Enterprises Match Support to End User Technology Choices

At least some enterprises in North America and Europe are trying to work with the growing trend of end users wanting to use their own applications and devices at work. Some information technology executives have created managed digital allowance (MDA) programs that match corporate support to the types of technology users prefer.

These are more closely managed variants of "Bring Your Own Technology" programs, where employees select and often fund the productivity tools they want.

MDA programs provide their workers with a portion of the funds they need to invest in applications and devices of their choice. Rather than dictate a limited range of company-provided mobile devices, this policy adjustment helps employees choose the tools that best suit their work styles, roles, and geographical location.

On the support side, the MDA model requires creation of a flexible service catalog, in which the IT organization matches the support services it provides to specific applications and devices. This increase in choice actually helps reduce service-delivery costs, because it eliminates the old, always-on-call help desk and relies instead on significant user self-service in support and IT service request management.

Empowering End Users Means Changing IT Support Models

33% of Brands are Running Mobile Campaigns

A third of companies surveyed by Kingfish Media currently have a mobile strategy in place, and among those who don’t, two thirds plan to have one within the next 12 months.  

Not a lot of investment is currently taking place, though. Only about 12 percent of brands’ marketing spend is on mobile. However, the vast majority of respondents (82 percent) plan to increase their spending on mobile over the next year, with 30 percent taking the budget from mainstream marketing and advertising.

Currently two thirds of companies use a mobile website, while 28 percent are using a native app. Some 27 percent are using both.

In 2012, respondents foresee an increase in native app development as 43 percent plan to have an app and 49 percent report they will be using an app and mobile site.

Most commonly, brands are using mobile initiatives to build or grow relationships, which explain why the most popular content types are currently social media, branded, email capabilities, geo-location or maps and general reference.
Original branded content, ads, expert content and videos are the types of content used most often in mobile format.
Commerce over mobile channels is slow to take hold among respondents. Less than 20 percent are currently conducting mobile commerce, mostly over a mobile web site. Interest does rise for 2012.

Nearly 60 percent are tracking visitors to their website from mobile devices, usually with Google Analytics. Among those tracking, companies are finding that a relatively small percentage of traffic is coming from a mobile device—on average 8%. And only about 10% of customer/prospects are using a mobile app developed by the company.

http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2011/06/mobile-study-and-content-marketing/

Will Groupon Really Boost Your Local Business?

Groupon, the group shopping or social coupon business, might or might not increase near term profits for a business that uses it. Offers are designed to get people "in the door" who might not have shopped at a particular establishment before.

Groupon gets people into your shop, but it doesn’t keep them there, necessarily. Also, a retailer has to weigh the higher traffic with the reduced gross margins a discount implies. All of that means a Groupon campaign will boost revenue, but not profit, in the near term.

The best feature of a Groupon experience is the exposure. It will boost your website, blog and social media traffic, which will lead to more signups, likes and follows. This is what you’re paying for when you’re running a Groupon.

Will Groupon Really Boost Your Local Business? | Social Media Examiner

People Would Give Up Their TVs Before Their Mobile Phones

The Social Habit 2011 by Edison Research

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Twitter is a Mobile App

Though only 13 percent of online adults use Twitter, more than half of Twitter users access the service on a mobile phone, researchers at the Pew Internet & American Life Project report.

As of May 2011, 13 percent of online adults use the status update service Twitter. That represents a significant increase from the eight percent of online adults who identified themselves as Twitter users in November 2010.1

The study also found that 54 percent of Twitter users access the service from their mobiles.

Main Report | Pew Internet & American Life Project

Tech Bubble?

Some continue to insist there is no tech bubble. But some who used to think there was no bubble are starting to worry. Though most companies on public markets remain fairly valued, there is pent up demand for growth stories. Oddly enough, the sluggishness of the rest of the economy, and the lack of growth, is going to heighten interest in the coming wave of application-driven initial public offerings. See Let’s Not Get Too Cocky About The Blubble.

Still, it is worth noting that even bubbles are spurred by genuine change in the computing business. Bill Gates famuosly acknowledged that he "didn't get the Internet." Now former Google CEO Eric Schmidt candidly says he missed the social revolution, aside from writing memos that were not followed by vigorous action. See http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/01/eric-schmidt-is-a-surprisingly-worried-man/.

That's the sort of big miss by an industry leader that fuels a new wave of computing innovation, and typically is lead by new firms. But we tend to overshoot. Always. So expectations for most of the coming application IPOs will be excessive.

Google +1 Makes Web Pages More Social