Mobile Technology - Tablets and Workplace Integration (Whitepaper)

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Mobile Technology Tablets and Workplace Integration

Transcript of Mobile Technology - Tablets and Workplace Integration (Whitepaper)

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Mobile TechnologyTablets and Workplace Integration

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Executive SummarySmart phones keep getting smarter. Applications for tablet computers are emerging at dizzying speeds. And the cloud that links them all is limitless in scope. Mobile computing is no longer a technology trend, but rather, an integral component of our business and social lives. As a result, businesses need to be aware of the benefits this might bring, how these technologies are being used, and who is using them. It is important to deliver solutions that make the process of using documentation on these platforms as streamlined as possible. As mobile technology increases in speed and user friendliness, the adoption rate of new mobile options by consumers increases. Consumerisation (consumers driving information technology innovation, instead of business) is forcing Australian businesses to accept that mobile technology is now used in the workplace, and holds the key to achieving the paperless office. Already, reputable research companies are predicting a decline in print volumes in the US market by 5 percent by the end of 2012 financial year.

Consumerisation:What is happening in the market?Australian mobile internet consumption has increased dramatically over the past two years, growing from 100,000 unique views per month to over 700,000 unique views per month. This growth is symbolic of the escalating uptake of smartphones and tablet solutions in Australia, which has changed how the digital landscape is perceived and affected both personal and commercial online consumption.

Between the first and fourth quarters of the Australian financial year in 2011, smartphones increased in penetration from 35 percent to 49 percent. Over 17.43 million Australians over the age of 14 own a mobile phone; that means 8.53 million have adopted smartphone technology. Of those 8.53 million users, 14.2 percent of them access enriched content on their mobile handsets1.

In Australia, the adoption of tablets also increased from 8 percent in Q2 2011 to 18 percent by EOFY 2011 (users 16yo+), with another 20 percent intending to purchase a tablet over the next 12 months2. Already, over 2.5 million Australians are using tablet devices like the iPad, compared with just 300,000 in 20103.

A US study of device use showed that 79.8 percent of all tablet users were over 25 years of age, and 45.9 percent of those belonged to households whose incomes were greater than $100,000 per annum4.

The same report stated that 5.3 percent of all internet usage occurred on non-computer devices, 0.3 percent above the global average of 5 percent for selected markets. Of that 5.3 percent, 63.9 percent occurred on mobile phones. This is quite a high adoption rate considering that competitive mobile data plans only came into effect between two and three years ago.

As well, 29.7 percent of non-computer device traffic was driven by tablet use (Fig 1), and industry reports suggest that high-speed mobile is still in its infancy. As higher communication speeds on mobile platforms

become more viable, more users will adopt the technology and become less reliant on traditional PC-based platforms. As one industry media expert stated, higher speed mobile devices hold the promise of the wave of technology that could finally lead to the paperless office5.

Figure 1. Mobile Share of Non-Computer Traffic (Internet) for Select Markets

7.2%4.4%

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4.4%

4.8%

3.4%

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3.4%

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Singapore

United Kingdom

United States

Japan

Australia

Canada

Spain

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France

BrazilNon-Computer Device TrafficMobile Traffic

The message is clear — people want access to data and documents anytime, anywhere.

The comScore report is quick to point out that the shared use of these devices means that they do not exist in isolation, so they have complementary relationships in consumers’ lives. As previously mentioned, non-computer online usage is growing and, while smartphones have been a direct cause of that increased consumption, it should be acknowledged that tablet traffic is increasingly significant. Because these devices do not exist in isolation, data needs to be shared between the platforms, including documentation.

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Tablet adoption in the business sector is growing. Data recovery specialist, Kroll Ontrack, suggests that 25 percent of tablets shipped will be sold to enterprises. Healthcare, retail and manufacturing are the key sectors already using tablets in the workplace. And workplace IT departments are not driving that uptake — individuals are using them in the workplace, whether the business likes it or not – the rise of the “Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)” environment6.

