This Wipro and UBM Tech survey

talks of how hyperconnectivity, which describes

mutli-client and multi-device access to enterprise
resources, can help improve customer service
and relationships.
S URVE Y RE P ORT
THE STATE OF
Hyperconnectivity
Enterprises expect hyperconnectivity to improve cus-
tomer service and customer relationships, according to
a new research from UBM Tech and Wipro, based on
238 high-level marketing and IT managers respondents
(see the sidebar, The Hyperconnected User, for a more
detailed breakdown of the respondents). Nearly half also
expect a bump in mobile productivity.
These fndings indicate that companies are focusing
on deeper engagement with existing customers before
attracting new customers and that most place higher pri-
ority on improving effciency and margins than on fnd-
ing ways to cut costs with hyperconnectivity. This makes
sense as its cheaper to keep existing customersand
sell new or add-on services to themthen it is to pros-
pect for and attract new customers.
The research set out to provide insight into how en-
terprises plan to use hyperconnectivity as it relates to
mobile connectivity, user productivity, social network
integration, workfow improvement, potential security is-
sues, as well as cost savings and revenue opportunities
moving forward. Overall, the indication is that hypercon-
nectivity leads to new opportunities, improved customer
relationships and increased effciency in many areas.
Improving Customer Relations and Support
Hyperconnectivity, which describes multi-client and
multi-device access to enterprise resources, involves
mobility, personalization, localization, and the manage-
ment of the customer experience. The data, applied
analytics, and trends that are discovered as a result are
harnessed by corporations to manage and improve the
customer experience. As a result, executives can adjust
corporate strategy and even their entire organization
structure to better serve customers. Hyperconnectivity
has the potential to transform companies into next-gen-
eration enterprises.
Nearly three-quarters (72%) of all respondents to the
UBM Tech research survey indicated that they agree or
completely agree that hyperconnectivity will signifcantly
increase the customer engagement index. Only 3% of
all respondents disagreed (rating of 1 or 2) while the re-
maining 25% were neutral or unsure (rating of 3).
Looking at the responses broken out by job role, a
full 85% of marketing professionals agree or completely
Digitally connected (hyper connectivity) customers are clearly
infuencing the market dynamics. These customers want to have
seamless user experience on the devices of their choice (phone, tablet,
laptop). They would always like to be in direct control of their trans-
actions and demand rich, contextual, real time, personalized data.
Improving underlying mobility infrastructure and providing secure,
cloud based services would be key to the growth. - Kedar Limaye
Director - Mobile Strategy, Wipro
Mobility Solutions, Wipro Limited
Director & Consulting Partner, Wipro
Mobility Solutions, Wipro Limited
Subu Musti
Kedar Limaye
WI NSI GHTS Volume XVI
agree (rating of 4 or 5) and 68% of IT agree that hyper-
connectivity will signifcantly increase the customer en-
gagement index at their company.
In fact, respondents expect that hyperconnectivity
will help them meet their business goals primarily by
strengthening customer bonds (see Figure 1). According
to the survey responses, the top three ways that hyper-
connectivity will help achieve business goals are:
1.Improving customer service (55% of marketers; 70%
of IT)
2.Building stronger customer relationships (55% for
marketers; 44% for IT)
3.Increasing mobile workforce productivity (51% for
marketers; 45% for IT).
These results show that companies believe hypercon-
nectivity can improve business: companies are market-
ing to their existing customers to improve their relation-
ships, learn to support them better, and provide them
better value with the goal to increase sales. As exam-
ples, the integration of social media represents an addi-
tional channel for marketing, and the additional custom-
er touch points lead to a better understanding of users
needs outside of the product(s) theyre currently using.
This leads to increased satisfaction and new sales to
existing customers, achieved through new product fea-
tures or even new product families, as customers needs
are better discovered.
Improving Workfow
One philosophy for software design is to focus mainly on
users needs and the data required, rather than on build-
ing an application for the desktop or a mobile device.
This approach can enable a user to collaborate on a
document with another teammate regardless of whether
theyre at their desk, working from home, commuting,
or on business travel. The device type and user location
become less important, and the experience needs to be
consistent across all locations.
Companies are using hyperconnectivity to better en-
able user workfow, regardless of application and user
location. Survey questions that ask about customer ser-
vice, creative marketing, and in the integration of social
media into more traditional applications support this, as
well see in the next section.
