Enterprise applications aren’t known for efficiency. And when you try to make them mobile, it usually only gets worse. Instead of adapting complex desktop platforms for smartphone and tablet screens, executives need to consider a mobile-first strategy, says, Praveen Kanyadi is Co-founder and VP Products at SpotCues.
When executives imagine enterprise software, they typically picture a desktop program. Tons of features and functions, a large screen, and numerous clicks to get where you’re going — this is the all-too-familiar experience. But what if companies started with a mobile design instead?
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While desktop applications can provide rich capabilities, employees often only use a small fraction of the available features. Simplified micro apps could likely serve the majority of necessary tasks, eliminating extra steps and streamlining the user experience. If companies started with mobile, they might find a more elegant solution from the very beginning.
Also Read: Is Your User Experience Keeping up with These 8 UX Trends for 2019?
The Future of Work Is Mobile.
Before the proliferation of mobile devices, it made sense to focus on desktop during the design process. These applications were built to consume the large amount of screen space desktops have to offer. If there was a mobile version, it was used for data consumption versus content creation or task completion.
But as the workplace evolved, employees became more distributed. A need to support multi-channel access grew.
As of 2018, 58% of web traffic comes from mobile and 42% of users spend time on mobile devices. It is now critical for enterprises to expand tools to other channels such as mobile and tablets.
Responsive Design Can Only Go so Far.
The move to mobile started with responsive web design, which allowed full applications to adapt to both desktop and mobile devices. Unfortunately, this usually creates an underwhelming experience on a mobile device — cramming too much information into a small screen space. Poor UX became an accepted trade-off for the convenience of multi-channel access.
Some enterprises started investing in native mobile apps for use by deskless workers, but usability and experience continued to suffer. Mobile design was primarily still an afterthought, leading to poor adoption of these applications.
Organizations are beginning to realize the shift in user behavior — now investing heavily in mobile-based access to enterprise systems for employees. According to recent reports, 58% of companies are using apps to enable mobile access to critical enterprise systems. As a result, they’re seeing huge surges in productivity. Apps boosted worker productivity by 34% on average, according to one study.
There is a long way to go, however. Enterprises continue to struggle with adoption and user experience within their mobility strategy. Desktop still rules when it comes to time spent per visit.
