It’s everywhere, people swiping and tapping on smartphones doing all number of wondrous things, from paying bills in real-time, ordering cut-price designer clothes, to working out the most cost effective way to arrive in Zanzibar via Rio. This is where the myth begins, where your average punter believes they cannot live without their smartphone and all its wonders. The reality, however, is that the phone is just a digital portal. It’s a small cog in a digital machine where the big cogs in the background are actually responsible for all the smarts.
A trend in enterprise strategy, led by players like Amazon and Google, has been the consolidation of applications into one mega application, often referred to as a ‘platform’. It is the anchor to the digital revolution, and provides the availability of a company’s transactions and interactions with its customers in real-time. This has not been an inexpensive or easy task. Many have failed or are still on the path to righteousness. The availability of a platform of real-time information is what provides the fuel for the smartphone applications of today.
Analysing the vast amount of data that real-time transactions platforms hold begins to shed light on patterns of behaviour in all manner of products and services. The power to hold all this real-time data and analyse it, is the deep and mysterious world of ‘big data’. However, the landscape is turned on its head, where smartphone owners can use their device as an effective portal or “digital gateway” for accessing a vast analytical engine. On the reverse side, companies can use the data gathered from smartphone interactions to influence the psychology of their customers and via gamification up the usage of their services to improve return on investment. Concurrently, society is moving away from the desire to broadcast information, transitioning into a needs-based format that is controlled and customised by the individual.
This offers many challenges for enterprises as the smartphones application capability is being used as a service differentiator for competitors. As more and more companies offer such services, the pressure on those that do not becomes intense.
However, the cost of core platform modernisation and real-time analytics capabilities is not to be underestimated or taken lightly. A pragmatic digital strategy coupled with the leveraging of key enterprise assets is the key to success.
How seriously does your organisation take its digital strategy?
If you would like to know more about how to develop an effective enterprise digital strategy contact our Enterprise Services team
