Enterprise mobility is imperative for modern businesses, more than ever since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the world is pushed into the era of social distancing, the enterprises that were sticking to the conventional means of operations with little or no mobile transformation have to migrate to remote working. While some were prepared for the scenario, no one envisioned remote working to become a full-fledged reality, and for an indefinite period.
Even as the lockdowns are lifted, and the businesses are gradually moving back to normal, it will never be the same. Having the entire workforce return to office is not going to happen anytime soon, and some parts of the workforce may continue to work from home forever.
And, hence, having to devise an enterprise mobility strategy from scratch is the need of the hour.
In this article, let us discuss how enterprises can create a robust enterprise mobility strategy in the new normal of remote working.
Enterprise Mobility Strategy in The New Normal of Remote Working
Creating a remote working policy
The requirement for remote working was sudden. The companies that already had remote working as a perk or the companies with a large frontline workforce were perhaps more prepared for this than the rest. This is because mobility is critical to frontline enablement. But holistically, to work, communicate and collaborate 100% is new and, hence, having a policy in place is critical. It is also important to communicate the new policies to the employees and adhering to compliance.
Making business apps more user friendly and mobile-ready
Several businesses that have embraced remote working might be overlooking an important aspect- usability of business apps on mobile devices. Remote working can anyways be daunting for many and nothing is more frustrating and counter-productive than latent apps, apps that are not platform-agnostic, and the ones that are not available for offline use. Pushing mobile-ready business apps should totally be on your enterprise mobility strategy if it already isn’t!
Support for BYOD
BYOD has been intermittently incorporated into workplace policy since most employees carry their phones to the workforce and use personal devices to check on work emails. 87% of businesses rely on their employee’s ability to access mobile business apps from their smartphones. With remote working during a pandemic, supporting BYOD is more crucial than ever. Many companies are completely dependent on BYO devices for working remotely, and there couldn’t be a better time to support BYOD. Start off by publishing a list of approved devices, test the devices for security and compliance, provision the devices with business resources while ensuring the employee privacy is undeterred, and present a transparent policy to the employees opting for BYOD.
Addressing security concerns outside trusted networks
One of the primary concerns that prevent enterprises from encouraging remote working (apart from the productivity concerns) is security. When the employees connect corporate devices or devices with sensitive business data to unknown networks, they are basically off the security profile of the organization. During remote working, employees can connect to several known networks – home network, LTE hotspot provided by the organization, or unknown networks (think a cafe or a restaurant!). Addressing security concerns to protect corporate data, enforcing access control, preventing access to unauthorized app downloads for preventing malware attacks, and performing periodic security checks should be a part of your mobility strategy.
Extending troubleshooting to reduce device downtime
Device downtime and conventional physical troubleshooting at a physical service center can not only hamper the productivity of the employees but also is not a cost-effective process, especially when movements are restricted, and resources are few. Remote troubleshooting definitely needs to be a part of your enterprise mobility strategy. Test your remote troubleshooting strategy, have multiple backup plans in case it doesn’t work, and have an estimated turn-around time in case physical troubleshooting is imperative.
Ensuring communication and collaboration
Effective communication and seamless collaboration are critical for employee efficiency as well as engagement. In remote working environments, teams can often face collaboration hurdles that lead to productivity roadblocks and disengagement. In your enterprise mobility strategy for remote working, include a strategy for communication, a secure channel for resource sharing, and couple your strategy with a solution that solves the communication channel.
Closing lines…
Enterprise mobility strategy is imperative, remote working, or not. With the right help and support from a dependable enterprise mobility management solution, the enterprise mobility strategy can help businesses sail through tough times with ease and also be future-ready!