SOTI Research Shows Three in Four Organisations Are Missing Operational Intelligence to Optimise their Mobile Fleet

New research from SOTI, in a report titled Mobility in Motion: When Technology Transformation Meets Operational Intelligence, has highlighted a global gap in organisations that needs to be addressed to help them optimise their device management. Despite 95% of Australian organisations having adopted a form of Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) or Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution, a lack of features that deliver operational intelligence and enhance visibility is hindering productivity.

Across several industries, device challenges, driven by a need to digitise and support increasingly remote and distributed workforces, have led organisations to seek better methods of optimising and securing mobile devices and accelerating digital transformation goals. 

SOTI surveyed 3,650 IT professionals across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Netherlands and Australia. In Australia, the research indicates that the adoption of EMM/MDM solutions is widespread, yet over half (52%) of all Australian enterprises have mobility management support teams between six and 20 people. A third (30%) deploy teams of more than 20 staff.

Despite this, businesses are still far from perfecting device management, with ineffective processes, lack of expertise and multiple choices limiting the potential use and opportunity of EMM. Surprisingly, 75% of Australian organisations raised a need for better operational intelligence to measure business mobility performance, with 70% in need of better tools to diagnose issues and 74% requiring enhanced solutions to predict potential future issues.

“Many companies are now integrating mobility management solutions into their digital transformation strategies which is a positive development. However, there is no universal approach. As organisations grapple with the challenges of managing mobile fleets and supporting remote workforces, it is clear that a substantial majority - 75% in Australia alone - recognise the need for advanced tools to measure mobility performance. This solution plays a pivotal role in enabling informed decision-making and pre-empting potential costly device failures that could result in downtime,” said Michael Dyson, VP for Sales, APAC at SOTI.

“A comprehensive EMM can manage AI mobility requirements including printers, which enables businesses to achieve end-to-end visibility over every aspect of device deployment,” continues Dyson. “Organisations can easily identify issues, which in turn helps drive speed, control, cost-savings and security, to name a few benefits. This is now the next step for many of the organisations surveyed.” 

 Printer Problems – a Prime Example of Device Mobility Challenges

The role of a printer is changing and has evolved in recent years to enable remote label and receipt printing as a part of a more dynamic and critical logistics process. Of those surveyed, 92% of Australian organisations use a mobile or industrial printer, with a wide range of new and advanced devices now being deployed within organisations and larger printer fleets needing to be managed.

The necessity for enhanced operational intelligence is apparent when it comes to printer management. Challenges highlighted in this survey included a lack of real-time centralised management to monitor the quantity and location of printers on the network (46%), and a lack of tools for remote troubleshooting (46%). This indicates that not all EMM and MDM solutions being utilised by organisations can manage printers as part of the mobile fleet.

 The Potential for Partners – Lack of Expert Guidance Hampers Digital Transformation Progress

The research highlights several obstacles preventing organisations from achieving much-needed device visibility. Research found that 55% of businesses do not have budget to ensure real-time visibility of mobile devices. More than half of organisations (63%) admitted that an overall lack of awareness of potential options is holding their company back from reaching their digital transformation goals. The view of what is possible is often achieved in tandem with the partner network by assessing current systems, processes and plans in place, as a part of the digitalisation journey.

When asked about digital transformation more broadly, 43% of respondents confirmed that their organisations have already started the process but now require a partner who can help. An additional area of concern was voiced by 25% who agreed that their mobile device portfolio had grown to a point where it was difficult to manage, and they need more help than ever before.

“A dedicated mobility management partner can set a business on the right path in many critical areas. Evolving an approach to digital transformation should be conducted with the most comprehensive EMM and MDM solutions and the most trusted partners. This way, the right strategy can be implemented holistically across the entire organisation for sustained results,” concluded Dyson.

SOTI’s latest report, Mobility in Motion: When Technology Transformation Meets Operational Intelligence can be downloaded here.