As we continue to incorporate technology into our business, it’s important that many businesses start incorporating their Information Systems Department (ISD) into their business organization. Traditionally, the day to day operations of a business and those of the ISD were completely separate from each other. The ISD’s main functions were to manage systems and infrastructure development, computer operations and training in IS (Information Skills).

Recently those functions have evolved, and they did so because of one important role: the end user. The end user has transformed the main functions of the ISD from a technical to a more consultative function. This transformation has lead to a creation of a partnership between the ISD and the end user which has created a very vital relationship between the both. No longer is the ISD just an IT department, they now use IT as tool to solve many problems that end users face on a daily basis. In return, end users also benefit the ISD by recommending different uses of an organizations information resource to help a business run more efficiently.

As an organization’s computing needs get more complicated, it becomes very difficult for the ISD to fully manage all of the organization’s information resource, and this is where the end user can share more of the ISD’s responsibilities. In complicated organizations, like Hospitals, banks and other large corporations, the ISD can’t simply manage the organizations information resources itself, it has to heavily rely or share the role with the end user. The end user can then help manage the information resources at the department level and the ISD can manage those at a corporate level. This type of structure helps larger or complex organizations become more effective because information resources at a department level are managed by the end users, who are directly using those resources. The ISD can then gear their focus to more complicated information resources that can help the organization as whole become more effective.

There’s no question that the role of the ISD has dramatically changed from a technical to a consultative function, but as managing information resources get more complicated, it’s more important that the end user and the ISD work closely together so they can innovate and create solutions to help the organization run more effectively. Therefore, creating a relationship that is perfectly balanced between the ISD and the end user should be a strategic goal for every business at any size.

NFC capabilities: Get enrolled now!

Most of all retailers and small business have a merchant Point of Sale machine that handle debit and credit card transactions, and now is the time for those machines to get upgraded to handle the onslaught of NFC enabled mobile phones that will be soon shipping within the next 2 years. Be ahead of the curve and get signed up or upgrade soon. This will not only give you a competitive advantage over other retailers but it will keep customer satisfaction high, as many consumers will be eager to try this new form of payment.

Get Proactively Involved with E-Coupons and Rewards.

Many consumers are shifting their shopping from actual stores to online retailers like Amazon or eBay, and they do so because they have great confidence that they will get a better deal online then they would at the store. Therefore, when they’re met with a tempting deal at a store, they hesitate and choose to look it up and buy it online. Actively applying discounts and reward points will give that customer an emotional sensation to buy now, rather then later, will help your business win that sale immediately. E-Coupons and rewards can be used in conjunction with NFC enabled phones and apply automatic discounts and reward points when an enabled NFC phone is used as form of payment at the register. Such a feature is being rolled out with Google’s own offering of Google wallet and I recommend you take immediate action to differentiate yourself before it becomes the norm. Remember be proactive, not reactive. Customers always love to be rewarded without having to chase down discounts.

Compatible Websites: Make your website compatible to mobile web browsers.

Many of the huge retailers have already jumped on board with creating specific mobile applications pertaining to their company for the two larges phone ecosystems: Android and the iPhone. However, not everyone has an Android or an iPhone so creating many different types of applications for each specific mobile operating system can be expensive and time consuming, especially for smaller businesses. In addition, with the large pool of applications between Android and iPhone, only 1 of 4 applications downloaded actually get used. Therefore, when creating website for your company, make sure that your site is mobile browser friendly. Make things simple and accessible to customers without having them to zoom in on a page that’s meant for your laptop on a small 4 inch portable screen. In addition, if your website requires the user to fill out a form — for example loan applications — please make it mobile friendly. I can’t tell you how many times I started to fill out a form on my phone but just quit because it was just too much work.

Some of these tips sound like common sense but it will make you wonder why it isn’t a uniform standard across many retailers and companies. The truth is that the most of these initiatives will eventually become standard, but the key to your business is to be ahead of the curve and give your customer that friendly mobile experience and satisfaction they haven’t felt anywhere else.

Source: mobiThinking