How to Spot an Industry Leader in the Mobile Worker Apps Market

In today’s rough-and-tumble mobile worker apps market, it can be difficult to spot a leading development company who can take your solution to the next level. But, as the stakes continue to rise, trends in market leadership are starting to become clearer.
Mobile worker apps are a hot topic. North American businesses are frantically embracing these mobile B2E (business-to-employee) software applications, as evidenced in a recent survey by Frost & Sullivan. In the study, 300 companies were asked how many different mobile worker apps they have deployed, and how many new mobile worker apps they intended to introduce in the next year.
Almost half of respondents (47%) already had at least 11 different apps deployed to workers to use on their mobile devices, while nearly all of them (88%) reported they were planning to introduce at least one new mobile B2E app by next summer.
That puts mobile worker apps on a strong growth trajectory, and should send a strong signal to app vendors that there’s money to be made. However, to be successful, B2E mobile apps – especially the more complex solutions such as Mobile Workforce Management and Mobile Sales Force Automation – demand a disciplined approach on the part of the vendors.
So, how can you identify a mobile worker app vendor with leadership potential? We’ve compiled seven key trends in the area of complex mobile app leadership to help you find them.
Incorporating new technologies
Reinvigorated R&D efforts have incorporated some exciting technological developments into mobile B2E applications. Some of the most interesting new areas include artificial intelligence tools, 3-D visualization, augmented reality, predictive analytics, wearables, and even gamification efforts – all technologies that are enabled, enhanced, and enriched by becoming accessible on a mobile worker’s mobile device.
Leaders in the mobile B2E apps space are thinking three hops ahead of everyone else when it comes to defining and developing and applying new technologies to help mobile workers and improve customer care.
Identifying new user segments
Leading providers are always on the lookout for new high-potential markets. For example, in the mobilized field service management space, sub-contractors have become a lucrative new target. The Home Health Care and Distribution verticals also offer new potential.
Leaders are always examining the marketplace and looking for new ways to apply their products. And all customers can benefit when new use cases uncover new capabilities.
Focusing on ROI and hard-dollar impacts
Leaders realize they have to focus on clearly communicating the hard-dollar benefits of mobilizing. The annual Frost & Sullivan survey reveals that anticipated costs act as a top ongoing adoption barrier. These worries surface every year, and they’re not going away.
So, it’s up to the vendors to address these potential barriers head-on. In sales presentations and marketing materials, the most effective case studies are listing hard-dollar, measurable impacts on expense, revenues, and worker productivity, among other things.
Going modular
Another trend that is intensifying is the modularization of mobile B2E solutions, or that vendors are giving customers an increased ability to make incremental add-ons as their needs evolve.
While providers would like to escort customers up-market as quickly as possible, leaders in this space are attuned to the customer’s need to minimize risk and apply their funds wisely. As a result, they allow clients to build and scale up at the pace that works best for their individual organizations.
Expanding customer options
When it comes to implementing a mobile B2E app, customers do not want to be boxed in with a limited number of mobile form factors, mobile operating systems, and delivery systems.
Smartphone, tablet, or wearable: which makes most sense for a particular work force? Apple or Android? If Android, WHICH Android? Which mobile operating systems should a solution support? On-premise or cloud-based: which delivery system promises the best performance at the best price? Leaders in this field will provide multiple options and let the customer decide the when and how.
Keeping it simple
Simplicity and ease of use remain paramount for all sizes of businesses. Businesses want mobilization to be easy, user interfaces to be intuitive, and administration requirements to be minimal. While that sounds straightforward, there are still app vendors out there that are struggling with this.
Forging relationships
Complex mobile B2E apps are not a “go it alone” industry. The customer can benefit greatly from this trend. Partnering with best-in-class channel and technology partners is a must if a vendor is going to stay on the cutting edge of developing new capabilities and be able to reach new target customers
Businesses should look at their B2E provider’s set of partners. That list will say a lot about their openness to new ideas and their ability to keep customers supplied with top-tier capabilities.
Bottom line, when you look at the seven leadership trends in today’s mobile B2E app space, the patterns are clear: looking forward, not resting on your laurels, staying close to the customer, and forging relationships with best-in-class talent.