- One factor that has had a huge impact
on digital transformation
is the mobile revolution.
Worldwide, the growth of connectivity
is rapidly accelerating.
Smartphone ownership has gone from just 10%
of the world's population in 2011
to almost 40% today.
That's even more extreme in the US.
As of 2018, more than 95% of the people
in the United States have cell phones
and the vast majority, close to 80% have smart devices.
This growth has had some interesting consequences.
First of all, as more and more people come online,
service providers have scrambled
to make signal available.
At this point, it's hard to find urban locations
in the developed world
that don't have at least minimal cell service.
This gets better every day
making it easier to stay connected
from increasingly remote locations.
That connectivity has made it more possible
for workers to disconnect from their desks,
working remotely while traveling
or even relocating permanently
while retaining their existing employment.
This has all kinds of ramifications
from security, to scheduling to collaboration
and we'll go into some of this a little deeper
later in the course
but one ramification that can get overlooked,
the wide availability of mobile services
instills a perception of technology as a commodity
that didn't exist previously.
What do I mean by this?
Well, most mobile users
have the ability to pick their devices
based on their preferences and needs.
They can easily get apps
to provide additional functionality.
If they don't like their service,
or feel they're paying too much for it,
they'll shop around and find something different.
The question people are asking is hey,
if I can do this with my mobile system,
why is the technology at my company so inflexible?
Shouldn't it be able to change and adapt too
and shouldn't I be able to pick and choose
just like I can with my phone or my tablet
so that I get the thing that works best for me?
Of course, it's not that simple
but it is a valid question
and it's a state of being
that companies should be working towards.
Yes, they will need to validate security
and overall system integration
and application compatibility
but this is what people want
and they're going to be applying pressure,
adapt or feel the wrath.
There's also an increasing expectation of simplicity
and intuitiveness in applications.
Now I doubt that many people spend a lot of time reading
the help files for the WeChat app,
they load it and they start using it.
Users and technology leaders
are starting to ask why business systems
can't have the same intuitiveness
and quick wrap up?
Of course, there's a lot of difference
between an enterprise business system
and a mobile chat app.
There's also a wide range in what intuitive means.
I may think Facebook is extremely intuitive
and easy to use
but Facebook for Dummies is in its seventh edition
and has sold millions of copies.
But this is still an expectation
and one which needs to be addressed.
A final ramification and another expectation caused
by mobile realities,
the expectation of speed.
If a mobile app developer can build and release an app
sometimes literally in days
or find and fix a bug in hours,
why is it that business IT departments
take years to release new tools and applications?
Now, I know that there's a lot involved
but I also think that the process needs
to get faster.
Agile methods of development
can help but that's another place a business has to be ready
to accept a different way of working
with everything that entails.
And maybe companies need to start thinking
in the app model.
Instead of releasing monolithic enterprise applications
that do it all, maybe it's time
to start releasing lots of smaller apps
that are focused on doing one thing really well
but that integrate with the overall environment.
This could not only speed up the development cycle,
it could also address the user's desire
to have the ability to select the tools they need
to do their jobs making them happier
as well as improving overall company efficiency.