Although documents can be readily accessed via mobile devices, users are still grappling with issues related to readability, navigation, formats, security and lack of editing and manipulation capabilities.

For example, a recent study revealed that one in five mobile phone owners (20 percent) experienced frustration from slow phone downloads, 16 percent had difficulty reading their phone’s small screen, and 10 percent experienced problems entering text7. Depending on your age, those numbers may seem remarkably high or low.

In short, we can access documents via mobile technologies, but we can’t do much once we get them. That’s about to change.

If phase one of the mobile movement created a doorway to the remote document world, phase two encourages us to step inside. That means we’ll soon be using mobile technologies to create, edit, share, print, track and otherwise manage documents and their content.

As technology vendors work to make these functions a reality, the mobile device is, in a sense, becoming the document itself. For example, a retail chain can use GPS technology to “push” a coupon to customers’ phones while they are shopping. The phone’s screen is scanned by the sales clerk, the coupon is redeemed, and a second offer is sent for future use, all without hard-copy materials ever changing hands. The next step is the digital wallet capabilities which are enabled by near-field communication (NFC) technology – meaning the entire transaction can be initiated, performed and followed-up via mobile device.

1 Nielsen – Australian Multi-Screen Report Q4 2011.2 comScore, October 20113 Sucharita Mulpuru and Sarah Rotman Epps, Why Table Commerce May Soon Trump

Mobile Commerce, Forrester Inc, 25 July 2011

4 comScore, October 20115 MediaPost, March 2011 6 BBC, March 20117 Aaron Smith, Americans and Their Cell Phones, Pew Internet & American Life Project.

In the workplace: tablets in enterprise

… we’ll soon be using mobile technologies to create, edit, share, print, track and otherwise manage documents and their content.

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The mobile workerWhile our interaction with documents on our mobile devices at a consumer level continues to evolve and become more digital, the same seamless integration between online and offline cannot yet be said for the mobile workforces of many businesses.

With the proliferation of mobile devices, smart phones and tablet computers, and the prediction that by 2015 more users will access the internet via a mobile device than a PC8, employees will increasingly rely on their mobile devices to connect them with their offices.

Companies are recognising this trend, with the number citing mobile as important growing from 7 percent to 30 percent between 2011 and 2012. More than 20 percent of employees are already using their personal device/s for work purposes, which is expected to grow to almost 35 percent by 2013.

With the expectation that company IT departments will support these devices, the challenge for business is certainly great. To support mobile workers and enable them to perform traditional work in any environment, it is increasingly important to provide access not only to documents, but also to document services and collaborative tools. These document services have to be readily available and easy to use from a variety of mobile platforms.

Keeping it all secureWith BYOD becoming more prominent, and with an increasing focus on mobile security, large software solution companies such as Symantec, Cisco and McAfee have already begun to develop and sell security-based Mobile Device Manager (MDM) platforms to protect enterprises from potential security threats.

In the case of Symantec, that development has eventuated through acquisitions such as the purchase of Nukona. While Symantec already supplies MDM via Odyssey, it can now also offer Mobile Application Management (MAM) solutions via Nukona, and in doing so, can control the user flow and access of third-party and native applications.

Obviously, as consumerisation and BYOD practices increase, so does the heightened anxiety from IT staff around security protocols and device management solutions. Some commentators suggest the total addressable MDM market is worth about $US7 billion (Channelnomics.com, March 2012), making this a very attractive market for MDM enterprise vendor agreements.

There are obvious concerns surrounding the use of tablet technologies in businesses. Gartner Research VP, Leslie Fiering, lists two of these as security risks and fidelity problems between tablet and PC-based platforms. Fiering suggests that businesses should implement MDM to handle management, development and security9.

