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Mobilization Solutions Represent Possible Bright Spot Entering 2009

Mobilizing in a Down Economy Possible When Aligned with Business Priorities; Companies Must Avoid Common Pitfalls to be Successful

TREVOSE, PA, December 8, 2008—Airclic®, a leading mobile applications provider, today outlined a series of market and industry predictions and drivers that indicate spending on mobilization solutions will grow in 2009, despite the current economic climate. These market and industry predictions include current projections on IT spending, prioritization of implementing mobile solutions, and common missteps organizations make when considering mobile solutions.

Projections on IT spending

While 2009 may represent a year of flat or reduced IT budgets, projects that improve operational efficiencies, increase customer service and provide clear ROI will still receive support. Recent published industry reports include the following:

  • Overall budgets for 2009 will be flat at three percent (versus three to five percent in 2008), but IT spending for operational efficiencies will rise by at least five percent1.

  • In 2009, CIOs will be required to do more with less, while still focusing on creating distinctive solutions that are integral to the strategic execution of the business. For example, in a survey of CIOs, improving business processes is the number one imperative for the fourth straight year. Overall, CIOs are putting additional pressure on IT to go beyond generic IT solutions to meet customers’ needs and grow the business2.
  • The top four motivating factors for investment in technology in 2009 are: 1) improving operational efficiency 2) improving customer service 3) reduction of labor costs and 4) clear ROI3.

Prioritization of implementing mobile solutions in 2009

Recent research findings by the Aberdeen Group4 indicate that mobilization solutions will continue to be a priority as part of 2009 budgets because of the ability to improve workforce productivity, business processes and agility. The report, entitled “Mobility in Today’s Service Organization,” revealed the following findings:

  • When rating which technologies yielded the best ROI, “visibility” and “wireless and mobile” solutions rated the highest after general IT upgrades/enhancements and implementation of management systems (warehouse management systems, transportation management systems).
  • Ninety-five percent of the 250 service professionals surveyed indicated mobility was extremely important to their business, with almost half (45 percent) indicating they currently leverage mobile solutions and 39 percent are actively evaluating mobile solution implementation over the next year or two.
  • Mobile solutions increase performance by service professionals in several ways: decrease in average time to repair services in the field by 18 percent, increase year-over-year workforce productivity by 19 percent, and increase year-over year service profitability by 13 percent.
  • Organizations are looking for mobile solutions that track mobile assets in real-time, to enable technicians the ability to make decisions in the field and gain insight into activities at the home office, and to tie into current workflows.

Common missteps of organizations when considering mobile solutions

Despite the promise of mobilization solutions and prioritization as part of 2009 IT spending, many organizations have not realized the foreseen benefits due to adopting homegrown solutions that are unable to connect with business partners, on-premise solutions that infringe upon internal IT (vs. outsourced or hosted models) or “compromised” solutions that have been “dumbed down” to achieve a price point threshold.  Other common missteps that inhibit realization of benefits and ROI include the following:

  • Choosing mobile technology with a lengthy implementation cycle: Research predicts that anywhere from 30 – 90 percent of projects fail due to budget overages and timeframe delays5. Organizations should look for hosted solutions that are quick to implement and allow IT to be nimble in responses, not on-premise applications that require heavy implementation timeframes, which can lend to budget overages and delays.
  • Implementing technology that is complicated or needs improvement: Surveyed executives determined that RFID technology is one of the top offenders in terms of technology implemented that needs improvement over wireless and mobile technologies which has traditionally offered more ROI3.
  • Taking a non-customized approach: CIOs are looking for IT to make a difference with the technology implemented with a customized approach, not relying on generic technologies that do not tie into unique customer needs2.

Airclic MP5 is the answer to organizations’ mobilization needs

Airclic understands customer pain points andits patented Airclic MP5 platform aligns with organizations’ business processes, workflows, and back-end systems. Airclic MP5 provides real-time 360 degree visibility into organizations’ operations in the field helping to reduce costs, improve customer service and deliver the insights needed to make better business decisions.

Airclic has recently launched a set of implementation tools to help organizations avoid the common missteps to mobilizing their business. These tools – the Airclic ROI calculator and the Mobile Audit Program – give customers the ability to map out their project in advance to determine the criteria, goals and projected ROI.

Unlike competing one-dimensional offerings inthe market, Airclic specifically targets the three types of high value asset tracking with its MP5 platform – revenue-generating assets to maximize utilization, field inventory for “right part, right place, right time” accuracy,and proof of delivery to answer the question, “where’s my stuff?” For customers in the air cargo, medical specimen, heavy equipment and grocery delivery industries where assets in the field are high-value, revenue-generating and contribute to the bottom line, visibility translates into better decision-making on the fly, where every minute counts.

“Many of the challenges that we focus on rectifying are the traditional challenges companies seek to address when implementing mobile technologies,” said Tim Bradley, CEO, Airclic. “However, it will come as no surprise that 2009 will represent a year in which the pressures exerted on achieving the envisioned benefits of mobile solutions will be at an all-time high as organizations need to do more with less and achieve ROI.”

1 Source: Computer Economics: “Outlook for 2009 ITSpending and Staffing Levels” November 2008

2 Source: Gartner: “Making the Difference: The 2008CIO Agenda” January 2008

3 Source: eyefortransport: “Logistics TechnologyReport: North America” November 2008

4 Source: AberdeenGroup: “Mobility in Today’s Service Organization” September 2008

5 Source: Forrester Research: “Debunking IT ProjectFailure Myths” July 2008

About Airclic®

Headquartered in Trevose, PA, Airclic is the leading mobile applications provider offering organizations real-time 360 degree visibility into their entire field operations. This improved visibility means customers can reduce costs, differentiate revenue and improve customer service.  Airclic’s flagship, patented product, Airclic MP, is a cost-effective, end-to-end solution for anytime, anywhere access to field business data; connecting the mobile workforce and translating data into business insights for better business decision-making. With its unsurpassed user-adoption rate, Airclic is driving new levels of accountability for best-in-class companies around the world.

For more information, contact:

Airclic
Tracey Ellis
651-222-9792
tracey.ellis@airclic.com

Lois Paul & Partners
Jolene Hajj
781-782-5849
jolene_hajj@lpp.com



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