Cost reduction is often perceived as the most compelling adoption driver for new technologies. However, in many cases, looking beyond bottom line benefits often uncovers additional intrinsic value.

Such is the case for cloud storage. While frequently touted benefits of cloud storage include cost savings, maintenance reduction and better utilization of IT resources, there is actually more to the value equation than meets the eye.

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Earlier this week I wrote an article titled, “What Do Mobile Technology Vendors Really Think?“, which covered technology vendors’ responses to my “2012 Mid-Year Enterprise Mobility Survey.”  This article is reviewing the answers from enterprise mobility consultants and comparing and contrasting them with the mobile software vendors’ answers.

Q: What are your biggest challenges to implementing enterprise mobility today?
A: #1 answer – Developing an enterprise-wide mobile strategy, #2 – Determining anticipated ROIs, and #3 – Finding qualified mobility experts to assist with implementations.

The first two rankings were the same between mobile technology vendors and mobile consultants, but finding qualified mobility experts was a bigger problem for mobility consultants.

Q: Where do you expect to find the biggest ROIs as a result of implementing mobile solutions?
A: #1 answer – Increased productivity of mobile workers, #2 – Real-time data collection and reporting from mobile workers, #3 – Improve decision making by receiving real-time data.

Mobility consultants share the same answer #1 as mobile technology vendors, but consultants placed “Real-time data collection and reporting from mobile workers” as their 2nd highest ROI and it was #4 for mobile technology vendors.  Improved customer service was #3 with mobile technology vendors, but ranked #5 for mobility consultants.

Q: How important is it to select a standard MADP (mobile application
development platform) before developing mobile solutions for your
company?
A: Mobility consultants ranked it #3 – Very Important

Mobility consultants ranked it 3 – very important, and mobile technology vendors ranked it similar at 2.9.

Q: How important is mobile security to your company’s mobile strategy?
A: Mobility consultants gave it a 2.7 score which is between “Somewhat Important” and “Very Important”

Mobility consultants and mobile technology vendors rated it nearly the same.  Mobile technology vendors gave it a 2.8.

Q: How important is HTML5 or HTML5 hybrid apps to your company’s enterprise mobility plans?
A: The answer was 2.6 out of a 4 – with 1 being “Not Important” and 4
being “Critical.” The 2.6 weighted average is between “Somewhat
Important” and “Very Important” on the scale.

Mobile technology vendors gave it a 2.8 rating, slightly higher in importance than mobility consultants.

Q: How difficult is it to find third-party consulting talent with the right expertise in enterprise mobility?
A: The answer was a weighted average of 2.3 out of 3 – with 1 being “Not difficult” and 3 being “Very difficult.”

Mobility consultants rated it slightly higher (2.3) in difficulty that did mobile technology vendors (2.2).

Q: How important do you believe tablets will be to your enterprise mobility plans?
A: The weighted answer was 2.8 out of 3 – with 1 being “Not important” and 3 being “Very important.”

Mobility consultants rated it slightly lower than mobile technology vendors (2.9).

Q: How important is enterprise mobility to your company’s future success?
A: The answer was a weighted average of 3.2 out of 4 – with 1 being “Not Important” and 4
being “Critical.”

Mobile technology vendors rated it higher in importance at 3.5, than did the mobility consultants.

In summary, the answers were very close between mobility consultants and mobile technology vendors with the exception of where they anticipated finding the biggest ROIs.

*************************************************************

Kevin Benedict, Mobility Analyst and Consultant
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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All around the world, governments at national, state, and local levels are facing huge pressures to do more with less.  As cloud computing gains traction and momentum, many public sector organizations are exploring its usage to achieve large-scale efficiency savings while simultaneously improving organizational agility.  However, the nature of these relatively novel systems requires some […]

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We’re excited to announce the latest outpost of the Revolution Analytics team, with the opening of a new office in Singapore! This office will serve as the local HQ for Revolution Analytics serving our customers in the Asia-Pacific region. It was opened with the support of the support of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, which is responsible for the development and growth of the infocomm sector for the country, and has identified loud cloud computing and data analytics as strategic growth areas. Revolution Analytics is also the sponsor of the Singapore’s R User Group. For more information about our…

David Smith

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It is a common misconception that by moving to the cloud, businesses are relinquishing all control of their data. Generally speaking, many companies fail to take the time to fully understand cloud computing and in this vein, feel reluctant to outsource business-critical data to the cloud.

The question most organisations should be truthfully asking themselves however is whether they are actually in control of their data when it is held on-premise. For example, what accreditations do they hold to ensure their business-critical data is actually in safe hands?

While most wouldn’t be able to say exactly where their data is, even if it was held on-premise, in contrast with a cloud-based solution, this isn’t necessarily the case.

Where is my data?

It is safe to say that on-premise solutions provide comfort to companies who struggle with the concept of relinquishing control over their data.

For those who don …

From the best-known companies in enterprise software to start-ups, everyone is jumping on the big data bandwagon.

The potential of big data to bring insights and intelligence into enterprises is a strong motivator, where managers are constantly looking for the competitive edge to win in their chosen markets.

With so much potential to provide enterprises with enhanced analytics, insights and intelligence, it is understandable why this area has such high expectations – and hype – associated with it.

Given the potential big data has to reorder an enterprise and make it more competitive and profitable, it’s understandable why there are so many forecasts and market analyses being done today.  The following is a roundup of the latest big data forecasts and market estimates recently published:

• As of last month, Gartner had received 12,000 searches over the last twelve months for the term “big data” with the pace increasing.

• In Hype …

TECHEXPO & CloudCamp have created a customized program for our recruiters and job seekers to participate in prior to the hiring event.

The unique “unconference” is designed to spark group discussion between job seekers and employers through the exchange of ideas, knowledge and information in a creative and supporting environment.

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Here are today’s top tech news stories. Bitcoin, the underground currency of the Internet, is experiencing speculative growth – there have been a few things pushing up the value of the Bitcoin, including a drug purchasing version of eBay. There are now “High Yield Investment Programs” offering high rates of return, which may or may not be […]

This post by RyanKamauff was first published at CTOvision.com.

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SYS-CON Events announced today that SUSE, a leading provider of enterprise Linux and cloud-based solutions, has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON’s 11th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 5–8, 2012, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
SUSE, a pioneer in open source software, provides reliable, interoperable Linux and cloud-based solutions that give enterprises greater control and flexibility. Decades of engineering excellence, industry leadership, and an unrivaled partner ecosystem power the products and enterprise support that help our customers manage complexity, reduce cost, and confidently deliver mission-critical services. The lasting relationships we build with them allow us to adapt and deliver the smarter innovation they need to succeed – today and tomorrow.

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