When evaluating a solution to enable your mobile workforce, asking key stakeholders within your organization what their needs are for mobile applications and mobility in general can help ensure success. Discuss solution goals and considerations with members of your IT, sales, and customer service teams to make sure you deploy a solution that meets the needs of both the business users and the teams that will be implementing and supporting the technology.

The chief information officer (CIO) sets the overall IT strategy and is responsible for keeping your organization's information technologies running smoothly 24/7.

Priorities
When evaluating new mobility solutions, CIOs may be concerned about:

• Providing device control and security, including the ability to remotely wipe the data from mobile devices if they are lost or stolen.
• Deploying technology that helps employees be more productive.
• Ensuring scalability so that solutions can grow with the business.
• Finding new solutions that take full advantage of existing IT resources as well as other company investments.
• Using technology that synchronizes and works well with other applications, data sources, and systems.

Questions
Your CIO is the person to talk to about the essential technical considerations of a mobility implementation. Questions to ask include:

• How will we standardize our mobile devices?
• Can our existing applications be easily mobilized?
• How are mobility solutions aligned with our business goals?
• What kinds of facts and referrals can assure product benefits and quality?
• What type of technical support is needed after implementing mobile solutions?

Your vice president (VP) of Sales has the responsibility to provide the sales force with the support it needs to sell your products or services.

Priorities
When evaluating mobility solutions, a VP of Sales may be concerned about:

• Driving revenue and ensuring customer satisfaction through a mobile solution.
• Providing access to line-of-business applications while sales personnel are away from the office.
• Helping the sales force accept and adopt new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) processes.

Questions
Your VP of Sales can consult with you about the practical and strategic sales aspects of mobile solutions. Questions to ask include:

• What kinds of sales history and forecasting data are currently available?
• What kinds of new mobility tools would help your team sell?
• How much training do you foresee your team needing to effectively use these mobile devices?
• How are we currently tracking the competition with sales force automation applications?

Your VP of Customer Service is responsible for improving customer retention and more easily identifying further, complementary sales opportunities (also called "upselling").

Priorities
When evaluating mobility solutions, your VP of Customer Service may be concerned with:

• Providing the customer service team with mobility tools for making informed decisions.
• Creating cross-selling and upselling opportunities.
• Keeping customer care at the center of business.
• Integrating new mobile solutions with existing data systems.

Questions
Talk to your customer service manager about how a mobile solution can improve customer communication and responsiveness. Questions to ask include:

• What are the benefits of mobilizing our key customer service applications?
• If we implement a mobile solution, how much training do you foresee your team needing, and what suggestions can you make for accommodating training?
• What does current survey data on customer satisfaction imply about our need for new tools?
• What information do service representatives have difficulty or delays in accessing?
• What is the company organized around? Customers, products, or services?
• How can we make doing business with us easier for our customers?