“The app is not the business.”
-Stix

The vast majority of mobile applications - even those “killer apps” that may define a business - are developed not so much as a means to an end, but as an end of themselves. In effect, the apps define the business case rather than fulfilling well-defined strategic objectives. They are developed as stand-alone fixtures, often with no clear understanding of the bigger picture - much less how to fit into that bigger picture. This is especially true for those businesses not in the technology sector.

Imagine a military unit given a critical objective. Without an overall strategy guiding their efforts, the unit may very well be successful - but that success is wasted. The same applies to mobile development. An app may be a huge success, but without a broader strategy this success is limited and the value of the app diminished.

Why Mobile?

Before we can assess the value of a mobile strategy, we must first ask the question: “why mobile?”. What are the capabilities and features differentiating mobile applications from other types of applications (web apps, IOT, SaaS, databases, etc.) and why are these differentiators important to a business. There are many, but we can generally group them into four categories:

Mobile Networking. This is the killer app of mobile technology. Our mobile devices remain connected regardless of were we are in the world (with the exception of underdeveloped areas lacking connectivity). We can fetch or provide information regardless of where we are (home, office, car, airplane, the beach…).
Apps Go Where We Go. To use an app - whether it’s for shopping, meal delivery, staying in touch with friends, or some enterprise app - we no longer have to be at the office or bound to a fixed internet connection. Our apps are always with us and go where we go.
Device Sensors. Mobile devices come with a variety of sensors: cameras, microphones, GPS, acceleometers, and even LIDAR. These sensors give mobile apps capabilities that no web app can provide: take a picture, make a movie, track your location, know your altitude, calculate your steps, model your environment… it has changed our lives and opened up opporunties we could never have dreamed possible.
No Network Connection Required. This may seem in opposition to the importance of mobile networking, but mobile devices are computers in the palm of our hand. Native apps are fast (round-trip latency is removed), they have richer user experiences, have on-device storage, and support push notification - all unavailable to web apps.

The Value of a Mobile Strategy

Mobile apps tend to fall in one of four categories:

Mobile Presence (extending the brand to mobile devices). Mobile presence apps are essentially web sites pushed into the mobile space.
Mobile Channel (essentially mobile front ends to an existing web app or service). Mobile channel apps compliment enterprise web apps. They provide (roughly) the same features and capabilities as the corresponding web app, but they explicitly target the mobile space.
Mobile Venture (a primary revenue generator). These apps are the primary revenue generators or enablers for a business. They exploit one or more of the mobile differentiators as part the core value proposition of the app. Virtually all of the the major social apps fall in this category.
Mobile Ecosystem (a collection of interoperable mobile apps behaving as a single virtual entity). A perfect example is Apple. They specifically structure their apps to fit into a single mobile ecosystem.

The value of any mobile strategy is rooted in two core elements: understanding and exploitation. Understanding where you are, where you are going, and how to get there, and then exploiting that understanding to open new opportunities.

Although there is value in gaining understanding, the true value is in exploiting this understanding to grow your business. The right mobile strategy drives innovation, improves monetization, and can open new market segments and revenue streams — without putting existing revenue at risk.

Developing a Mobile Strategy

Every Mobile strategy begins with understanding. The first step in this process is identifying your Mobile Center-of-Gravity.

Mobile Center-of-Gravity

A well-defined Mobile Center-of-Gravity is the the foundation of a mobile strategy. It identifies and captures details in four main areas:

Current state (where you are).
Strategic objectives (where you are going).
Competitive analysis (what your competition is doing and where they are going).
Business value (the value of mobile to your business — now and in the future).

For more on defining this center-of-gravity, click here.

The Right Strategic Solution(s)

Some may argue an examination of potential solutions are not appropriate at the strategic level. Yet some discussion is required focusing on what is possible - and the constraints on these options. A few areas for examination:

Native vs Mobile Browser
Hybrid or pure-play
How to handle device proliferation (BYOD vs MDM).
Cloud ready or self-hosted
Performance & scalability

All of these - and more - define critical design drivers for apps and getting them correct is essential. So how do you define the right solution for your organization?

You ask the right questions.

Ten Questions Driving Mobile Solutions

Will you be supporting one target device or multiple devices?
Native app or web (or both)?
Self-contained or will the apps have a backend component?
Is the backend self-hosted or CloudSmart?
Standard devices or BYOD?
Device constraints?
Able to function without internet connectivity?
Apps need to scale?
High availability and/or DR?
What are the key app KPIs for success?

It’s All About a World Class User Experience

An app with a lousy user experience (UX) is worse than no app at all. There’s nothing worse than building an app that no one uses. The best way to ensure your organization doesn’t make this mistake is to address the key UX drivers in your mobile strategy. Many of the UX details are app-specific, but several elements span an organization. As a minimum, your mobile strategy should address the following areas:

Purpose. What’s the driving purpose (or purposes) behind your mobile strategy? How will these be addressed as part of the UX?
Target Audience. What types of users will your apps target? How will their needs be addressed in the UX?
Context. How will your apps be used across broad scenarios? How will this drive the UX?
Customer Experience (CX). What type of CX are you looking for? How will this drive customer intimacy?
Branding. How will the UX enforce a consistent brand and image across all apps?
Design Language. Will there be a common Design Language defining a consistent UX across devices and apps?
UX Design Process. What is your organization’s process for creating world-class user experiences?
Constraints. Are there any constraints impacting UX design?

Your Financial Ecosystem

The business case does not exist in a vacuum. It exists within a larger Financial Ecosystem that may restrict or constrain the business case when executing this strategy. Defining the strategy without fully understanding the broader financial drivers may lead to unattainable objectives. As a minimum, your mobile strategy should address these three areas:

CAPEX vs Expense
Financial KPIs
Outcome Based vs Usage-based Cost Allocation

Don’t Forget Privacy and Security

Mobile devices come with all sorts of interesting features that tend to drive IT departments crazy: cameras, microphones, geo-location, bluetooth — even the devices themselves. And then there are the apps – wonderful little nuggets of uncontrolled mayhem downloaded directly from some app store without direct IT department oversight.

Complicating everything are the users themselves. There may be information we’d like to use, but how do we ensure we protect a user’s privacy?

The mobile strategy must address both of these areas. Detailed solutions aren’t required, but the strategy needs to identify the Critical Security Concerns all apps must address and the Key Privacy Policies they will support.

One Page Mobile Strategy Plan

Strategic planning can be daunting. Tying all these elements together requires focus and leadership. But there is a tool to assist in this process: The One-Page Mobile Strategy Plan