In a study by Thomson Reuters, 300 senior legal and tax practitioners were interviewed. They discovered that 95 percent use smartphones, 67 percent use tablet technology and 23 percent are already using enterprise applications. Of the 300 interviewees, 60 percent were using their own personal devices, leading to greater security concerns for company networks. Some 43 percent of users admit to suffering security issues, 51 percent had network connectivity issues, and 30 percent experienced problems in existing network integration.

The research also showed that only 10 percent of firms have a strategy in place for tablet network integration10. This highlights the fact that users need to remember basic security techniques, ensure that devices are able to be remotely accessed and wiped, and carry out preventative measures, such as saving company data to the cloud.

An independent study by Vodafone showed that while tablet integration into the workplace posed several different security risks, it also gave businesses greater benefits. As tablet use becomes more prevalent in the work environment, the adage made popular by US Senator Watson in the 1930s, “If you can’t beat them, join them”, takes on greater meaning.

The ever larger numbers of personal tablet users in the business sector necessitates a need for an enterprise strategy. It is important that businesses develop and manage their own strategy to ensure effective use of tablet technology in their workplaces.

The report also highlights the fact that employees can work during periods that would otherwise be unproductive. Those times could include between meetings or between destinations during business travel. The study revealed that on average, between three and five hours per week were converted from downtime to a work activity. The report also showed that tablets were used mostly by mobile presenters, including field sales and marketing, business and department managers, and engineers.

8 Smith, Americans and Their Cell Phones 9 ARNnet, March 201210 Thomson Reuters, March 2012

…by 2015 more users will access the internet via a mobile device than a PC8, employees will increasingly rely on their mobile devices to connect them with their offices.

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A new movement in mobile: PrintingIt might be surprising to see the word “printing” in the headline. After all, if documents become devices, who’ll need printing?

The answer is, most of us. Gartner predicts that the content of at least one in 10 pages will migrate to a digital format by 2014, such as static content on media tablets, smart phones and PCs, as well as voice or video11. That leaves plenty of sheets still to print (including many of those digital pages). But we’re likely to do so with less frequency and in lower quantities.

According to Gartner, “While there will be plenty of printable content … such as photos, website content, travel documents, etc, the key factor to consider is the behaviour of users, such as location during usage, which in many cases is not where a printer is, nor where the user wants to print.

“The era of print technology providers forcing users to print to their own branded devices is quickly coming to an end in the age of mobile computing. Users expect to print, regardless of location or brand.”

In a US report produced by Stanley Morgan in 2011, interviews were conducted with users and non-users of iPads to discover that 71 percent of non-iPad users suggested they would print less in 2012, while 90 percent of iPad users would be printing less due to the technologies brought to them via the devices (Fig 2).

Figure 2. If you had access to view and edit documents on a tablet, would you print less at the office?

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Non iPad Owner

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Print the samePrint fewer pagesPrint much fewer pages

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10% 44% 46%

The installation of print functionality on mobile devices won’t be enough.

“Printer technology providers must understand the new habits of mobile users and facilitate printing where applicable, either point to point or through cloud printing services.”

In other words, the new technology should be seen as an enabler for integrating print and cloud services, which can be offered and monitored by digital printers, so that if print volumes do decline due to increased tablet adoption, they are poised to maintain ongoing business relations in the digital realm with integrated technologies.

11 Federico De Silva, Vishal Tripathi, Sharon McNee, Market Trends: Media Tablets Will Hit an Already Declining Print Market, Gartner, Inc, 25 May 2011

…we’ll soon be using mobile technologies to create, edit, share, print, track and otherwise manage documents and their content.

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Australian businesses need to think beyond the print universe now, to ensure ongoing business growth in the future. Reports indicate that as more people, and in turn, workplaces, adopt technologies such as tablets, businesses need to focus on a strategy that encourages user adoption of tablet technology which can benefit from integrated applications to deliver increased business workflow, security and flexibility. All of that can be controlled from a user interface which mimics the simplicity of the tablet user interface.

