In the mid-80s, the car phone was the symbol of power and wealth. The earliest of mobile phones, their value of connectivity once served the rich, but today that is a grassroots revolution. This is particularly evident in Africa, where there are more people with mobile devices than access to electricity, according to the Economist.

This pattern is evident among other industries as well, such as banking, where mobile money has eclipsed traditional services in some countries. But, just because the writing is on the wall doesn't mean people are reading it. Are South African companies adapting to the mobile era?

Without a doubt, says Deirdre Fryer, SYSPRO's Regional Product Manager for Africa: "From our exposure, it's a standard line item on every budget in businesses. It's a business focus and it has matured. The discussions have moved from ‘what is mobility?' to ‘we have this, now how do we make it faster and better and quicker to market?' That indicates maturity."

We don't just have to rely on anecdotal views. SYSPRO has commissioned World Wide Worx to look into the question and produce tangible data. They surveyed 400 IT decision-makers at large enterprises in South Africa; the results show a clear grasp of both mobile and the threats of complacency in the digital age.

Focus of South African business

Mobile culture and digital transformation go hand-in-hand. One doesn't function well without the other. Companies that don't have good digital strategies will not get much out of their mobile investments.

Through this view, the results are very encouraging. When asked what their main investments in digital technologies are, over 69% of companies cited software as a service (SaaS), followed by 68% for virtual private networks and the same towards cloud computing. All three very closely aligned with mobile connectivity.

But, when speaking of a mobile revolution, it should be apparent that this isn't purely limited to smartphones. The versatility of mobile devices has encouraged other forms of mobile device paradigms to take root. The ability to go anywhere and access anything has become a given for many business cultures.

So, it's not a surprise that laptops are still overwhelmingly the favoured platforms on which to do business work, by a staggering 97%. But, that being said, smartphones came in at 71%. The most telling statistic is that 82% of companies view WiFi as crucial business investments. This proves how much network cords are being cut to facilitate mobile workforces. Even sitting in the cafeteria tapping on a laptop is still parcel to the mobile corporation.

Use cases reflect a similar embrace for mobile connectivity: access to e-mail is the most important function (82%), while roughly the same number of people rely on it to be available for emergencies. Sixty-five percent, though, also use it for access to decision-making and communication with colleagues, while more than half of respondents use mobile connectivity for document management.

The scope is also much bigger. Unlike the 80s car phones that served wealthy Gordon Gekko types, today, the entire workforce is taking part, says Fryer: "Executives and salespeople are still prolific users of mobile technologies. But, we also see it being used in factories, such as at a production point, scanning and collecting information and putting it into an app. It's also spreading externally, such as for customer self-service."

Getting on the trend

It is clear that South African enterprises are already embracing mobile, which means the companies that don't are in trouble. So, how can they reverse their fortunes? Mobile is key, but it can't be ad hoc: "It needs to be a defined strategic approach with a culture because it does require everyone to participate. When we try to do little bits without a bigger strategy in place, it becomes disruptive because they happen at different times with different focuses. It leads to dishevelment if you don't have an overarching focus for the need and culture."

Selecting the right technology partners is important, both from their experience with your industry and for their future flexibility: "For me, I encourage clients to look at the long-term partner solution. So, if you look at a solution, does it have flexibility and customisation capabilities? A lot of products have what you need, but you don't realise they aren't flexible and you will find after a few years you are limited and need to pay more to get features or get a whole new provider. So, always look for that tech provider that gives the ability to extend and customise it."