In a new marketplace that is more fluid, more digital, more dynamic and marked by a rise in consumer demands, almost half (45%) of global enterprises are failing to leverage mobile technology to adjust to the challenges of a post-pandemic economy new global research from SOTI has found. Despite over three quarters (79%) of enterprise leaders agreeing their C-Suite realises the importance of mobile technology more now than before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, over three quarters (76%) believe there is more their organization can do to improve its ability to be agile and adapt to new scenarios.

While SOTI’s A Defining Year: State of Mobility 2021 Report found that 81% estimate up to a half of their organization’s day-to-day operations are dependent on mobile technology, the report also revealed that in many cases, businesses may be missing the mark in getting the best possible returns from the money they’re putting into mobile technology. Almost a third (31%) of enterprises said they failed to see a positive ROI from last year’s investment in mobile technology.

SOTI’s global research has sought to understand the impact of mobile technology over the last year as well as how organisations can position themselves at the forefront of the post-pandemic mobile revolution. 1,400 business leaders were interviewed from enterprises in eight countries across three continents, including the UK.

Addressing the Challenges

These figures suggest that while investing in mobile technology has helped businesses to weather the storm, ensuring a healthy return on the investments comes with additional considerations. For example, almost a third (31%) of business leaders said that security is the biggest challenge they face with mobile technology, followed by integration with other systems (20%). In addition, more than half (56%) of respondents admitted that they find it hard to manage their organisation’s expanding portfolio of mobile devices.

If these challenges are addressed, then businesses achieve the agility they need to respond to future crises and will find it easier to respond in real-time to the market’s changing demands. Mobile technology has the potential to provide flexibility and intelligence across the whole enterprise, however it needs to be integrated into core workflows and managed and secured via one platform.

“Our research confirms that mobile technology has become crucial to forging a new path in a volatile economy and that at the same time enterprises are finding it difficult to make the most of their investments. Simply adopting new technology isn’t enough to gain the greatest competitive advantage,” comments Sarah Edge, Director of Sales, UK and Ireland at SOTI. “To maximise their returns, enterprises need the right mix of mobile technologies and the right integration strategy.”

Managing Mobile Solutions in the Field

Attention is beginning to turn towards this challenge with around four in ten (41%) organisations considering increased expenditure in either mobile technology security, technology that will allow for better mobile device and system integration (40%), or in cloud-based systems (40%). The mobile revolution will eventually slowdown in terms of the volume of new devices adopted, but enterprises will need to find effective ways to ensure their mobile infrastructure is working to its maximum potential.

“There is still a great deal of potential locked up in organisations’ mobile technology and enterprise leaders have high expectations and aspirations for the near future. The most successful mobile solutions consider all the key factors influencing performance – from mobile device and application capabilities to network performance and ultimately the user experience.” says Edge.

“Following the rapid scaling up of mobile technology, enterprises can now look to use their existing mobile devices and systems to achieve their goals, such as accessing better business intelligence to navigate future unforeseen issues or diagnosing issues before they become a problem,” continues Edge. “The first step towards this insight-driven future is to establish a solid foundation for intelligent device management.”