Integrating Social Media and User Data
Many companies are betting their future success on tight
social network integration and data mining. For example,
software vendors are increasingly integrating social me-
dia authentication (such as Facebook user ID and pass-
word) into their own applications. This integration offers
a level of convenience for users and opens the door for
deeper analytics, leading to a better understanding of
their customers needs and interests. The sharing of so-
cial media information works in three important ways:
Fig 1 : How do you envision hyperconnec-
tivity will improve your business?
46%
Build stronger customer relationships
42%
Increase mobile workforce productivity
66%
Improve customer service
Open up newer communication channels
31%
Increase revenue
27%
Attract new customers
Drive new sales
Reduce customer acquisition costs
Increase margins
Revenue through partnerships
22%
22%
9%
6%
6%
Note: Maximum of three responses allowed
Data: UBM Tech survey of 238 insurance business technology and market-
ing professionals, May 2013
frst, it helps the software vendor gain a deeper under-
standing of their customers as well as their experiences
with the related application. Second, it provides an ad-
ditional channel of communication between vendors and
users. Finally, it leads to new personalization and inter-
action based on social media patterns.
Thirty-four percent of all respondents offer social media
integration as a personalization feature for to their enter-
prise application users (see Figure 2). This integration is
An example of hyperconnectivity is col-
laboration. For example, can you seam-
lessly and quickly jump into a video call
with your mobile phone and share visual
information instead of a creating separate
engagement? Subu Musti
at the heart of hyperconnectivity, as it plays a huge role
in connecting the various forms of technology people
use throughout the day. Other methods of personaliza-
tion cited by respondents include more alerts and notif-
cations and improved internationalization features, such
as multi-language support.
Social media allows users to collaborate and commu-
nicate more easily (with each other as well as with ap-
plication vendors), and it opens opportunities for deeper
understanding about these customers. Although social
media data may be outside the business context, under-
standing customers on a personal level helps companies
better meet their needs on a business level.
Customer Service and Market Strategy
The majority of marketing professionals (62%) report
that increased customer engagement is the top way that
hyper-personalization is affecting their market strategy.
This engagement is done through both traditional chan-
nels as well as new channels created by the move to
hyperconnectivity. For IT, customer engagement was
cited by just under half (48%) of those who responded.
For both groups, the second area of impact is increased
brand awareness (51% and 30% for marketing and IT
respectively).
When asked to rank all of the ways in which mobile
applications have affected customer service, most re-
spondents overall chose higher effciency as the number
one answer (57%), with mobile device email integration
at a close second at 56% (see Figure 3).
When broken out separately, both the marketing and
IT groups chose mobile device email integration frst
(68% for marketers; 54% for IT), higher effciency and
throughput second (64% for marketers; 53% for IT) and
Fig 2. Which of the following personaliza-
tion features are supported by your appli-
cations?
48%
Date / Time format
39%
Multi - language support
50%
Alerts and notifcations
Social network integration
34%
Currency format
27%
Location based services
Purchase history tracking
Suggestion of content
No personalization supported
User interface customization
Analysis of user searches
Learning of user searches
Targeted ads ( from ad engine )
Standard benefciary list
25%
24%
21%
21%
20%
17%
15%
14%
7%
Note: Multiple responses allowed
Data: UBM Tech survey of 238 insurance business technology and market-
ing professionals, May 2013
WI NSI GHTS Volume XVI
emergence of a self-service model third (36% and 44%).
Almost 50% of both groups indicated that between
10% and 29% of their customers would adopt self-ser-
vice applications in the frst year (see Figure 4). Just over
one-third of those surveyed expect that less than 10%
of their customer base might adopt self-services apps in
the frst year. Through self-service, hyperconnectivity en-
ables users to help one another, gain assistance through
new automated procedures (either online or via mobile
integration), or connect to vendors over social media,
in addition to traditional methods such as phone-base
customer support.
Better Enabling Hyperconnectivity
Despite the potential for hyperconnectivity to improve
business, respondents point out many areas for im-
provement, including bandwidth, security, device capa-
bility, and so on. For instance, only recently have devices
contained enough processing power, memory, storage,
and screen resolution to accomplish tasks otherwise
done on a desktop or laptop.
