Introduction

In literal terms, mobility refers to the ability to move freely or being movable. The same concept stretches to Digital Mobility which means that businesses can easily shift their operations to the digital world.

Digital mobility permits users to interact with and contribute to sources of knowledge, content creation and entertainment from any part of the world.

Mobility is a bit of a broad term. Most people think it means mobile devices, like tablets and phones. But it means much more than that.

Mobility is essentially about the freedom to shop and work where you want, whenever you want, and the flexibility for businesses to hire talent and close business deals from across the globe.

In the words of Mick Higgins, Vice President Mobility & IoT, increasing businesses are moving their on-premise Customer premises equipment (CPE) to the ‘cloud’, therefore all their workforce has to connect to the cloud.

What is Cloud technology?

Cloud is a virtual space that exists on the internet. It is a storage space where people can place their digital resources such as software, applications and files.

Cloud computing technology allows people to use the digital resources stored in the virtual space by way of networks, usually satellite networks. 

It allows people to share information and applications across the internet without being the restriction of their physical location.

Popular Cloud technologies include drop-box, Amazon Web Services, Google and iCloud.

What is Digital Transformation?

Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, essentially changing how you operate and deliver value to your clients.

It is defined as incorporating digital technology into all business areas, which results in a fundamental change in how businesses function and interact with customers.

It is a radical rethinking of how an organization uses technology in synchronicity with processes and people to improve business performance

Digital transformation requires departmental coordination within a company to effectively adopt rapid application development models with a business-centered approach.

It also entails a cultural change influencing market demands and requires businesses to be ready for change, challenge the status quo, and not be let down by failures.

Some factors that compel companies to undergo digital transformation are consumer’s evolving expectation regarding goods and services, and the incentive to pursue new revenue avenues.

Key Statistics: Why is Digital Transformation needed?

Digital Transformation is a global process that implies the integration of digital technology into all aspects of a business, fundamentally changing how companies operate and deliver value to their customers.

Below are some statistics compiled by Forbes that demonstrate the importance of digital transformation for businesses.

• 70% of companies either have a working digital transformation strategy or are devising one.

• 27% of companies call digital transformation a matter of survival.

• Executives believe the leading benefits of digital transformation are increased operational efficiency (40%), faster marketing time(36%) and rapidly meeting customer expectations (35%).

• 52% of marketers around the world say bringing growth through digital transformation is their top focus

• 39% of executives think their companies will derive the most value from digital transformation in the next 3 to 5 years.

Having said that, let’s move on to why Mobility is needed to bring about Digital Transformation and how exactly it is achieved.

Mobility: A catalyst for Digital Transformation

Forrester Research “Maximizing the Impact of Digital Transformation,” revealed that 82% of respondents believed mobility to be the base of digital transformation. 

Mobile technology is one of the most important components of digital transformation. It reshapes the way we approach commercial operations, how we reach customers, and how our employees function in their daily work life.  Mobile apps are a great way to bridge gaps between the physical and digital world.

Mobile apps offer an ideal starting point for your company’s digital journey. Apps can transform the way business is done.

These transformation journeys are often long and indirect, but with smooth testing and creative development, you can not only launch a successful project but also scale it according to business growth.

Businesses view mobility as a central part of the digital transformation and depend on it to enhance access to information, improve process efficiency and employee productivity, minimize running costs and are now reconsidering their mobility approaches in the wider context of digital transformation.

Some Numbers:

Fritizinger, in his article ‘The Role of Enterprise Mobility in Digital Transformation’ mentions four facts that underscore how pivotal mobility is to digital transformation:

• 82% of executives believe that mobile technologies are the face of digital transformation.

• 80% of executives believe workers cannot do their jobs without smartphones.

• 70% of access to enterprise systems will be done via mobile devices by 2020.

• 62% of employees delay completing tasks that require them to log into multiple systems.

How are Businesses Adopting Mobility?

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, mobile technology was already adopted in most company workflows to some extent.

Now, companies have ramped up their efforts: 85% of companies surveyed in a recent report reported gearing up efforts to digitize employee work collaboration, and that included the use of mobile apps as well.

How are Companies Benefiting from Mobility?

A business succeeds when all its individual parts and components succeed. Using mobile technology, businesses are increasing coordination between these parts.

Businesses that have an overall improved performance gain a competitive advantage over other major industry players. Harnessing mobile technology opens up a plethora of opportunities that businesses can exploit. 

Hiring talent all over the globe has been made easier due to companies moving their operations virtual.

Not only that, businesses can remain open 24/7 due to the different time zones their employees are in. This is a major reason why many large-scale companies boast such a respected and 24/7 customer helpline. 

