Mobile information management can improve productivity

In today's business environment, workers have become more mobile-dependent, demanding the use of personal devices for communicating with colleagues and relying on access to data from remote locations. Businesses that implement electronic document management (EDM) systems can provide employees with the capability to connect more easily with people and information, which will become increasingly critical to maintaining an edge over competitors. By enabling staff to retrieve important files from anywhere, at any time and on their personal devices, firms fuel faster decision-making and improve remote collaboration.

Forrester analyst Michael Barnes reported that a recent executive roundtable in Singapore highlighted the issue of transitioning from "Systems of Record to Systems of Engagement." He revealed that new technologies, especially mobile devices and applications, have presented a new imperative for IT leaders. CIOs are faced with rising demands among employees to have access to corporate data from personal smartphones, laptops and tablets. Barnes asserted that enterprises today will need to modernize critical legacy systems to support mobility initiatives. Attendants at the roundtable, he noted, are concerned with identifying logistical existing applications, changing inefficient processes and deploying new tools for mobile data access.

A particularly important consideration for these objectives, Barnes explained, will be meeting user requirements in a cost-effective and secure manner – especially as employees have different compatibility demands and mobile operating systems. He noted that firms are focused on managing expectations for a seamless, consistent experience on these devices while also protecting and controlling the information they contain. Businesses are especially concerned with managing access to cloud-based services and a widening variety of access points.

Empowering sales strategies
Still, if these mobile initiatives can be completed effectively by digitizing and centralizing records storage, there are considerable potential advantages to be had. Business 2 Community contributor Joe Hewitson pointed to an increased use of tablets among sales teams that is driving innovation. According to Hewitson, the Sales Management Association has determined that 40 percent of current salespeople use mobile solutions involving tablets and 70 percent of them has seen ROI from these efforts. He noted that mobile sales tools can empower users with real-time data that forges stronger connections with co-workers and supervisors. Also, EDM can allow enterprises to seamlessly integrate information collected in the field with data that has already been stored on the corporate network for a more informed understanding of opportunities and trends.

Mobile tools for data management can strengthen any and all of an enterprise's strategies by not only automatically organizing information but also making it more readily available at anytime and from any place, which has become imperative in today's highly competitive business environment.

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