September 20168 By Henk ten Bos, CIO, Ageas Insurance Company (Asia) LtdNew technologies usually go through a typical hype-cycle. A few years ago Cloud was the biggest buzzword in the industry. Not soon afterwards every publication and event evolved around "mobile". Vendors and analyst promised that "within certain amount of time desktops would have disappeared" and everybody would have switched to mobile devices. If you look at the current adoption of mobile devices in the workspace, we have definitely come far. However, companies should still make sound decisions where the use of mobile devices makes sense and where the business case is still too thin.For discussions on the use of mo-bile in an enterprise environment, it is good to look at three typical groups of users: Customers, staff working in sales functions and general staff.1. CustomersFor many companies to use mobile as the technology to engage with customers makes perfect sense. Everyone carries one or more smart devices these days. Compared to the past, where you'd have to wait for a customer to come to a company (retail and bank), using mobile apps all customers come within immediate reach. Especially if the context (time and location) are known, mobile is the ideal way for a personalized service that matters to the customer at that moment. 2. Sales Many retail enterprises and financial institutions rely on sales people for their business to meet customers and provide sales as well as services. Years ago it was very challenging to convince sales people to use technology while engaging with their customers. A good example is the Insurance companies, who have tried to push earlier technologies such as PDA's, laptops to brokers and agents. Many companies have failed with this approach. The mass adoption of smart devices however, have enabled the Enterprise Mobility: Still Needs a Sound Business CaseIN MY VIEWProficient in Life Insurance, Ageas Insurance Company (Asia) Ltd offers the Hong Kong market a diversity of financial protection products and wealth management services.Henk ten Bos
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