In addition, adopting mobility has allowed companies to cut their operational costs. A number of tech companies have allowed their staff to work from home, meaning these corporations do not need to invest in big, expensive offices.

Many successful companies are offering mobile training programs, welcome packages, and constant employee support which ensures worker competency and they feel connected like a family.

According to McKinsey’s 2021 Report on Global Covid-19 Automobile & Mobility Consumer Survey, mobility demand is picking up due to decreasing travel restrictions and increased vaccinations.

However, travel demand is not the same as that before the pandemic. This will influence consumers’ mobility preferences in the future, including the modes of transport they choose.

Industries rapidly adopting Mobility

1. Health care: The healthcare industry is shifting to digital solutions which are not only improving the patient’s experience, but also increasing accessibility of health information.

   Presently, the astronomical growth of mobility solutions is changing the face of the healthcare industry and has become the natural extension of the healthcare industry.

   According to the Market Research Engine, the Healthcare mobility solutions market will grow at an annual rate of 28.0% by 2023.”

2. Automobile: Autonomous driving technology has always been one of the most promising areas within the mobility industry and it continues to grow.

This top mobility trend aims to minimize human negligence and errors to create safer roads. Comprehensive AI algorithms now take over the task of driving with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to push the industry towards level-5 autonomous vehicles (AVs).

Fleets of AVs expand the scope of first- and last-mile commute and make public transportation safer and more efficient. Artificial intelligence, combined with smart sensors, accelerate advancements in the mobility industry.

3. Air Mobility: Advanced Air Mobility saw a surge of $ 6 billion in investments in October 2021 and is expected to rise further in the next few years.

4. Internet of Things: The Internet of Things, or IoT, refers to the billions of physical devices around the world that are now connected to the internet, all collecting and sharing data.

It is now possible to turn something as small as a pill or something as big as an airplane a part of the IoT. Previously, IoT was mostly employed for entertainment but now the focus is shifting to operational and safety functionalities.

Startups are advancing connectivity in mobility with embedded solutions and smartphone-based apps. IoT connectivity enables easy tracking of vehicle data for uses such as insurance, location tracking, driver safety, fuel tracking, and fleet management, which has changed the landscape of the mobility industry.

5. Technology: New innovations in Autonomous Driving, Electrification and Shared Mobility ACES technology are on the rise. $70 billion were invested in the ACES in the first half of 2021. 

What issues do Businesses Face when going Digital?

More than 2.7 billion people, or 80% of the global workforce, are deskless workers. And businesses are struggling in prioritizing mobility technology for these deskless workers.

A recent report by Skedulo, in which they interviewed 100 technology decision makers, found that 78% of the IT decision makers realize that their company needs to invest in software dedicated to the requirements of deskless workers.

However, only 1% of venture investment is dedicated to deskless worker technological needs. Appropriate allocation of financial and technical resources is the key to improving worker efficiency.

Moreover, even when businesses adopt mobility practices in order to improve operational and workflow efficiency, the mobile experience turns out disappointing for the user. Many business apps fail to gain recognition and comprehend the complexities of app development. Some reasons for failure of business apps are:

• Apps are too complex and confusing for the user

• Poor UI/UX

• Apps do not the MVP i.e. do not fulfill the product requirements

• Back-end data is not properly designed for mobile use

• Inability to change the scale of the apps

How to Adopt Mobility the Right Way?

Contextual data is very important in the mobility industry for understanding and responding efficiently to work scenarios. A contextual mobile app can completely overhaul the user’s work experience, making it better, safer, and more efficient.

Regardless of the industry you are in, you can benefit from the mobile transformation, as long as you’re using contextual data and implementing it correctly.

Mobile apps should focus on providing the user with the best data to enhance their experience. Mobile technology allows simpler access to multiple enterprises and non-enterprise systems (e.g., weather data).

Even better, by leveraging mobile device capabilities like location, activity history, etc., the user experience and consumption of data can be put in the right context and dramatically simplified. 

Companies seeking mobility need to consider how they plan to make the transition from a physical workplace and integrate mobile technology in their work practices.

They need to answer questions such as ‘How will our employees communicate? How are we going to train them? What support and services will we provide to them?’ It is after considering these things, that you jump into the mobility industry.

Some important characteristics that companies seeking mobility should include in apps are:

• Scalability

• Reliability

• Integration with third-party software

• Customization

There are plenty of mobile platforms designed just for this. Using mobile technology, you can keep customers, employees, and your business as a whole on the same page.

It is important to create a mobility experience seamless across all channels.