Development of Wireless and Mobile Strategies

LYNX will work with your company to develop a Strategy and Tactical Plan For Wireless and Mobile Services - A practical operating strategy that addresses and supports your IT and business drivers, goals and objectives.

At most major companies, mobile services consist of providing employees with intelligent mobile phones and/or Blackberrys. These devices are capable of supporting voice, email and other services. BlackBerrys and other intelligent devices can extend mobile services to support business applications to increase employee productivity and efficiency.

These services present new issues that must be addressed by IT management in the management of the company's global telecom infrastructure. More complex mobile and wireless devices require an organized and managed approach to device configuration, applications, server access, security, mobile management, policies, and a range of other support and operational issues.

Preparation of a Strategy and Tactical Plan for Wireless and Mobile Services will facilitate identifying these issues and set a practical strategy in place to address and support each one. The plan provides the tactical framework necessary to optimize investment, control operating costs and maximize business benefits for the use of wireless and mobile services that support ongoing business operations.

PROJECT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goals and objectives for preparation of a Strategy and Tactical Plan for Wireless and Mobile Services are:

To identify the business drivers and requirements that can be supported by wireless and mobile services
To identify the applications, devices, and services (uses of wireless technology) required to support these requirements.
To develop a practical strategy to build and provide the infrastructure to support required mobile and wireless services that will meet the business needs and requirements of the company.
To plan for the management, operation and support of services.
To minimize wireless and mobile operating cost and complexity.
To prepare a plan for management that will set out a three-year strategy and a first year tactical plan to achieve that strategy for wireless and mobile services.

A MOBILE STRATEGY SHOULD ADDRESS SPECIFIC ISSUES

A wireless and mobile strategy should serve to provide working standards and a framework for those that are involved in IT and mobile services. Many people confuse a corporate strategy with a technical strategy. A technical strategy feeds into and supports the corporate strategy.

The technical strategy should begin with a short summary of the corporate strategy and broadly explain how the technical strategy can contribute and play a role in supporting the corporate strategy. The goal of the technical strategy is to plan for use of corporate resources to support and achieve the goals of the enterprise.

Most companies prepare IT, telecom or technical strategies that may be read and are then stored somewhere. They are rarely taken out again for use as a reference guide or working plan. Companies with global operations often enter into agreements with local wireless carriers in each country without regard to a global telecom strategy.

If this is the case, over a period of a few years, corporate infrastructure groups can lose visibility and control of their global wireless operations. In addition, the company may not utilize its economies of scale in providing worldwide wireless and mobile services.

The goal is for the IT management team to develop company wide standards that will provide the framework for mobile operations and coordination of global mobile services while allowing local business units to develop their own applications and services within corporate infrastructure standards.

As the wireless market develops and changes, the IT infrastructure group can carry out an annual strategic review of current standards and practices and update the Strategic Plan for the following year. It can also prepare a new Tactical Plan each year for wireless services that supports the long- term strategy.

The following are some of the subjects you may want to include in your plan:

The current state of the mobile infrastructure and services at your company
Business drivers to be supported by mobile services
Management organization required to support mobile services
Use of new services such as broadband, mobile TV, WiMax, etc.
New types of mobile phones and devices
Mobile security as it applies to devices, servers and applications
Strategy for contracting with mobile carriers
Whether business units develop their own mobile applications

There are many other issues and areas to be considered in the Strategy and Tactical Plan. One of the first steps in a project of this type is for LYNX to meet with client management to establish the scope, goals and objectives for the plan. A project management system can be utilized to plan and manage the project, thus allowing the client to decide what level of involvement and resources to dedicate to the project.

An outline of the anticipated final Strategy and Tactical Plan will be prepared at the start of the project. It may change during the project, but it will provide a framework for the project team to understand the strategic planning process and have a rough idea of the end-results of the project.

LYNX and your group can discuss and consider each strategic or planning issue within the following information segments:

Issue Background and Relevance
Analysis and/or Options
Available Alternatives
Recommendation of a Selected Strategy

After the above information gathering stage, the following will be taken into consideration on the various issues:

Importance to the company
Development timeframe and completion date
Implementation and support
Estimated cost, resources and ROI

A structure for the plan will facilitate its development and usage by IT and telecom personnel so that the plan is actionable, understandable and achievable.

Strategic and tactical planning is an area that lends itself to collaboration between enterprise management and an outside business services organization. Client management understands the structure, history, goals and social environment of their company. LYNX understands the current state of the mobile industry and marketplace. The successful collaboration of both organizations is required to produce a practical strategy that is customized to the goals and requirements of the client enterprise.

TAKE THE FIRST STEP

Contact Paul Lewis at LYNX and request a detailed proposal for the preparation of a Strategic and Tactical Plan For Wireless and Mobile Services for your company.