Designing for the Retail Business of Today and Tomorrow
CIOs and IT departments have never been under immense pressure to do more with less. With the vast majority of a typical retail organization’s transactions running on legacy applications, the spotlight increasingly is focused on how well the application portfolio can drive business results and support innovation while keeping costs under control. At the same time retailers are facing extensive disruption to traditional retail business models and the pressure to find new and innovative ways to reach and engage with customers. From investing in next-generation mobile solutions for customer engagement to modernizing legacy supply chain mobility solutions to meet today’s omnichannel operations, for many retailers keeping up with these demands presents a significant resource challenge.
However, a large share of retailers are frustrated with the pace of mobile development and digital transformation initiatives within their organizations. When pressed, retailer decision makers point out that “Lack of resources to fully support mobility initiatives” is the third highest rated barrier behind “Data and file security” and “Interoperability with legacy systems”. Retail technology decision makers are actively looking to reduce mobility deployment costs and complexity associated with these solutions, opening the door for third-party solution providers to fill that void.”
As retailers come to grips with these market realities, they are increasingly looking for qualified IT solution and service partners to bridge their capabilities gaps. Managed mobility services are increasingly attractive for the opportunity to reduce downtime while cutting maintenance and management costs.
Forward-looking organizations are turning this into a competitive advantage by leveraging advances in mobile technologies to drive operational efficiencies and achieve more intimate and engaging customer interactions.
Device-centric services, such as maintenance and break/fix, are core to the enterprise mobility professional services opportunity; however, as mobile deployments expand, we continue to see organizations gravitate toward a solution-oriented value
propositions. We see a marked shift toward more strategic mobile enablement around collaboration and customer engagement. As the demand for more sophisticated mobile solutions grows, professional services vendors will begin to see traction for vertically oriented mobility consulting services.
On-Boarding & Configuration
Description: Configure devices and set policies. Key Capabilities: Standardized processes and delivery methodology. Demonstrated execution.
Support and Helpdesk
Description: Provide helpdesk support. Proactive troubleshooting. Key Capabilities: 24/7 capabilities.
Depot Services/ Provisioning Description: Provision devices, apps, and policies. Key Capabilities: Customer dashboards and portals. Opportunities to self-service enroll.
Mobile Security
Description: Secure devices, apps, network, and data. Key Capabilities: Ease of use/ unobtrusive design. Compliance and governance. Mobile device location tracking.
Telecom Expense Management
Description: Monitor, manage and reduce telecom expenses. Key Capabilities: Remote feature management. Sync restrictions. International travel/roaming policy management. User self-service.
Mobile Application Management
Description: Address full lifecycle services for mobile apps.
Key Capabilities: Application lifecycle services. Application acquisition. Provisioning, distribution, and tracking.
Description: Address full lifecycle services for mobile apps. Key Capabilities: Application lifecycle services. Application acquisition. Provisioning, distribution, and tracking.
Content Management
Description: Platform to extend corporate content securely for mobile employees, contract workers, and partners. Key Capabilities: File sync and share. Reduce physical content creation costs. Provide centralized locker to enterprise content.
Monitoring and Analytics
Description: Monitor and report on devices, service, and compliance. Key Capabilities: Solution use tracking. KPI measure. Workflow analytics.
Lifecycle Support Services
Description: Decommission devices upon departure, upgrade or EOL. Key Capabilities: Turnkey lifecycle management services.
According to VDC’s research, here are some key considerations when evaluating and selecting next generation mobility service providers
FIVE considerations
1. Rapid deployment services: The ability to fast-track projects while helping customers understand the ROI potential of their investments.
2. Mobile application lifecycle services capabilities: The ability to both develop and manage mobile applications will be increasingly desired going forward.
3. Retail sector and sub-sector expertise to cater to the variable requirements that are unique to your business. Provide service and support capabilities for all connected end-points, not just mobile devices. Instrumenting legacy systems is becoming a key priority, as organizations are beginning to capitalize on the idea of connected devices and their associated business benefits.
4. Advanced monitoring and analytics capabilities: The ability to leverage cloud service and deliver real-time remote monitoring capabilities will be a key area for competitive differentiation moving forward.
5. Global service footprint: A critical element to being able to cater to multi-national requirements.
The stakes have never been higher for retailers. With the ever increasing impact of digital channels on consumer behavior retailers are increasingly challenged to optimize the consumer experience to better manage and maintain mindshare. Technology will play a vital role supporting retail strategies. However, it is equally important to not let technology dictate that strategy. The management of the customer journey through various channels remains the critical challenge for retailers heading into 2017 to ensure consistency of message and experience. However, it is equally important to realized that, and leveraging these as a competitive advantage is essential. From digital in-store experiences to omni-channel optimization, retail decision makers are facing significant investment options. Addressing these without compromising security and cost of ownership and support will represent a critical balancing act for many organizations.
advantage is essential. From digital in-store experiences to omni-channel optimization, retail decision makers are facing significant investment options. Addressing these without compromising security and cost of ownership and support will represent a critical balancing act for many organizations.
