People, whether they are your customers, your employees or your vendors, are more mobile than ever before. In the modern world, if you have not gone mobile, you are already lagging behind your competition or you soon will be; your competition is probably already planning his mobilization. Deciding whether to go mobile today is a bit like deciding whether to have a website during the early days of the Internet. Some companies held out for a time, but eventually, it became apparent that they needed a website to be competitive. Similarly, you need to go mobile if you want to keep up with your competitors, empower your employees, improve your efficiency or enhance your customer service.
Companies have discovered a great many ways that mobile apps can help improve their bottom line. For example, a mobile app that allows a field technician to print invoice or collect credit card payments before leaving the customer’s location expedites cash flow while freeing up office staff for other tasks. Sales representatives who can use their smartphones to check on product availability or answer a customer’s billing question without the need to phone the office can provide better service. Managers who can access real-time data while they are on the road can make better decisions and take advantage of unexpected opportunities.
In other words, the question is not whether to go mobile — it is how to go mobile. This brings up the question of whether to build your own custom app or buy an off-the-shelf solution. Before you can answer that question, however, you need to ask yourself a few other questions.
- What internal resources do you have to develop, update or support a mobile app?
- Do you have a clear picture of what you need the app to do?
- Do your employees furnish their own devices, or do you select a standard type that you issue to them?
- Would your employees or customers be willing to actually use the app?
- What impact would the app have on your bottom line?
- Is your business subject to regulatory oversight regarding data?
- What back-end system or systems will need to interact with the app?
- Should the app have cross-platform functionality, such as the ability to run on iOS, Windows and Android?
- How quickly do you need to deploy the app?
Once you know the answers to these questions, you can begin to weigh the pros and cons of buying versus building.
If you need help answering these first nine questions, contact PhaseAlpha. We have the expertise to guide you through all of your custom software decisions. Our email address is info@phasealpha.com and our phone number is 913.648.9200.