The good news is that technological barriers to this have been falling with the emergence of communications, management and security application programming interfaces, rise of multiplatform development tools and the ability of the HTML standard and browsers to allow rich applications to be developed across all browsers.
These capabilities, together with rapid development platforms and methodologies, enable organisations to focus not on specific devices but on developing desired functionalities and deploying them quickly across the organisation’s universe of end points.
In a mobile-first business, it should be possible to have all these managed by a single team.
There will still be a need for technical specialists who understand the capabilities and limitations of different computing platforms and web browsers within the organisation’s IT environment, just as there will be a need for domain specialists who understand the variations in roles and requirements that impact the policies governing device usage.
The difference is that all this knowledge will segue into a unified process based on the use of common technologies, policies, standards and teams regardless of device or platform. This is significant because it provides the foundation for the organisation to tap on new, emerging capabilities - next-generation technologies and developments such as the Internet of Things, big data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
Take, for example, the unprecedented access to data and analytics that is enabled by mobility and parallel developments in IoT. A mobile-first foundation will help ensure that relevant insights are delivered more seamlessly to the hands of the right people at the right time so that organisations can make faster, better business decisions that improve performance and boost customer and user satisfaction.
As organisations look towards digital transformation, it is important to keep in mind that mobility has to play a central role. And a mobile-first digital transformation has to be catalysed first and foremost by a mobile-first culture, guided by a mobile-first strategy, and realised through the right technologies, tools and skillsets.
1 Mobile internet user penetration in APAC 2018-2025