Why firms need a Mobile/Cloud strategy

There are two aspects to the mobile strategy: 1. In-house mobility and cloud computing initiatives and 2. General marketing, sales and development activities using mobile platforms to market and sell products and services. Mobile/Cloud computing is about improving internal efficiencies and productivity and improving your sales and marketing channels and reach.

1) In house mobility and Cloud Computing:

Reduce error and paper. Processes which have a lot of hand-offs, or paper flows need to be automated using mobile and cloud computing. Examples include: sales processes, logistics, delivery, field work, inventory management, paper management and multi-office/locations integration.
Multi-platform. Having applications available on multi-platforms including multi-mobile handhelds will drive digitization and reduce human errors. The apps can be enterprise wide or targeted at crucial areas [client management, order taking, inventory tracking, sales etc.] Starting small and working towards a larger enterprise idea is usually the best strategy.
Centralized and scrubbed data. A cloud model will integrate the platforms, the various databases and make the info available on a private virtual cloud network. The data can and must be scrubbed, analyzed and kept pure.
Workflow. From this centralized repository work-flows, alerts and better management practices can follow.
Staying competitive. For medium sized firms and above, not having a Mobile-Cloud strategy means that they will become uncompetitive.

Some firms will benefit from mobile marketing and sales efforts. Retail, services firms, those who need to move inventory and companies with a good web sales online presence all benefit from mobile marketing, driven by a centralized 'marketing' infrastructure attached to the internal corporate cloud.

2) External use of Mobile and Cloud Computing.

Make business applications available to the pro-sumer market. Create a useful app for your market. A Starbucks' mobile app for instance lets people make transactions directly with the wave of their smartphones, helping to drive sales.
Location based services for retail firms. Mobile users become more inclined to sharing their whereabouts via mobile devices, since they are starting to receive ads, coupons and discounts which can drive sales.
Mobile ads do work. Research indicates that mobile ads perform about five times better than Internet ads. The most common mobile ads are simple text links and display adds that are sold based on cost per clicks, cost per acquisition and cost per thousand. A business can use mobile marketing solutions to drive participation at exhibitions or to drive traffic to online websites. In any event it is a good way to promote your business.

The return on investment is usually within 6 months for the above activities, depending on the type of business model of the client. The cost for not engaging in Mobile and Cloud computing can be quite high, including the threat of extinction as market actors which embrace technology to drive productivity and reduce cost structures improve their chances at taking market share and adapting to market changes.