Mobile Computing Provides B2C Opportunities
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Devices for Work
Use of mobile devices inside the workplace starts to soar. -
Importance of Engaging Customers Using These Devices
In terms of being a priority, PCs still dominate, but mobile phones are not far behind. 79%: PCs, 74%: mobile phones, 58%: tablets -
Organizations' Top Priorities and Objectives for Mobile Communications
The primary focus involves customer-centric efforts. 63%: increase customer engagement, 38%: improve customer satisfaction, 35%: acquire new customers, 27%: generate sales/revenue, 25%: reduce operating costs -
Importance of Driving Revenue Using These Devices
Tablets are an up-and-coming area of focus. 74%: PCs, 62%: mobile phones, 48%: tablets -
Investments in Mobile for 2013
Mobile spending is growing. 5%: more than $50M, 5%: between $20M and $50M, 8%: between $10M and $20M, 10%: between $5M and $10 M, 23%: between $1M and $5M, 17%: between $500K and $1M, 13%: between $250K and $500K, 10%: less than $250K -
Number of Employees Working Full Time on Mobile Efforts Globally
There can be a lot of influencers inside a company when it comes to mobile technologies. 31%: 50 or more people, 21%: 15-49, 14%: 10-14, 13%: 5-9, 14%: 5 or less -
Phrases That Best Describe Mobile Strategy Implementation
The majority either built a custom platform or had someone build one for them. 39%: custom-built internally, 19%: outsourced, 9%: licensed a platform, 7%: outsourced to e-commerce vendor, 7%: have not selected an approach, 5%: assembling platform from multiple vendors -
Technologies Your Organization Uses Today
Few mobile channel decision-makers use geo-fencing or near-field communication (NFC). 70%: SMS notifications, 60%: bar codes or Quick Response (QR) Codes, 46%: call queuing, 46%: two-way SMS, 40%: direct carrier billing, 38%: voice recognition, 37%: click to chat, 35%: push notifications, 32%: text to speech, 23%: NFC, 16%: geo-fencing -
Technologies Your Organization Plans to Adopt in the Next 12 Months
A lot of B2C companies are looking for higher levels of direct customer touch. 31%: push notifications, 25%: text to speech ,24%: geo-fencing, 22%: voice recognition, 22%: click to chat, 20%: NFC, 18%: two-way SMS, 16%: SMS notifications, 16%: call queuing, 13%: direct carrier billing, 9%: bar codes or QR Codes -
Critical Mobile Strategy Challenges
Challenges receiving a rating of 4 or 5 (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "not a problem" and 5 being "a critical problem") included the following: 55%: back-end integration expense, 53%: data privacy and security, 50%: number of platforms and operating systems, 47%: back-end and mobile integration technology, 45%: finding skilled developers
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Defining MSPs' Goals, Challenges and Tools 
Why Metrics Matter to the Channel Companies that depend on relationships with consumers to drive revenue are struggling to cope with the rise of mobile computing as a primary means to engage customers. While most business-to-business (B2B) companies have mastered the PC as a communications channel, mobile computing remains a challenge, according to a survey of 167 mobile decision-makers working for business-to-consumer (B2C) organizations. Naturally, that creates an opportunity for solution providers with mobile computing expertise, not only to build new applications for customers but ultimately to manage them. Right now, however, most organizations are going through the pain of developing and deploying their own apps. But as mobile computing matures, it's a matter of time before organizations view mobile as yet another channel for delivering messages to customers. Once that occurs, they'll be comfortable enough with the medium to spend more time crafting their messages than managing the technologies used to deliver them. Channel Insider examines key takeaways from the survey, which was conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Amdocs subsidiary OpenMarket, which provides a mobile engagement platform.