
• In 35% of companies, the CEO plays a key role in mobility strategy development.

Issues Facing Adoption

Despite the importance, adoption plans and activities to date, it appears that some shortcomings are at the forefront of companies’ difficulty in taking advantage of mobile technologies. Some of the items noted include:

• Struggles in the roll-out of mobile capabilities
• A lack of formal metrics to measure effectiveness
• Insufficient funding for mobile priorities
• Inability to keep pace with new mobile devices, systems and services
• No clearly defined, centralized ownership of mobility initiatives within the organization
• Lack of internal and external skills necessary to properly plan and execute mobility initiatives

Many of these shortcomings can be overcome simply by relying on a trusted partner with expertise in the area of mobility you are looking to implement and optimize. For example, FTNI’s mobile solution supports both Android and iOS devices and ties in seamlessly with our ETran system to provide you with a consistent, easy to use interface for your customers. Our cost effective mobile payment system provides easy reporting on usage and other key metrics to help you analyze the effectiveness, and is developed, rolled out and maintained by FTNI – easing any burden on your internal staff.

As you begin working on your mobile payment plans, we’ve compiled a set of five tips to help you along the way. You can get a free copy of our eBook, The Mobile Payments Train is at the Station: Five Essential Tips for Getting Your Business on Board by clicking here. And, if you have any questions or want to know more, please don’t hesitate to contact us directly.

Source: Accenture, Mobility: Fueling the Digital Surge, (Feb 2104)