Buyer’s Guide for Mobile Data Platforms

Introduction

There are lots of factors to consider as you research new software. After all, your projects require a data model and workflows that other software providers don’t always understand.

• “Am I selecting tech made for MY needs?” Look for easy-to-use tools, such as a drag-and-drop interface and flexible design. The freedom to create and distribute documents quickly – based on your unique business needs– will keep everyone up-to-date on important changes.
• “Does this software reduce manual work?” A key benefit of investing in a mobile data platform is the ability to sync data in the cloud. Look for easy integrations to share field data with the office to improve the data you’re collecting. That way, you’re instantly sharing improved insights with everyone who needs the information.
• “Does this partner support my long-term goals?” The vendor you pick should feel like a partner on every level. After kicking off the project, it means they’ll still be on your side with a dedicated customer success team and ongoing recommendations to support your growth. 

We hope this guide makes your search a little easier. If you have any questions while comparing mobile data platforms, please contact us here.

The Challenge

A key challenge is removing the “busy work” that slows down operations for growing companies. Things like paper forms, data entry, manual workflows between people, and inefficient processes are examples of the types of hidden costs that stack up over time.

These types of issues directly impact your company’s bottom line in several ways:

• Higher operational costs due to inefficient processes that result in tasks that take longer to complete.
• Lost productivity when staff are busy with redundant tasks, rather than focusing their efforts on meaningful work.
• Duplicate work and wasted time occur when information is missing from paperwork or contains simple errors.

How Mobile Data Platforms Help

Leveraging a mobile data platform can help you avoid these common challenges. Companies use technology to streamline operations and automate how work gets done. Take Lumen as an example. Prior to having a mobile data platform, Lumen’s field operations staff relied on manual processes and time-consuming paper forms to complete service requests and reports. 

Their process involved sending a technician to a job site, completing an inspection form, returning the forms to a central office, scanning the form, and then attaching the scanned reports to their database entries. 

Seeing how much time was being spent by technicians to complete basic administrative work, Lumen implemented a mobile data platform to reduce the headaches from traditional paper and to give time back to their crew members in the field. Ultimately they reduced admin work by 35%, with savings up to $1 million in the first year. 

When manual processes and stacks of paperwork become too much of a drain on company resources, investing in technology can be an opportunity to reduce operational costs and enable growth.

Ultimately they reduced admin work by 35%, with savings up to $1 million in the first year.

Continue reading this guide to dive deeper into each of the recommendations and to understand how these factors can impact the success of your technology initiative. 

Buyer’s Guide Summary 

This guide is intended to be a resource for you to better understand mobile data platforms. As you research and evaluate software, consider these three recommendations: 

• Recommendation #1 – Select technology that’s easy to use and scalable. 
• Recommendation #2 – Opt for solutions that improve data processes and analytics. 
• Recommendation #3 – Find a partner to support your organizational goals.

Recommendation 1: Technology that’s easy to use and scalable

Naturally, comparing the features and functionality of products is often included as part of the software selection process. This helps discern what product features are needed to satisfy your business requirements. However, it’s equally important to understand how the technology will position your organization for success. After all the time and effort you put into the initiative, you want to be sure that the solutions fit your needs — both in the short and long term. 

What makes a mobile data platform easy to use? 

Overly complex solutions can be daunting to learn and difficult to gain buy-in from staff. Ease of use, both in the field and in the office, can be an indicator of how successful the solution will be once implemented. 

No-coding required 

Solutions with a drag-and-drop interface make it easy to design mobile forms without technical resources or coding. A modern user experience (UX) makes it easy to build, customize, and deploy mobile forms with a few clicks. While you may want to involve your IT department in the decision-making process, the actual tools should empower business users to make customizations without heavy development or technical knowledge. An easy-to-use software tool gives you the ability to quickly roll out and scale mobile form solutions in the field and customize them based on unique business needs. 

Smart form fields 

It’s helpful to reference all of the information needed in a single platform. Forms that can reference other databases can help to simplify data entry by pre-populating known information. This saves time in the field and ensures data accuracy.

Dispatch and workflow 

Eliminating manual work for staff should be a top priority, and solutions should prioritize automation to streamline inefficient processes. Capabilities like dispatch can simplify project assignments and workflow can enable multiple people to collaborate on a mobile form. 

Real-time data sync between the field and office 

Field workers should be able to easily complete all forms from a mobile device, both online and offline. This enables workers in remote locations to capture information and have it synced to the cloud whenever an internet connection becomes available. At the same time, employees in the office will need visibility into submission data in real time. Best-in-class mobile data platforms will enable sharing of information via notifications, emails, PDF reports, and pre-built dashboards to monitor and view the information in real time. Real-time data sync ensures that your organization always has access to the latest information, accessible from any device. 

Why does scalability matter? 

It’s important to consider where your business is going in the next few years and ensure that the technology implemented today will have the capacity to scale with your company’s growth. Some of the more basic mobile form solutions may only solve one business case for a team, but what happens when there becomes a need to expand? 

Implementing a pilot program in one focus area is a great place to start to prove the business case, but consider the other potential opportunities across all of your different business units. This can help you ensure the mobile data platform selected can scale to meet company demands, both now and in the future. 

