Johannesburg, 02 Jul 2001
As is so often the case in new markets, there`s much noise and confusion in the mobile market, says Andrew Fosbrook , CEO of Datatec company, RangeGate. He gives insight into 10 rules to ensure success in your mobile computing ventures.
Rule No 1: Understand your market. There are as many limitations in mobile as there are opportunities. Among the limitations are the sheer multiplicity of devices on the market to which content must be broadcast - Palm, Psion, Ericsson, Nokia, Windows CE; the current lack of bandwidth; the lack of standards - there are dozens of variants of XML, for instance; and the slow takeup and confusion surrounding Bluetooth, WAP and radio frequency standards.
2 Permission marketing. With so many millions of wireless consumers out there representing a compelling and untapped market, vendors will be sorely tempted to broadcast any content to any recipient. But more than ever before, permission marketing will rule, and the first vendors to broadcast unsolicited content - spam - will pay a heavy price. Permission marketing, as perfected by Amazon.com, has become one of the inviolate rules of the Internet, and it`s going to be even more vital in the mobile world, especially when consumers are always on.
3 It`s all about data. The power of mobile lies in the fact that data never needs to be rekeyed, from the point of origination, no matter how remote, to back-end systems and from customers through supply chains. The ability to exchange data between trading partners, with customers and effectively with anyone, anywhere, is a fundamental reason mobile will succeed, no matter what the current obstacles. But you consciously need to plan for a data-centric world and architecture, where rekeying never takes place.
4 Understand who your customers are. If we thought we had seen companies get excited about customer relationship management (CRM), we are still in the early stages. One could almost say CRM was tailormade for a mobile world, where depth of understanding of our customers is pivotal to the success of our endeavours with them. It is here too where the importance of completely clean data becomes evident, as data underpins and reflects our customer interactions.
5 Content is king. Mobile is less about technology than it is about content, and a good rule of thumb is that 75% of a company`s effort should be expended on content and only 25% on technology. If this equation is skewed, the balance has swung away from business to the techies, and that`s bad news.
6 The experience and integration must be seamless. Customers must enjoy a smooth, effortless experience, and integration between front- and back-end must be continuous. This does not just happen, and must be consciously planned and architected.
7 Standards issues. One of the reasons WAP did not reach its full flower early on was the deviation from standards. The same is true of XML; conversely, the single, vendor-driven DoCoMo standard has been a major factor in the success of Japan`s runaway mobile phenomenon. Standards-based systems have a far better chance of integration into supply chains, e-marketplaces and trading hubs.
8 Choose the right device for the appropriate function. A ruggedised Palm may at first flush seem ideal for in-the-field data gathering, and a salesman might prove persuasive, but six months down the road, you could find yourself with a sales force or corps of field service engineers ill equipped to do their job. Planning and accurate job scoping is key if you are to deliver the right solution to your users.
9 Plan for return on investment. We`ve seen often enough in IT that companies battle to identify return on investment (ROI) for the millions they`ve spent on their systems; very often IT becomes a black hole into which a seemingly endless supply of corporate funds is poured. Plan for ROI from the beginning, and it will happen.
10 Don`t be swayed by hype. This is an industry driven by flavour-of-the-day fads and hyperbole. Analysts and the media try to create the future and in so doing they build up expectations which all too often cannot be fulfilled. A year ago mobile was seen as the solution to all of man`s problems; now it is viewed in some quarters as a has-been that never was. As with many aspects of IT, the true answer lies somewhere in between, but you have to stay true to the vision you and your customer have created and not be swayed by the headlines of the day.
Above all else, it is clear that mobile has a glittering future; it might not arrive when you want it, or exactly as you expected it, but it will play a major part in your future.
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