The software market in security infrastructure for tablet technology in the USA is poised to reach about $US7 billion. If that is the case, the combined solution of security and managed cloud hosted services with full integration into multi-platform connectivity and sharing, would be worth significantly more. In Australia alone, $A4 million was generated by telecommunications providers (excluding third-party app developers) last year in mobile security programs and applications, with growth expected to reach $A16.4 million by 201512.

Furthermore, IBISWorld has estimated the industry value of cloud computing at $A1.08 billion, with predicted growth to $A1.41 billion by EOFY 2017. In addition, mobile payment in Australian business is booming. According to research by PayPal, mobile payments increased from $A2.7 million to $A35 million during 2009 and 2010, and the total mobile commerce market is predicted to grow to $A26.9 billion by EOFY 2013. This is a clear indication of the increased uptake of mobile devices influencing business behaviour and creating new business models in the Australian market. There is plenty of room to integrate profitable new solutions into these business practices.

Consumers are also changing how businesses must respond to the introduction of mobile devices. As the number of mobile devices with online connectivity increases, consumers are searching for new uses of this technology to enhance their lifestyles. For example, an Australian study by the Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) found that in June 2011 alone, 751,000 people used their mobile phones to pay bills or use internet banking, while 100,000 purchased goods using a mobile device. This so-called “M-commerce” is a clear illustration of changing habits, where traditional printing practices of issuing bills and invoices to customers is declining and being substituted with digital options, which save money for the business and offer consumers added convenience.

The methods Australian businesses and consumers once used to handle their data, combined with traditional print practices, have changed dramatically, and all evidence seems to suggest that they will continue to do so.

Increasingly, businesses will look to optimise the integration of mobile devices to increase their flexibility, while allowing the integration of multi-platform devices. This presents further opportunities for businesses to develop systems allowing integration into these practices so they can control, manage and analyse business processes in enterprise contracts, generating greater business opportunities for the future.

How does all this affect you?

12 CSO, 2012

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Organisations should be harnessing the potential that exists between platforms such as PC, tablet and smartphone, and linking these into peripheral solutions such as cloud, print and fleet management. As the comScore survey points out, smartphones, PCs, tablets and their peripherals, including printers, cannot be siloed. They should be viewed as touch points that can be combined into one interaction for the user, and technology solutions should allow for seamless flow of documents and information between devices. This is an opportunity to manage, control and optimise the user interface.

Solutions should be able to accommodate the business architecture stretching from small business through to large enterprises, and everything between. This includes simple POS to archived network solutions, and even remote data analysis for, say, the mining industry, that can integrate instant report updating to a cloud hosted service and be viewed or printed anywhere in the world in real time, using a multi-platform software interface, while being hosted and managed by a business’ cloud solution.

There is no doubt about it — mobile technologies are here to stay, and will continue to change and grow. Furthermore, as new generations of employees enter the workforce, mobile devices will be mandatory.

In the study mentioned earlier, 42 percent of young adults aged 18 to 29 reported having trouble doing something because they didn’t have their phone with them13 — just one small indication of our increasing dependence.

With a myriad of mobile opportunities, however, come obstacles, including privacy and security challenges. Finding trusted partners to assist in addressing these issues will be critical, to ensure that the mobile movement doesn’t leave an enterprise behind.

Technology solutions which enhance the usability of mobile devices in the workplace will likely control the future of most marketplaces. As mobile devices encroach even further into the Australian corporate space, companies will seek answers to how they can manage their document solutions, and take advantage of this new “wave” of technology. It is imperative that, to remain a sustainable business, businesses have those answers and a relevant solution for many years to come.

What could the future look like?

Figure 3 begins to illustrate full integration of all devices and peripherals, with all devices connected at one time via a centrally hosted cloud.

13 Smith, Americans and Their Cell Phones

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September 2012Xerox and the sphere of connectivity design are trademarks or registered trademarks of Xerox Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

About Fuji Xerox Australia

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This paper was adapted from “Tablets and Enterprise Integration” by James Maclean-Horton.