Computerworld

Majority of NZ firms investing in mobile solutions: study

The 2014 IDC NZ study, which covered 2,000 businesses, has shown New Zealand to be in the top 3 countries in the APeJ region with regards to maturity of mobility adoption.

IDC New Zealand's recent Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) mobility survey shows that 87 per cent of New Zealand organisations are investing in mobile solutions to improve their experience with their customers.

The 2014 study, which covered 2,000 businesses, has shown New Zealand to be in the top 3 countries in the APeJ region with regards to maturity of mobility adoption.

According to the study, around 40 per cent of NZ businesses will be spending 10 to 30 per cent of their budgets on mobility in the 2014 to 2015 period. IDC NZ states that this is higher than that of counterparts in Australia, and signals an involvement of every organisational department in the mobility adoption process.

"We are heading into a period of technology adoption where the traditional approaches to doing business are being turned on their head. Being able to add the context of location and access to information can fundamentally change the pace in which decisions will be made with or without the need for human intervention" says Adam Dodds, IT services research manager at IDC NZ.

The study makes note that the budget for mobility is coming from across the business. Around 29 per cent of businesses now have a budget that is dedicated to mobility. Around 35 per cent is coming from existing IT budgets and 9 per cent from marketing. The remainder is evaluated on a case by case basis (27 per cent).

"When looking at mobile as a mechanism for customer engagement the opportunity to be personalised and referenceable in the engagement is incredibly compelling. With 53 per cent of businesses now saying that their 1-20 per cent of their revenue is coming online the ability to be more insightful about the customer and their customer's environment is a must,” says Dodds.

Security remains the highest area of focus with the enablement of mobility solutions. There is a particular focus on network security, access and identity management.

"Organisations will live and die by the value of their information and how it is protected from others. Customers are willing to share more information about their location, preferences and needs but will act with ferociousness if this is not treated with due care", Dodds says.