The appetite to invest in wireless technology is reaching levels of 90% according to recent research, and globally, businesses do agree on the top reasons for why they are investing in technology.

However, the importance of investing varies when viewed from the perspective of senior-level executives compared with those on the frontline of an organisation.

This digital transformation has resulted in businesses becoming far more reliant on technology to manage the day to day operations and for efficient decision making. To be successful in this environment, organisations must evolve to be smarter, stronger and faster than they are today, enabled by changes across three dimensions: organisation and talent; business and customer; and process and technology.

Those leading the change will have a distinct advantage over their competitors — a performance gap that will continue to grow as emerging technologies and digital channels offer further insight using data from both within and outside the enterprise.

Organisation and talent

The business environment continues to demand richer communication and collaboration for employees who are increasingly mobile or distributed. Organisations are increasingly deploying devices for employee use, with recent research from SOTI revealing that 76% of employees agree the business they work for has invested in mobile technology to better their working experience and improve the ways in which they do their job.

Mobility and flexibility are transforming the way businesses and industries harness the collective insight of their workforce, utilising mobile technologies to increase the efficiency of business processes, improve decision making and deliver accurate information in real time. 86% of senior management employees agree that the company they work for is investing in mobile technology to stand out from the competition.

However, only 55% of those at entry level agree, so as the evidence shows, the investment strategy is not filtering through from the top to the frontline. If a business invests well even in basic technology, it can instantly boost staff motivation and productivity as well as appeal to prospective customers.

Employees expect an easy, quick and efficient experience whenever they use a device, whether onsite or remotely. For most businesses, the workforce is its largest investment. From motivating and developing talent to creating an engaged workforce, the effectiveness of employee management has a direct impact on business results and competitiveness.

Business and customer

In any industry, technology is a key component to understand and meet market needs and customer expectations.  In fact, 66% of employees agree the business they work for is investing in devices and apps to better understand what its customers and clients are doing.

A new dynamic exists in which customers now expect service providers to have a deeper level of knowledge of their needs and future needs. This means the quality of the customer experience is of the utmost importance. Customers are demanding a connected and streamlined experience, and now more than ever, organisations need digital intelligence to properly understand their customers with the agility to respond to changing needs and market dynamics at pace.

Technology investment is critical no matter the size of an enterprise, because of its central role in today’s business world. However, research is indicating that smaller businesses may be falling short. Only 58% of employees in smaller businesses (50-249) believes that their company is investing in the technology to better understand customers compared with 73% of larger businesses (500-999).

It seems that as quickly as new technologies come to market (making it easier for businesses to provide customer service) the number of channels through which businesses interact with customers and the complexity and cost of those interactions is increasing.

That’s why it’s so important to recognise how investing in a mobile strategy can help to anticipate customer needs, tailor business processes to best serve customers, and ultimately improve the efficiency of a business.

Process and technology

The role of IT has evolved from being a historical provider of technology to challenging processes and leading the digital changes across organisations on a global scale. Reflecting this, 69% of employees believe their company is investing in mobile devices to differentiate themselves from the competition.

The market has shifted, and businesses are now embracing mobility as a game-changer, lowering the overall cost of IT investment by reducing device costs, making business operations more efficient and making employees more productive –  key elements in growing revenue and increasing profitability.

Leveraging a mobile strategy has many distinct advantages including a higher level of employee responsiveness and engagement.

Today, digital transformation is infiltrating every aspect of an organisation and as a result, technology demands across departments have skyrocketed. It is now critical for senior executives to effectively manage those out in the field.

Therefore, a comprehensive strategy is needed to empower the workforce, equipping them with the tools to work remotely and completely changing the way that certain departments communicate and operate. This allows the company to transform the business, unleashing endless possibilities as a result and helps to reach critical growth for their business.

With the gauntlet laid down for businesses to facilitate more mobile working and to make the process as effective as possible, it’s clear that companies that choose not to embrace mobility as part of their strategy could find themselves playing catch-up.

Written by Richard Smith, regional manager, SOTI

The post Is it time to take a different view on technology investment strategy? appeared first on DevOps Online North America.

Since the launch of SOTI ONE, the enterprise mobility management company has grown the number of customer trials by 57% since last year.

The business also achieved 38% revenue growth in its channel ecosystem; with nearly 3,000 channel partners including resellers, distributors and 150 OEM partners operating in 195 countries around the world.

Carl Rodrigues, CEO of SOTI, announced: “With continued technology advancements, increasingly companies are looking to establish relationships with partners who have the ability to support their business-critical mobility needs.”

Industry director at Frost & Sullivan, Jeanine Sterling, added: “SOTI is considered a visionary for its ability to recognise the need for a concerted and coordinated effort to optimise security and management across multiple Android versions.

“SOTI is also at the front of the curve when it comes to IoT device support, including wearables. These visionary moves continue to burnish the SOTI brand in the North American marketplace.”

Written from press release by Leah Alger

The post SOTI ‘improves’ revenue growth through SOTI ONE appeared first on DevOps Online North America.

The new solution, SOTI MobiControl, will enable remote support of Linux-based devices, machines and intelligent IoT end-points, and will be available from 31 October 2017.

OS and app updates to patch vulnerabilities will be used, protecting Linux devices against unauthorised access and exploits, by hardening Linux end-points against attacks, ensuring devices are not left with default pass .

By 2020 there will be 30 billion devices connected to the internet, including billions of end-points from sensors, actuators, printers, scanners wearables robots and other devices not yet imagined, according to Gartner.

SOTI MobiControl 14 has many new functionalities to help IT departments reduce downtime and workload, decrease maintenance-related expenses and cut cost through automation and scheduling.

• SOTI MobiControl 14 introduces a re-designed administration console that simplifies the management of large, complex mobility and IoT deployments. The re-design includes powerful search capabilities, new dynamic dashboards, and reporting enhancements that will empower IT Administrators to quickly troubleshoot and resolve mobile issues and improve visibility into their device deployments.
• SOTI MobiControl 14 also adds enhanced API support to enable full automation of device and application management from strategic enterprise solutions. Additionally, it includes many enhancements to improve the management of Google Android, Apple iOS and Microsoft Windows devices.

Graham Watts, principal product manager at SOTI, said: “We recognised a major gap in the marketplace: the need for a single, integrated solution to secure and easily manage mobile devices, as well as the dedicated-devices commonly in use by businesses.

“Mobility is changing the way we work. Businesses need to support mobile workers wherever they are – in the field, warehouse, storefront, or hospital room – no matter the form factor or OS.”

Written from press release by Leah Alger

The post SOTI announces first Enterprise Mobility Management solution appeared first on DevOps Online North America.