Mobile Center of Excellence

Employees, customers and partners continue to demand convenience and innovation in mobility, and many of the largest companies have limited resources dedicated to mobile.  The small group responsible are left trying to devise mobile strategies that involve, building and maintaining the company’s mobile apps, handling employee issues around Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies and distributing or integrating software apps that coworkers need to do their jobs. 

“Though many forward-thinking companies exist and have already successfully embraced enterprise mobility, the great majority have still not done so,” Tony Rizzo of Blue Hill Research wrote. “The key problem is that no business can simply rush in and hope to catch up with short-term mobile fixes or half-baked mobile solutions.” 

Using Mobile Technology as a Catalyst for Digital Transformation 

Corporate executives are facing a growing sense of urgency on how to best integrate a “mobile first” mindset with their digital transformation initiatives.  Not only do they want to gain control of the mobile ecosystem and visibility into what’s happening, but also they want to apply the power of mobility to achieving business goals. 

As organizations strive to establish best practices for managing mobilization, many are finding success by establishing a Mobile Center of Excellence (MCoE).  This is a group of people within an enterprise, often augmented with external resources, who coordinate mobile efforts. Ideally, the group should consist of IT mobility experts and stakeholders in business units. 

It’s All About Mobile Governance and Collaboration 

Mobility Centers of Excellence come in all shapes and sizes.  Their roles typically encompass security, governance, policies, app development, device management, and user support. 

Rizzo noted that many companies are “wholly unprepared to move ahead with enterprise-wide mobility, and they often ask what the best way to do so is –and if creating a mobile center of excellence makes sense. The short answer to MCoE is yes. The somewhat longer answer is, yes, but you better make sure you do it right and actually give the MCoE real influence.” 

That’s not easy to accomplish. Mobility is a complex, varied, and rapidly evolving landscape. You and your associates can’t put other priorities on hold while you navigate a minefield of obstacles to get your MCoE defined, approved, funded, operational, and effectively supporting business units. 

Given all this, don’t let all the issues surrounding mobility deter you from building an enterprise MCoE. Don’t be afraid to reach out to an external trusted partner who has experience and success with large mobile deployments.  Also, don’t try to ‘boil the ocean’ at the outset. MCoE development doesn’t have to be grandiose in its structure or resources – it can grow along with your business maturity in managing mobility. 

Starting off, focus on simplicity.  Make sure the executive team sees the value and will champion the MCoE’s launch and growth. 

Next steps: 

1. In “Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid to Maximize Success with Your MCOE,” Gartner analysts Leif-Olof Wallin and Bryan Taylor advised writing a charter that articulates “the group’s role to steer, educate, coach and drive innovation.” 
2. Establish a budget sufficient for strategic planning, training, development, integration, day-to-day operations, and 24/7 user support. 
3. Recruit and form a cross-functional enterprise team of IT and line-of-business people who can devote at least 25% of their time to the MCoE. 

And finally, consider a managed mobile services provider as a trusted partner – getting advice from experts who have built and managed a MCoE.  A managed services approach offers new opportunities for the business to focus on its core competencies, fill needed skill gaps and be more responsive to customer needs. 

The MCoE is the best approach for enterprises whose business success relies on always-on, virtually connected employees, partners and customers. Done right, the processes and standards set by the business delivers quicker time-to-value as mobility becomes the default platform of the future.