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You're Mobile, But are You Really Part of a Mobile Business?

Staff, Appian
June 25, 2015

The mobile revolution continues to drive consumer interest and appeal, as was on display at the recent Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, where new products have generated excitement such as iOS 9, OS X 10.11 and AppleWatchOS 2. With increasing frequency, businesses across all industries are beginning to adopt their own mobile strategies to drive growth. Now more than ever, the enterprisesees the value mobile creates in connecting consumers, and feels it is time to inject business with the same punch.

But what does it mean to develop a mobile business? Most organizations cap their approach at mobility or mobile enablement, allowing business users to check email remotely or developing one off mobile applications that typically serve a single purpose and do not intersect across the entire business.

This is not necessarily to say traditional approaches are flawed. Mobile email allows us to be online at any time; staying connected to business should we be away from our desk. But email is a limited form of communication, typicality closed off to just a few participating parties, as opposed to a larger user base of the organization.

The answer to delivering a true mobile strategy lies in a mobile-based application platform that allows real work to take place from various user communities across the enterprise, anytime, anywhere. For this to be achieved, key participating parties, must be empowered to take an awareness, knowledge and action approach to ensure work is completed and customer service excellence is achieved through a unified approach. Heads down, task work and upper level management must be connected to data and process across the enterprise via a single enterprise solution environment that provides the same user experience across the desktop and leading mobile devices.

Employees, particularly those required to work remotely, require simple, complete and intuitive access to company data and information to perform their jobs while on the go. Ensuring process visibility at all times and taking required action to evoke real work is essential to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction.

Let's take a look at two real world examples of how a true mobile business plan can drive operational growth and customer satisfaction.

Punch Taverns is one of the UK's largest leased pub companies with a portfolio of around 4,500 pubs nationwide. These are operated by thousands of enterprising individuals ñ Punch Partners ñ who are running their own pub businesses on Punch premises. Managing individual pub leases requires mobile and social business processes to increase operational efficiency and engage existing and potential new licensees. Punch Taverns selected Appian's Application Platform to transform all operations related to property lease management, allowing a field workforce to connect to key processes from any device. In 2011-2012 (prior to implementation) Punch Taverns supported £38M investment across 400 pubs. Appian's Solution increased business metabolism significantly, allowing Punch to invest £48.5m in 476 pubs in 2012-2013.

John Lewis is a chain of department stores operating throughout Great Britain and Scotland, and is the largest department store retailer in the United Kingdom. John Lewis needed a modern business solution to manage and communicate specific customer orders to maintain the highest level of customer service for Fitted Kitchens, Floor Coverings, Made to Measure Curtains and Blinds. The company envisioned a digital solution where mobile applications would create easy and efficient collaboration to enhance the customer experience. Using the Appian Platform, John Lewis built a "Customer Project Management Solution,"where all home inspections, contractor fulfillments, and final case wrap ups are channeled through mobile tablets enabling advanced face-to -face customer service.

-Mike Ingrisano, Media Relations Manager