OpenMarket Commissioned Study Exposes Enterprise Challenges to Build and Maintain In-House Mobile Engagement Solutions

SEATTLE, Sept. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenMarket (www.openmarket.com), a leading enterprise mobile engagement company, today released key findings from a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of OpenMarket titled, "The Rise of Holistic Enterprise Mobile Engagement." Examining how enterprise organizations are adapting to the mobile shift, the research revealed that while 74% of enterprises view mobile as a major business priority, there are numerous challenges which stem from one common source: IT shops are struggling to build and maintain a mobile solution in-house with existing skills and technologies.

Throughout the research, the gap between IT capability and business needs is highlighted in numerous instances, including 43% of respondents voicing critical or significant concerns that their IT organization can't move fast enough to support B2C efforts. The survey also revealed enterprise struggles to keep the challenges of building advanced mobile engagement solutions at bay, such as integration, which presented a challenge to 55% of survey respondents. Along with new architectures, code and client platforms, data privacy and security are cited as the top enterprise concerns. The third most challenging aspect of mobile strategy is the number of platforms and the complexity of integrating applications and services which each use a different language and framework.

According to Forrester, in-house mobile solutions can work for early pilots and to support a limited number of applications and services, but the approach is not sustainable as mobile engagement becomes increasingly important. Forrester expects companies to increasingly look to ISVs and SaaS providers for platforms that provide speed, new functionality, flexibility, and customization with a complete focus on the mobile channel, so that IT shops can focus on core business needs instead of engagement infrastructure.

In May 2013, Forrester conducted in-depth surveys with mobile decision makers representing 167 enterprise businesses. Other key findings include:

• The mobile channel is a top business priority. 74% of business leaders consider mobile phones a priority. The importance of reaching customers via the mobile channel has grown to the point where it's virtually tied with PCs for top priority. It's more important than ever for businesses to get their mobile engagement strategy in place as soon as possible.
• Customer engagement is a clear priority for mobile strategy. The Forrester study revealed that 63% of enterprises consider customer engagement the top priority of their mobile communication strategy, and that engaging with customers trumps supporting employees or partners or driving revenue through the mobile platform. This engagement goes beyond awareness and consideration of products and services, and includes using the mobile channel to improve customer satisfaction, provide support, and build long term loyalty.
• Mobile engagement is about more than mobile apps. Most businesses incorporate SMS, MMS and bar codes or QR codes into their mobile strategy today. According to the research, 70% of the enterprises surveyed use SMS notifications now and an additional 16% plan to use SMS in the next 12 months. Many are also looking to add more advanced features like call queuing, 2-way SMS, voice recognition, push notifications, and click-to-chat to their engagement strategy over the next year.
• Organizations struggle to master the challenges of the mobile shift. 63% of enterprises are spending less than $5 million each year on mobile. While organizations surveyed are spending at various levels, it remains questionable if they are spending enough to sustain more than a few ongoing mobile projects. Many are rethinking internal IT resources, but these teams are dealing with a multitude of integration, security and process challenges. 

"Mobile represents a critical communication channel for enterprises to engage with their customers," said Jay Emmet, General Manager of OpenMarket. "Companies are already beginning to tackle siloed mobile projects, but there is a need for a more comprehensive, cross-channel approach that lowers operational costs and increases loyalty by engaging customers throughout their entire lifecycle. Leveraging OpenMarket's Mobile Engagement Platform and our vast mobile expertise, enterprises can realize immediate value to their business, whether the goal is to improve customer satisfaction, provide support or generate new revenue."

OpenMarket will deliver a webcast with CIO discussing the findings from this study together with guest speaker Jeffrey Hammond, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, Inc., on Wednesday, September 25, 2013. To register, please visit:  http://resources.cio.com/show/200018676/00835200101067CIOP3RNL8ICCV/?email=%%emailaddr%%. A complimentary copy of the full study is available for download from OpenMarket's website:  http://www.openmarket.com/forrester/.

About OpenMarket
OpenMarket, a subsidiary of Amdocs, powers mobile business. We provide a comprehensive set of mobile solutions for enterprises to engage and transact with their customers via their mobile devices. Clients depend on OpenMarket for our superior domain expertise, global scale, demonstrated performance, and industry leading reliability. OpenMarket's intelligent, integrated platform provides deep mobile operator connections with global network reach. For more information, visit www.openmarket.com.

About Amdocs
For 30 years, Amdocs has ensured service providers' success and embraced their biggest challenges. To win in the connected world, service providers rely on Amdocs to simplify the customer experience, harness the data explosion, stay ahead with new services and improve operational efficiency. The global company uniquely combines a market-leading BSS, OSS and network control product portfolio with value-driven professional services and managed services operations. With revenue of $3.2 billion in fiscal 2012, Amdocs and its 20,000 employees serve customers in more than 60 countries.

Amdocs: Embrace Challenge, Experience Success.

For more information, visit Amdocs at www.amdocs.com.

Amdocs' Forward-Looking Statement
This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about Amdocs' growth and business results in future quarters. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be obtained or that any deviations will not be material. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to, the effects of general economic conditions, Amdocs' ability to grow in the business markets that it serves, Amdocs' ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, adverse effects of market competition, rapid technological shifts that may render the Company's products and services obsolete, potential loss of a major customer, our ability to develop long-term relationships with our customers, and risks associated with operating businesses in the international market. Amdocs may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future; however, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These and other risks are discussed at greater length in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012 filed on December 11, 2012 and our quarterly 6-K forms furnished on February 12, May 16 and August 12, 2013.

SOURCE OpenMarket

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED