by: VMware on VMware Staff
Over the past few months I have been speaking about VMware IT’s transformation journey with employees, partners, and customers. Our digital transformation is focused on using technology and changing processes to make business operations more agile.
IT’s journey is based on three pillars: leveraging the private cloud, adopting an agile delivery model, and embracing mobility. A private cloud is the foundation of our digital transformation because it enables IT to more quickly and cost-effectively deliver services, then adjust to meet the demands of a changing business landscape. The second pillar, a DevOps agile delivery model, leverages nimble infrastructure management, a cultural shift to an agile mindset, and a continuous integration/continuous delivery process. This not only drives developer productivity, it transforms the entire DevOps approach.
The third pillar is mobility, or how VMware leverages mobile devices to improve productivity, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. In our experience, mobile apps are best applied to use cases where discrete processes can be transformed into simple interactions or several apps can be merged into one space. To test if there is a real need, we often use pretotyping. Based on feedback, we know if the app has real value to users and will build and launch it. In this blog, I want to expand on the power mobility is having on our business.
The Real Benefit of Mobility to the Business
In my session at VMworld 2017, Duncan Hewett, SVP and GM of APAC, talked with me about how technology plays a vital role in his business. I have been partnering with Duncan to closely identify ways to use technology to transform APAC operations.
In our VMworld session, Duncan shared how mobile applications have improved his team’s productivity. Below are some areas where he has seen the impact of mobility:
- The MobileFlash app delivers real-time updates on revenue by region and serves as Duncan’s single source of truth on business transactions across his diverse region, consisting of 36 countries. These updates help him quickly track APAC sales using his phone without requiring him to open emails or spreadsheets.
- The vApprove mobile app consolidates all incoming procurement, hiring, pricing, and expense requests regardless of the sender. Duncan uses the app to review these requests once or twice a day. The app not only eliminates the time it takes to review each request separately, it expedites the process for those waiting for a response.
- SalesPulse for Managers, a mobile sales management app, allows him to quickly find the VMware sales rep for a customer who has contacted him with a question or concern. The request goes straight to the right contact, no longer winding its way through an email chain.
- Duncan and his team also use the SalesPulse apps to automate the process of certifying Sarbanes Oxley compliance. Managers can now certify results through the app instead of logging onto a desktop application, as they had to in the past. The number of managers using the app is steadily growing and the time it takes for approvals is shrinking.
The impact of mobility isn’t limited to APAC. For example, across all of VMware, the SalesPulse mobile app along with backend improvements has dramatically improved sales operating efficiency. It has reduced the global sales cycle by 20% and increased the win rate by 10-12%, as reps use the customer insights gained through the app to foster richer engagement. These results are derived from a field focus group across GEOs.
The rise of mobility is changing how business and IT interact to drive success. Duncan summarized it this way and I agree. “It’s not business telling IT what to do anymore. IT is now part of our business. IT is integral to the way I do business every day. The link between IT and business is that it can transform people’s lives—that’s what gets me excited.”
VMware on VMware blogs are written by IT subject matter experts sharing stories about our digital transformation using VMware products and services in a global production environment. Contact your sales rep or [email protected] to schedule a briefing on this topic. Visit the VMware on VMware microsite and follow us on Twitter.
