CIO Perspectives – Mobility, Customer Experience and the Road Ahead

Today’s CIOs understand how mobility and BYOD programs have benefited the companies thus far – from increased productivity, improved collaboration, reduced costs and much more, according to a recent Mobile Enterprise article.

In my conversations with many CIOs, they have agreed that mobile leads to more mobile. The success of their initial mobile solution deployments created a demand for more improvements, a challenge that was welcomed.

However, as many business and IT leaders understand the current benefits, some are still wondering what’s down the road and how the growing Internet of Everything (IoE) will impact the future of mobility and enhance tomorrow’s digital experience, for those both inside and outside of the workplace.

Outlined below are three key points to consider as you plan to travel down the mobility road ahead:

1. Mobility is fueling the growth of the Internet of Everything.

We define the Internet of Everything as bringing people, process, data, and things together to make networked connections more relevant and valuable. The concepts of mobility and IoE are not running parallel paths. Instead, the Internet of Everything is in large part, fueled by the growth of mobility. We see this best in the solutions and scenarios driving adoption. For example:

In the retail, entertainment and hospitality industries, increased mobility is driving more networked connections between customers and brands. By combining the power of location- based services to better reach customers on their mobile devices and deploying smart sensors to optimize a guest stay or manage retail inventory, these industries are transforming customer experience and the bottom line.

In the healthcare industry, networked connections between an ambulance, a hospital and a patient sporting a wearable health monitoring device could mean faster emergency response times and patient care that extends beyond clinic hours.

In the agriculture industry, farmers can use sensor technology to monitor livestock, weather and other resources to increase chances for a better harvest, all from a mobile device.

And in the transportation and logistics industries, connected vehicles can send alerts for preventative maintenance services and provide drivers turn-by-turn route information between the trucks and the cloud, leading to more on-time deliveries and better use of company resources.

Based on the few examples, it’s clear that mobility is a significant driver in bringing the IoE to life. Organizations cannot begin to realize the Value at Stake for the Internet of Everything, without considering a strategic approach to your mobility roadmap.

2. Mobility is driving a new customer experience.

In the coming years, we will continue to see the transformation from customer service to customer experience, both inside the workplace and with external customers.

With increased mobility, it’s no longer enough to simply provide product information or the basic tools to get the job done. Employees and customers want more integration, more personalization and more context. Specifically, predictive context is offering users more awareness. Now mobile devices can offer suggestions and reminders for when to file certain reports and when to make a purchase that just went on sale, all based on user behavior. Demand for this capability is setting the stage for tomorrow’s customers and employees, who will desire better integration of apps, content and context to make their decisions; both lifestyle and business decisions.

On the road towards the future of mobility, organizations will be poised to take advantage of ways to foster brand loyalty and create new revenue streams through location-based content and analytics. By embracing future-leaning mobile solutions now, businesses can build a culture of smart engagement and interactive experiences that can be a win-win for everyone.

http://www.slideshare.net/CiscoBusinessInsights/cio-perspectives-mobility-customer-experience-and-the-road-ahead

3. Mobility extends beyond traditional “carpeted office” applications.

Several years ago, the concept of BYOD and mobility might have been viewed as more easily deployed in traditional office settings. Today, mobility is significantly extending across the value chain. Mobility is enabling control engineering in assembly lines to monitor production lines in real-time to maximize uptime. It’s also allowing vehicles to communicate with other vehicles and within the larger infrastructure.

The result is a more efficient organization built on the power of predictive context. Mobility and mobile apps are detecting errors before they happen and helping make workplaces safer and more productive.

Like a traveler embarking on a long trip, organizations must be prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities for the road ahead. Business and IT leaders must consult with trusted partners and discuss how their businesses can benefit from an architectural approach to mobility and unleash new mobile experiences for their customers and employees. I’m certain that with this approach in mind, businesses will not only be prepared for the trip, but enjoy the ride.

Join the conversation, follow @Cisco_Mobility on Twitter, #FutureOfMobility.