Study sheds light on U.K. wireless business practices

Sometimes we must look to others to find out more about ourselves. M7 Networks (www.m7networks.com), a U.S. based wireless platform hosting company, has taken those words to heart.

The company will launch in London this fall (the U.S. launch is scheduled for next year) and has commissioned a survey by Ovum Research (www.ovum.com) to get a reality check on what U.K. businesses really want, are really doing, and are willing to pay for in terms of wireless applications.

In addition to learning more about Europe’s mobile practices, M7 Networks is hoping that this study will be a good indicator of what the industry can expect to see in the United States. According to Bill Erickson, M7 Networks president & CEO, the study shows that businesses do know that mobile services are important and that they have strategies that they’re starting to implement or form.

“Even though you could argue that Europe may be ahead in wireless, the U.S. has definitely had an Internet-based transaction,” he said. “So, even though the mix of services might change, some of the technologies are different, the conclusions will be about the same.”

The survey of 50 U.K. enterprises was conducted by a specialist research agency; Ovum managed the progress of the survey and analyzed the results while M7 Networks produced the survey questionnaire. The survey found that as far as having a mobile business strategy is concerned, the United Kingdom seems to be less well-developed. (See Figure 1.) The responses for ranking the benefits of mobile business were quite varied, although views were more consistent within industries. Of these, "making the workforce more flexible" was considered a high priority, and "introducing new revenue streams or sales channels" and "improving the customer experience," were considered to be lower priorities. Of the benefits listed, the biggest three were access to corporate information (40%), access to financial information (20%) and mobilizing your sales force (12%).

When asked the biggest benefits of using wireless applications, m-commerce and supply-chain automation were notably absent from enterprise responses in the #1 spot.

However, no alternatives were offered, which suggests the main benefits were already listed within the questionnaire. The most highly rated was enhanced customer service (40%). This was closely followed by extending the reach of Web-based companies (20%).

When asked what prevents U.K. enterprises from wirelessly enabling their business, all of the 18 options were considered barriers. Therefore, a host of contributory factors appear to be slowing uptake. Immaturity of applications was the biggest barrier.

However, more than 52% of those questioned said they were deploying wireless applications now. Of the remainder, 44% said they would wait until the rollout of 2.5G and 3G.

Erickson discounted concern about technology and capabilities. “Today’s technologies, which in Europe are SMS and WAP and interactive voice response, are powerful enough that all the confusion with 2.5G and 3G and handsets is just irrelevant,” Erickson said. “And frankly, they can’t afford to wait until the other technologies sort out.”

Erickson also pointed to strong business practices.

“It’s a good lesson for the next generation that just putting out the next technology is not enough. There has to be real services, real tangible benefits and a good return on investment before a company will buy.”

Figure 1. Does your organization have a mobile business strategy?