Needle in a haystack: The increasing importance of mobile enterprise search

Retrieving this information at the point of need is vital for employees looking to ‘get the job done’, and for businesses keen to maximise the productivity of their workforces.

The growth of the internet has bought powerful search capabilities, in the form of Google and Yahoo! to every member of the population. And yet, in the workplace, we are still often unable to provide simple search functionality across multiple data sources.

A Capgemini survey last year found that 63 percent of workers make decisions every single day without access to the best available information. In addition, 40 percent said this was due to time pressures.

The popularity and demand for mobile technology combined with the ‘need to search’ are two trends that are seeing more companies keen to invest in enterprise search technology, providing an opportunity for channel sellers to capitalise.

The workplace is changing
Not only are we under increasing pressure to make decisions and make them quickly in our fast-paced working world. But the way we work is also changing. Another office trend that is set to explode is the rise of the ‘mobile worker’. Research from Forrester reveals mobile enterprise workers will make up 73 percent of the workforce in the US and Europe by 2012.

And when you tie these two trends together – an avalanche of information that needs to be searched and accessed quickly and easily, combined with the growth of the mobile workforce - businesses and their IT departments will soon be faced with a seemingly impossible task: making vast quantities of information and data available at the point of need, whether in the office or a remote location.

Search is the answer to both problems
So, are businesses fully equipped to provide this new legion of mobile workers with the vast array of information they need to operate effectively?

In industries and professions where remote access to data is already a business critical process, we are beginning to see how the power of search can transform the way employees work.

Take the legal profession for example. Placed in a situation that requires access to precise information, a barrister in a courtroom would benefit significantly from the ability to pull up any legal document that might be needed there and then via their Blackberry or iPhone. Rather than having to postpone a hearing or worse, put a case in jeopardy, effective and accurate mobile search would allow the barrister to pinpoint the required document with ease.

Sticking with the law, we are also finding that the UK’s police forces are waking up to the power of instant information access, with detectives able to search intelligently for a case file or that all important piece of evidence and access it immediately. When away from the station, access via a smartphone means there is no need to phone the office to check details so that informed decisions can be made instantly and easily.

These are two very practical examples, but almost every business will have data sources that are vital for employees conducting their everyday work.

The problem with mobile
With the trend towards all singing and all dancing mobile devices, it might seem as though this ability to conduct mobile search is within our grasp. But, whilst mobile manufacturers have been quick to integrate email into recent devices, they are still a long way from making mobiles a truly business-focused device that can act as a suitable replacement for the trusted desktop computer.

The problem is that mobile phones are still firstly consumer gadgets that have been designed with a prosumer in mind.

When it comes to integrating complex back-office and legacy systems, most are not up to the job, which leaves IT departments scratching their heads.

Mobile enterprise search adoption is mission critical
The mobile workplace is a reality already in many businesses and even for those that aren’t there yet, it will be sooner rather than later. Businesses that fail to provide employees with this crucial functionality will begin to suffer as competitors move ahead.

Imagine one of your sales reps is unable to find that all important document to seal a deal because they are stuck in an airport terminal or on the road. They no longer need a colleague to hunt it down in the office as an enterprise-wide search platform would ensure she or he had everything at their fingertips.

It is time we gave our employees the same powerful search they are used to when searching the web, across the business. It’s also important for businesses looking to embrace remote or flexible working, whether by necessity or personal choice, to make sure this is possible wherever and whenever they need it. This will allow companies to realise competitive advantages, whilst equipping and empowering employees in order to maximise productivity.