Abraham Maslow first proposed his theory of human motivation more than 70
years ago and it is still a popular meme used by colleges and business
management today. The original theory proposes 5 levels of human fulfilment
that start with basic physiological needs (eating, breathing), progress through
social status (friends, respect) and end with self-actualisation (creativity,
talent). It is usually depicted as a pyramid with the most basic need at the
base. More broadly in business Maslow “re-mixes” are used in many different
ways – for example to talk about how work environments can meet the needs of
employees or how products can meet the needs of customers.
When faced with implementing a mobile project we can utilise
the same approach and consider a Mobilization Hierarchy of Needs. This is a
useful exercise whether you are an independent software vendor (ISV) or an
organisation looking to develop (or have someone develop for you) a mobile
application to add to your armoury. The Mobilization Hierarchy of Needs starts
with cost and rises through timing, risk, quality and innovation.
1. COST – The need to limit costs
Most software companies or IT departments will have a budget
that is already sized according to existing needs. Extending that budget to
include development of a mobile application may be a challenge. Then there are
the make or buy questions – whether to buy-in expertise or components of
software or implement in-house. This is a delicate balance. Mobilization will
take resources away from core business. Which mobile devices will be supported?
Developing for multiple platforms can get expensive and then maintaining the
resulting apps as those different mobile platforms evolve is even more
expensive.
2. RAPID – The need to shorten time to market
A big new challenge to existing established ISV’s are the
“Mobile First” competitors. These companies have sprung seemingly from nowhere
in the past 2-3 years with “mobile” as their focus. Everything they do is
around ensuring the mobile experience for their customers is perfect. Users are
being seduced by the simple experience of using mobile devices to meet their
business needs and if you are an ISV you are probably already being asked when
your “mobile app” will be ready. The quicker your mobile app can be delivered
the shorter the time to profitability and the greater the chances are that the
future of your business is secured.
3. RISK – The need to minimize the risk of failure
Taking on a mobile project involves some risks. Is your team
equipped with the right skills? They can learn, but the experience of learning
will have a cost which may not be forecast in your project. Will the mobile
applications you deliver meet the expectations of your customers? What about
the different mobile operating systems? Will your application be cross-platform
and work on all the different operating systems? Which platform to choose
first? How can you avoid some of the most common mistakes? Mitigating project
risks is an important way of increasing the odds of a successful investment in
mobile.
4. PRO – The need to deliver a professional solution
In order for your application not to disappoint it will need
to meet professional standards – including your customer security requirements,
users’ usability expectations, availability and reliability considerations. If
this need is not met there is the risk that your established software business
could be impacted by the poor reception given by your new mobile user base.
5. ” I ” – The need for innovation
Ensuring your existing products extend to the mobile realm
is an effective way to keep your new “mobile first” competition at bay – they
will be focused on building the “shiny” mobile part without their back-end
being established. But having a mobile solution will push your proposition into
new markets. Being able to use your new found mobile reach to create whole new
propositions is an important source of differentiation and will help you stay
ahead, and by carefully exploiting new device functionality, form factors and
operating system capabilities there will be plenty of scope for meeting the
need for innovation.
MobiCloud
The MobiCloud platform uses Appear Network’s technology to
make it easier to address all of these needs. Applications can be rapidly
developed at reduced cost by intrinsic cross-platform support and cloud
hosting. Risk is reduced by using proven platform capabilities and rapid
deployment allows development to be done iteratively (an “innovation discovery
process”). The cloud hosted Backend-as-a-Service (MBaaS) model enables the
rapid testing and delivery cycles necessary to achieve this.
For more information about MobiCloud and how you can participate, please visit our website and consider joining our partner program.
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