Empowering frontline workers with a shared mobile strategy

Our thought leadership blog provides valuable insights on achieving enhanced productivity and efficiency through shared mobile empowerment...

Shared mobile programs and strategies are shifting the way workforces deploy and access devices for enhanced productivity and security.

As enterprise organizations continue to embrace these plans, more and more frontline workers in industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics are feeling empowered by the benefits of integrating mobile devices into their environments and operations. Let's take a look at the impact of these technological advancements, and the best practices to create a sustainable mobile strategy.

The world is steadily going mobile. No longer tethered to workstations, users are gaining fast, secure access to vital data, and performing critical work anywhere, anytime. It's happening with mature practitioners such as retail, transportation, and logistics that have been tapping into dozens of apps for decades, as well as in manufacturing, warehousing, and healthcare, where organizations are empowering frontline workers with mobile solutions. In response to password fatigue and an increased need for secure connectivity, this game-changing advancement has enabled workers to take advantage of the latest tools and information wherever they are, while improving productivity, efficiency, and decision-making. All of that translates to a better experience for employees and customers alike, as well as enhanced value, driving ROI on technology investments.

Best practices in crafting a mobile program start with the strategic planning of a cross-functional team to ensure key stakeholders are invested and aligned. That includes operations, IT, security - and importantly, frontline workers - as it's vital to tailor mobile experiences to their specific roles and workflow needs. For information technology groups, it means enabling control to monitor and secure shared devices, while enforcing patches, updates, and policies that adhere to wider enterprise governance. In addition, it keeps employees and their devices safe and secure from malicious activity, ransomware, and malware.

With a game plan in place, the roll-up-your-sleeves work begins: solution configuration, security, deployment, compliance, ongoing maintenance, and update implementation. An optimized program delivers standardized, simplified mobile access management featuring the convenience of single sign-on and the strong security of multifactor authentication, Without adequate mobile security controls, the risks can be prohibitive - the average cost of a data breach due to unauthorized mobile device access is $2.2 million.

Mobile management is all about ensuring a sustainable and maintainable solution, with a sharp eye on usability and lifecycle considerations. While personally owned commercial devices may appear to be an attractive solution, they lack many of the advantages of purpose-built, enterprise-grade shared mobile devices. For starters, enterprise-grade devices have a longer overall lifecycle, along with greater reliability through their durability and charging capacity. They also provide improved availability over commercial devices through greater user accountability, plus tracking capabilities. That's especially valuable, as organizations spend an average of more than $5 million per year replacing lost devices. In addition, shared mobile devices enable stronger security through the ease of patch updating and the ability to lock down devices between users.

For additional perspective on mobile empowerment, watch the Imprivata Live discussion, "Empowering the frontline: Mobility's role in critical work." To get an understanding of the bottom-line value of your mobile program, check out our customized mobile ROI calculator.