Consider working cross-functionally within your organization to ensure different stakeholders’ needs are understood and the technology can support multiple processes. Scalability will matter when you need to roll out the technology for new or emerging needs in the business. 

The Takeaway:

Solutions that can balance ease of use, customization, and scalability will position your business to best capitalize on the mobile operations opportunity. These factors can lead to better adoption, faster time to value, and a greater return on investment. 

Recommendation 2: Solutions that improve data processes and analytics

It’s important to consider the technology and processes your company already has in place today. A mobile data platform should fit with the systems you currently use and it should help to improve your current workflows. 

A key benefit of investing in a mobile data platform is the ability to leverage field data and share it back in real-time with the office. Make sure that the solution you select will empower your organization to rapidly collect data from the field and instantly share the insights with everyone that needs the information. 

What type of data integration is required? 

Mobile data platforms should support data integrations to connect data from the field with the other cloud applications your business uses. Syncing data between systems can improve data quality, reduce manual work, and enable data insights. 

For example, you may need integrations with: 

• Cloud storage and databases 
• Accounting systems to process payroll 
• Finance systems to process billing 
• CRM systems to access customer data 
• Other similar types of cloud-based systems

As you evaluate technology, make sure to inquire about the types of integrations available. Some will be simple data connectors, while others may require a web services API to connect your data. While there may be some upfront work involved to get your data integrated, there can be significant time savings in the future achieved through a connected data ecosystem. 

How will data be used for analytics? 

Data analytics provide a way for your company to look for business trends and patterns. Identifying trends allows your business to take the appropriate next step and address any concerns or opportunities. A mobile data platform should enable and promote data analytics. This allows business leaders to dig into the data to better understand project performance, financials, and opportunities to drive business growth. 

You may want analytics to be built into the mobile data platform itself for better reporting capabilities of field information. In addition to native analytics capabilities in a mobile data platform, you may also need to share field data with other systems you use for analytics. 

For example, your organization may have a business intelligence (BI) solution that’s used for advanced analytics. Mobile data is one source of information that can be brought into your larger BI systems and you may benefit from having a platform that enables you to share data via an integration or API. 

Make sure to understand how data captured can be used for analytics, so you can take advantage of the opportunity to leverage data to inform business decisions. 

How is data processed and stored? 

It goes without saying that a mobile data platform should have the highest level of security and data privacy. The technology should be secure and enable compliance with any applicable regulations. 

For example, your business may need to be HIPPA compliant if you are processing medical information. Or maybe you may need to be GDPR compliant if you are processing and storing customer data. Best-in-class solutions will have the highest level of security and compliance, helping to ensure that your organization is following best practices for data security. 

The Takeaway:

Data is an asset that can be used to your advantage to gain greater visibility into your operations and used to discern trends. Consider your business data ecosystem today and ensure that a mobile data platform can enhance and support your existing business processes and data requirements.

Recommendation 3: Partner To Support Your Organizational Goals

Implementing a mobile data platform is both a technology and change management initiative. Make sure that you select a partner that is committed to helping you achieve your desired outcomes. You should gain a clear understanding of the support resources available and the roadmap for successful product adoption. 

What resources are available to help you succeed? 

There should be a proven framework for you to follow when it comes time to implement a mobile data platform. Vendors should provide you with a detailed plan for implementation, giving examples of how other companies in your industry have seen success using this framework. Typically you will get started by working with the vendor’s implementation and support teams to kick off the project and build custom forms and processes for your business. 

Once implemented, your business may also benefit from dedicated customer success resources to work with you to advance your usage of the platform. Ongoing consultation with the vendor can benefit your organization to take advantage of new capabilities, expand into other use cases, and provide recommendations to support your business goals.  

What support channels are made available? 

It’s helpful to understand what support looks like with a mobile data platform. Your organization will need to access resources like documentation, support agents and live chat, training opportunities, online communities, and other forms of self-service support resources. Proper support resources will ensure your teams’ successful adoption of the technology. 

How do you measure the return on investment (ROI)? 

With any technology initiative, it should be a partnership where your success is the top priority. Tools for demonstrating the return on investment can be built-in to the product, allowing you to visualize time savings and other forms of ROI. Calculating this can help you to showcase the value proposition internally at your company. The vendor should be able to assist you in making that business case for your company stakeholders and demonstrating how key business impact metrics are improving. 

The Takeaway:

Finding a vendor that understands your business, identifies challenges and opportunities, and works with you on a custom plan for success is crucial. Don’t overlook the people component when selecting technology, because, without the right people and resources, any technology initiative will fail. This includes training your staff, ensuring resources are available, and communicating how the technology project has brought value to your mission.

Ready to Rethink How You Work?

Don’t let paper forms and outdated processes slow down your business growth. Scale your business with the GoCanvas mobile data platform that is trusted by over 5,000 organizations worldwide. 

• A mobile data platform that’s easy to use and customize
• Supports data integration and offers built-in analytics
• A trusted partner with resources to help you succeed 

What are your peers saying about GoCanvas? 

• 55% reduction in time to complete and receive forms
• 30% decrease in time spent manually entering data
• 39% decrease in back-and-forth communication
• 18% reduction in risk and liability 
• 25% increase in work completed 
• 8% increase in customer satisfaction 

Contact our team to learn more about the GoCanvas product and we can answer any additional questions you may have about implementing a mobile data platform.