Expert Tips on Integrating Mobile and Cloud Strategies

Recognize that mobile and cloud are symbiotic and synergistic

1. Cloud and mobile are symbiotic as they rely on each other for greater benefit. They re also synergistic in that their combined use produces greater value than the sum of their separate uses. Cloud strategy provides a resource platform anywhere we might require one, while mobile strategy extends reach everywhere we could possibly go, said Scott Maurice (@scottjmaurice), managing partner, Avail Partners. When cloud and mobile are combined it cre .....

Develop a cloud first and a mobile first strategy

2. Many technology companies have switched to cloud first and mobile first strategies, meaning that they develop for the cloud and mobile before they do on other platforms, said Max Dufour (@maxdufour), partner, Harmeda. In fact, Sravish Sridhar (@sravish), founder and CEO, Kinvey, suggest you go one step further and use the cloud to build your mobile apps as if you had no legacy infrastructure holding you back. Cloud and mobile are not a hap .....

Expose APIs to mobile

3. Put an API layer between mobile and cloud, advised Chris Purpura (@ChrisPurpura), VP of digital enterprise strategy, MuleSoft. Most mobile applications need to access many backend services, which might include identity, CRM, location, storage, social graph, customer history, and payment status? With an API strategy and platform in place, you can easily swap or update services behind the scenes. To fast track your mobile development efforts, Je .....

Test in public cloud move to private cloud for production

4. A mix of private, public, managed cloud model to deliver mobile services will give you flexibility, scalability, and cost effectiveness. You can develop and test mobile applications in public cloud first (to gain cost efficiency and easy access to compute resources), then move the applications to private cloud when in production (to protect sensitive data or comply with regulatory requirements for data sovereignty), suggested Terence Ngai (@Tere .....

Understand the how what where when and who of data

5. The key to creating an effective cloud and mobile strategy lies in context. By understanding the details surrounding app usage in real time (what data is being shared with whom, if it's being shared with someone outside of the organization, what sensitive data is at risk for compromise), IT gains the ability to make informed policy decisions around mobile and cloud usage, said Sanjay Beri (@sanjberi), CEO and founder, Netskope. Further, it enabl .....

Secure mobile device data at all stages

6. The old static security principles assume there is a beginning and an end, but now they all blend into our new always connected and always on world, said Jeff M. Spivey (@spiveyjms), VP of strategy, RiskIQ. Expand past old constructs and limits with a more holistic approach to risk management not a siloed approach of cloud or mobile. The trick is to find seamless layers of security and encryption that protect data end to end at rest, in tr .....

Devise a permissive not restrictive BYOD policy

7. Bring your own device (BYOD) policies give your employees the freedom to create, collaborate, and execute regardless of time or space, so the key is to tap into the potential of these ubiquitous endpoints without putting corporate assets at risk, said Neal Bradbury (@IntronisInc), co founder and VP of channel development, Intronis. Stop implementing massive over priced solutions that are too difficult for users to use and stop banning [employee .....

Ask your employees what they want

8. Listen to your employees. In many ways the cloud strategy should be guided by the mobile needs of your workforce. Ask yourself what your teams need first and foremost, advised Eric Hanson (@fuze), VP of strategic initiatives, Fuze. Whether it is giving them tools to be in more places at once or those that help them strike a balance between life and work, technology needs to serve as an enabler to give them control of their day, to stay connected .....

Focus on the user

9. No matter how complex or advanced the cloud technology or the solution is, for the end users (mobile workforce), the success is largely measured by the user experience and enhanced productivity that adds real business value, noted Viral Tripathi (@ViralTripathi), manager advisory, KPMG CIO Advisory. All employees want to think about is the best way to get their job done. If that means they can use what their IT organization has provided, brilli .....

Get Goldilocks visibility into your cloud

10. When moving legacy applications to IaaS (infrastructure as a service), business generally hits a major snag visibility, explained Dr. Mike Lloyd (@dr_mike_lloyd), CTO, RedSeal. Most organizations, like RedSeal, use multi tenant facilities in the cloud which limit the amount of visibility individual companies can have into the infrastructure as that would compromise the security of other companies sharing the same equipment. As Lloyd explained .....

Use Big Data to understand user mobile behavior

12. Getting insight into user preferences needs rapid analysis of a large amount of information. Leveraging cloud technologies for Big Data solutions to drive improved mobile experience can drive value for both the provider and consumer, said Larry Carvalho (@robustcloud), research manager and lead analyst platform as a service, IDC. Mobile applications can produce advanced analytics to help you enhance business operations, improve user experien .....

Map out users and applications for easy access to needed data

13. The practice of being consumer centric is far easier said than done, admitted Scott Hofmann (@LiquidHub), partner, enterprise solutions, LiquidHub. To be successful, focus on the manner in which the customer wishes to engage. Put yourself in the role of the consumer, or better yet, journey map the customers experience in real time, in order to better design services that support the end goal, that being a positive and rewarding engagement. Pa .....

Ignore server data organization when defining mobile strategy

14. Since the dawn of personal computers, we ve become accustomed to organizing files in a nested folder format. When trying to retrieve information from our desktops, it seems logical. [For mobile,] the structure doesn t align with how the information is actually consumed. A user friendly mobile strategy ignores this file structure and presents content in a way that maps to business priority, noted Eric Shapiro (@ArcTouch), CEO and co founder, Arc .....

Watch your speed

16. Some people use mobile for convenience. For example, they use their phone to check in on their flight through an app. A B2C company may need contextual customer data to facilitate an up sell in real time on a PC. A B2B company may need a configuration and quotation portal for a sales rep out in the field. In all cases page load speed and data processing speeds will be very different but always crucial, explained Steve Prentice (@stevenprentice), .....

Optimize display for the mobile experience

18. Avoid purpose building for a specific device or network access, suggested Dan Carney (@llnw), VP, operations, Limelight. Instead, work on a common back end that is the single source of truth and then spend energy on the most appropriate capabilities to tailor the content for consumption on the target device? Each device should be considered another content consuming device be it mobile, desktop, television, etc. Applications need to be archi .....

Utilize productivity suites

19. One of the easiest ways to get the most value out of your cloud and mobile workloads is to focus on a cloud based productivity suite, such as Office 365, said Todd Schwartz (@GetSkyKick), co CEO and co founder, SkyKick. The Office 365 suite is a great way to reduce infrastructure costs while providing superior access across multiple devices to any document or data stored in the cloud. It s a two for one investment. Enterprises that have starte .....

Integrate unified communications

20. Start with low hanging fruit such as an integrated unified communications (UC) as a service. It s a lower risk proposition focused on improving worker collaboration that naturally incorporates mobile devices in the mix, advised Setu Shah (@setushah2), business solutions manager, Orange Business Services. With UC as a service, an initial cloud infrastructure is put into place that can later be expanded to a wide array of mobile applications, or u .....