INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Mobile Technology
Mobile-first solutions driven by
the growth of IoT
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Mobile-first solutions are
starting to dominate the
enterprise sector. Cassie
Lessing, CEO of Strato
IT Group, says more
businesses are realising
that a mobile-first
business is better set for
long-term success.
G
lobally, enterprise mobility
strategies, which focus on mobile
device use for business purposes, are
already a top priority as most seek to better
engage with customers and create a more
efficient workforce. “Two years ago, when
we launched, South African businesses were
slowly starting to adopt limited-scope mobile
applications,” said Lessing. “Most were
looking to streamline their processes, boost
efficiency and gain a competitive edge.
While the uptake was slow, these businesses
did enjoy a significant enough lead over
competitors and experienced the immediate
benefits of a mobile-first approach, but
this is starting to change. Adoption and
innovation are increasing in parallel, closing
the initial gap fast.”
Not only are more businesses looking to an
enterprise mobility strategy, but Lessing says
that the mobile apps being developed are
becoming more complex and feature-rich.
“We are noticing a much deeper level of
development within mobile apps, with
businesses starting to push the limits
of what these can do across the entire
company,” he said.
“We have evolved our flagship StratoPOD
from a pure logistics delivery app into a fully
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INTELLIGENTCIO
Cassie Lessing, CEO of Strato IT Group
functional mobile business app with tailored
and bespoke tools specifically designed for a
vertical sector.”
Sitting behind this innovation and growth is
the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT). The
total number of IoT devices is predicted to
surpass mobile phones worldwide by the
end of 2018, making it the largest group
of connected devices. Exacerbating this
phenomenon is that by 2021, there will be
7.7 billion mobile broadband subscriptions,
nine billion mobile subscriptions and 6.3
billion smartphone subscriptions.
“This makes mobile-first an inevitable
enterprise strategy within the next five
years,” said Lessing. “While enterprise
adoption of IoT and its implementation is
growing at a rapid rate globally, the South
African time to market is still very slow.
There is a mix of businesses still delaying the
overall decision to develop and implement
a mobile business strategy, while others are
trying to fit a mobile strategy into a five-year
IT strategy, which negates the immediate
benefits that can be realised with mobile
application adoption.”
Despite this, growth and continued
development of enterprise apps is inevitable.
Machine learning (ML), Augmented Reality
(AR), together with IoT will continue to
bolster enterprise mobility and the increased
use of mobile apps.
“These technologies, together with a cloud
strategy, will unleash immense potential for
mobile app development,” added Lessing. “It is
a very exciting time and we are looking forward
to seeing what this disruption can do for an
emerging market such as South Africa.” n
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