SME Smart Phone App Gap

As you might expect, 65 percent of heavy smart phone-using small and medium-sized organization associates say access to corporate applications and data anywhere and anytime would most benefit them in their work roles, according to a survey undertaken by the Yankee Group. Smart phone-centric employees generally have jobs that require more remote working and therefore find some value in smart phone technology.

Excluding corporate email, the most-used applications by employees who have smart phones are Web browsing, business
productivity suites such as Microsoft Office, customer relationship management, project management and corporate instant messaging.

However, no more than a quarter of SME employees are using these applications on their smart phone in the office. Also, in most cases, no more than a handful of SME employees are using these smart phone-enabled applications outside the office in work-related venues such as airports and hotels.

Considering only those SME associates whose primary mobile device is a smart phone, material requirements planning and supply chain management applications are top applications.

However, none of the SME employees in the Yankee Group survey in this segment use MRP and SCM applications on their smart phones regardless of workplace venue.

Both MRP and SCM applications are valuable tools for operations-based employees to track flows of raw materials, pre-finished goods and finished goods at various stages in the supply chain and manufacturing process. Non-office use of these applications is stymied today by a lack of mobile-enabled solutions, Yankee Group researchers argue.

Things might be improving. The Apple iPhone helps with Web browsing. User experience for productivity apps is hampered by small screens, formatting issues and device processing power. Salesforce.com helps with CRM, but the need to support multiple IM clients is cumbersome.

The point, Yankee Group analysts say, is that there is lots of room for further refinement of user experience that could boost use of mobile apps by small and mid-sized business associates.