Is There An App For That?
Authored by Luke Clifton, Group Executive – Sales and Marketing, Macquarie Corporate
Luke Clifton, Group Executive – Sales and Marketing, Macquarie Corporate
Long gone are the days of developing an application, throwing it onto the App Store, and waiting for millions of dollars to roll in. For most companies, it’s really about finding an application that will work with your existing business.
Businesses that are more traditional (e.g., manufacturing companies) need to find something that will work within that traditional structure. We talked about the elevator conversation with the chairman—IT managers are probably scared when they find themselves in an elevator with the Chairman of the Board and the inevitable conversation arises: The chairman notes that his competitors have a fantastic app, so he asks why the company hasn’t developed a similar competing app. You need to be ready for that conversation if and when it does arise.
While companies, on the surface, may have adopted modern technology, at the core they could still stand by traditional means. What I find remarkable, is how many companies still rely on pen and paper, when the use of up-to-date technology could enhance the efficiency of many processes. Applications developed and utilised in the correct manner can target those areas and deliver almost immediate benefits. Macquarie Telecom’s SaaS Application Hosting has the infrastructure to build you a secure environment, continuously managed to ensure your SaaS applications remain online 24×7, 365 days a year, all backed with stringent Service Level Guarantees.
When it comes to engagement, discussions with a marketing manager, sales director, or even a service director could uncover areas where a company can engage with customers or distributors in a more meaningful manner. For example, the modern customer expects to be able to find a company on the web using their mobile phone. If your customers seek you out on the web and they are unable to find you, you will immediately be written off.
Depending on your business, it may be ideal to find an existing application that is a good fit for your needs. In other cases, we have partners that we will work with you to develop an app from the ground up (click here to find out more about Macquarie Telecom SaaS Application Hosting). Many developers like to talk about app development as a business transformation. It isn’t just about developing an app. It’s really about finding the areas in your business where something can be improved for an immediately measurable benefit. The best course of action could be finding an existing app and enhancing it with a front-end that integrates well with your back-end legacy systems.
It all starts with a conversation—one warning we would give to companies is to be wary of anybody offering an application straight away on the presumption that it will fix current issues. Like your average door-to-door salesman, it probably isn’t going to work. If they don’t understand your business and haven’t taken the time to engage with you, what they are offering is probably going to be a flash in the pan. When we work with our partners, we find the companies that can actually deliver long-term value rather than (to use an expression) sell what is on the truck.
Get in touch with Macquarie Telecom today to see how you can better your business mobile capabilities.