Cost Management: Invasion of the Smartphones

by Peter Hum, StrateValue, 20 January 2012

0 comments

Facebook

Digg

Twitter

topics:
Business Expense Management

tags:
bring your own device Mobile Device Management mobile expense management

Smartphone adoption has come a long way since Apple launched the iPhone in 2007. With mobile phone vendors introducing new and innovative smartphone models and options in 2012, consumers will be spoilt for choice in choosing the devices that best fits their needs and wallets.

In a recent study, Gartner Research estimated that smartphone sales had overtaken shipments of PCs in 2011. The expectation was that global smartphone sales reached 461.5 million units and will increase to 645 million units in 2012. Additionally, the global number of downloads of mobile applications is predicted to total 18 billion applications in 2011 and is set to rise to 31 billion applications in 2012.

What does this all mean for the enterprise?

A lot, actually. In 2011, enterprise mobile management vendor Good Technology found that 72% of its large customers in the US already support employee-owned smartphone usage. Office workers are embarking on a consumer love affair with smartphones and tablets, and they increasingly want to use these devices in the workplace as well.

The CIO and CFO will face many pressures to accommodate and manage this BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend.

The CFO Challenge

In contrast to the priorities of a CIO, who is focused on security risk, technical helpdesk support, and the provisioning/decommissioning of mobile devices, the CFO’s priorities are typically more on cost visibility, cost management, and cost containment of the mobile universe within the enterprise.

For the CFO, the cost of paying for mobility is no longer simply a rounding error in relation to corporate revenues, which in the past averaged 0.1% to 0.2% of sales, according to Aberdeen Research (“Wireless Expense Management – Control International Roaming and the BYOD Revolution,” October 2011).

Today, managing mobility expenditures in accordance with a Mobile Expense Management (MEM) framework is essential to proper corporate governance, cost visibility, and long-term cost control.

Consider these findings from the Aberdeen study:

Budgetary

Best-in-class companies (companies that had a comprehensive MEM program in place) were on average 6% under-budget with regard to mobile expenses, representing in US$160,000 in ongoing yearly savings.

Laggard companies (companies that did not have a formal MEM program) were on average 8% over-budget, representing US$220,000 in unexpected annual costs.

Comment on this article

Accounting and Regulations

CFO innovation Asia Accounting and Regulation the Asia Pacific resource center for senior finance executives, daily news, analysis, best practice and case studies in Accounting Regulation, IFRS, US GAAP, Tax, investor relations, corporate governance, Corporate Law, Financial Regulators, Internal Audit, Audit, Corporate Law.

Auditing, Investor Relations, Law and Compliance, Tax

Finance and Banking

CFO innovation Asia, Finance and Banking the Asia Pacific resource center for senior finance executives, daily news, analysis, best practice and case studies in Corporate Finance, trade finance, treasury and risk management, capital expenditure, Banking, mergers and acquisitions

Cash and Liquidity Management, Corporate Finance, Insurance, Treasury Management

Management

CFO innovation Asia the Asia Pacific resource center for senior finance executives, daily news, analysis, best practice and case studies in Finance Management, Corporate Governance, Human Resource Management, Compensation and Benefits, Mergers and Acquisitions, Professional Development, Corporate Real Estate, Risk Management, Budgeting and Forecasting, Business Process Management, Business Process Reengineering, Outsourcing.

Budgeting and Planning, Business Expense Management, Human Capital Management, Outsourcing and Shared Services, Risk Management

Metrics

Corporates, Financial Services

Technology

CFO innovation Asia Technology the Asia Pacific resource center for senior finance executives, daily news, analysis, best practice and case studies in Finance Systems, Business Intelligence, EPR, Accounting software, CRM, Cloud Computing, Telecommunications, Business Process Outsourcing, Business Process Management Software.

Business Intelligence, Enterprise Software and Systems, Financial Systems, Security

CFO innovation ASIA