I’ve written before about how mobile apps for frontline workers are the key to digital transformation, and in another blog post detailed seven important ways mobile apps transform field service work. In this post, I’ll go beyond that, and cover why rapid mobile application development (RMAD) platforms are the ideal tools for building the apps that help frontline workers power digital transformation.
Before we begin, it’s worthwhile take a look at a few statistics about why frontline workers are so vital to digital transformation. A Forbes Insight Survey that found “43% of executives in organizations with high levels of digitally empowered firstline workers report excellent progress in their digital transformation efforts, versus 21% of executives with few digitally empowered workers.”
Beyond that, 78 percent of business leaders interviewed for a Harvard Business Review survey said that their company’s success requires that frontline workers be connected and empowered by technology. And the recent Gartner report, “Hype Cycle for Frontline Worker Technologies, 2018,” predicts that “up to 70% of mobile and endpoint investments will be aimed at enabling frontline workers over the next five years.”
The recent Gartner report, “Hype Cycle for Frontline Worker Technologies, 2018,” predicts that “up to 70% of mobile and endpoint investments will be aimed at enabling frontline workers over the next five years.”.
But recognizing the importance of empowering frontline workers with technology is one thing, and building that technology is another thing entirely. How can you know what technology is ideal for the task? The Gartner report provides the best look possible at which ones you should use.
The report makes it clear that one of the most important ones is an RMAD platform to build mobile apps for frontline workers. It notes that RMAD tools “provide a strong foundation for service workers. Task workers can see immediate benefit from IT using RMAD to deliver microapps for specific job functions. Employee tracking also can be used to reduce errors by ensuring that task workers are performing the appropriate task in the right location.”
As to how RMAD platforms work their magic, the report concludes, “RMAD tools are often used to design simple apps that replace paper processes (mobile forms, for example). While mobile forms are ‘low hanging fruit,’ RMAD capabilities extend beyond this initial use case. When deployed in conjunction with IT support for the necessary integration, these tools can deliver significant value to the organization. RMAD tools are essential for organizations that need to build mobile apps, particularly employee-facing apps, but lack the developer resources to meet the demand from business units.”
How to Build Mobile Apps That Transform Field Service Operations
Alpha TransForm (for non-developers) and Alpha Anywhere (for developers) can work independently or together as a single platform, and are ideally suited for building mobile apps for frontline workers. Alpha TransForm helps business users craft online or offline mobile apps in minutes that utilize the latest mobile features (camera, GPS, etc.) for fast, accurate data capture. Alpha Anywhere has the unique ability to rapidly create mobile-optimized forms and field apps that can easily access and integrate with any database or web service and can exploit built-in role-based security or robust offline functionality. Learn more about Alpha TransForm and try it free for 30 days.
Read how GBS Enterprises increased the productivity of its field force by 80% with a TransForm App.
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