Although device capabilities continue to improve, in
many cases users cite additional needs to support a tru-
ly hyperconnected experience. The technologies that IT
and marketing managers felt would best enable growth
and adoption of hyperconnectivity in the next three years
are:
1. Improved mobile bandwidth (72% for both marketing
and IT)
2. Increased use of cloud-based services (60% for mar-
keting and 47% for IT)
3. Improved security (53% for both groups)
IT security is too often poorly planned, and planned too
late in the process to ensure an effective strategy. The
fact that security appears in the top three enabling tech-
nologies shows that this is a key concern in the area of
hyperconnectivity as well. A focus on security can be a
differentiator and help drive adoption in the long run as
users otherwise lose confdence in vendors that over-
look this crucial feature.
Evolution or Revolution?
Savvy companies try to look beyond the hype to deter-
mine whether new technology represents a new para-
digm or just a progression of something that already
exists. With hyperconnectivity, for example, do the mo-
bility-driven changes in user expectation represent a sea
change in how we build new solutions, or just a shift in
a few key areas? The ability to use social media to ex-
pand the viewing experience in real-time while watching
a television show is a good example of a revolutionary
Methodology
In May 2013 UBM Tech conducted an
online survey on behalf of Wipro. A total of
238 business technology and marketing
respondents were collected from specifc
industries such as technology manufac-
turing, healthcare/medical, and banking/
fnancial services.
The greatest possible margin of error for
the total respondent base (N=238) is +/- 6
percentage points. UBM Tech was respon-
sible for all programming and data analy-
sis. These procedures were carried out
in strict accordance with standard market
research practices.
These key fndings showcase a compari-
son of respondents with marketing titles
and IT titles. The 47 marketing profession-
als base yields a possible margin of error
of +/- 14 percentage points, and for the
IT segment of 119 respondents, it is +/- 9
percentage points.
Fig 3. In which of the following ways have
mobile applications impacted customer
service?
64%
Higher effciency and throughput
36%
Emergence of self service model
68%
Mobile device email integration
Interactive chat services
34%
Integrated help system
32%
Application initiated phone call
30%
53%
Higher effciency and throughput
44%
Emergence of self service model
54%
Mobile device email integration
Interactive chat services
31%
Application initiated phone call
18%
Integrated help system
15%
Note: Multiple responses allowed
Data: UBM Tech survey of 238 insurance business technology and market-
ing professionals, May 2013
hyperconnectivity experience. Simply creating a feature-
for-feature equivalent of a desktop application for a mo-
bile device may only be considered evolutionary.
When asked how they envision their applications user
experience changing in the future, 70% of marketing and
60% of IT managers cited multi-device compatibility, fol-
lowed by seamless connectivity (59% for marketing and
44% for IT). Interestingly, the third most common answer
differed between the two groups: The marketing group
selected common user interface components and a
more personalized experience (tied at 44%), and the
IT group chose device convergence (40%) for their third
choice (see Figure 5).
One area where many have predicted a sea change
related to hyperconnectivity is in the area of mobile pay-
ments. In the UBM Tech and Wipro survey 15% of mar-
keting and 20% of IT respondents say their applications
already support mobile payments/billing, whereas 38%
of marketing and 45% of IT plan to roll out mobile pay-
ments/billing in the near future. Nearly half (47%) of mar-
keters and just over one-third (35%) of IT respondents
indicate that they dont currently plan to support mobile
payments.
This relatively low rating for mobile payment support
is somewhat surprising, especially as the market for
mobile users and applications continues to grow. Con-
fusion over what a mobile payment is (for example, Pay-
Pal or near-feld communication) might be suppressing
the numbers in the responses. Alternatively, its possible
that mobile apps and their users just havent matured
enough to require mobile payments. Possible mobile
payment methods include PayPal, direct mobile billing
through the carrier, Google Wallet, Amazon Payments,
QR codes, contactless NFC, or credit card vendors (i.e.
Visa payWave, MasterCard PayPass, or American Ex-
press Mobile).
In the banking space, executives are very
paranoid when using mobile devices. We
see they usually carry two devices. For
instance, a BlackBerry for work, and an iOS
or Android device for personal use. Compli-
ance and regulations are forcing companies
to be strict regarding this. -Subu Musti
Base: 47 marketing respondents
Base: 118 IT respondents
WI NSI GHTS Volume XVI

Fig 4 : What percentage of your customer
base might adopt or will adopt self-service
apps in the frst year?
30 to 49% 13%
30 to 49% 10%
50% or more 4%
50% or more 5%
Under 10% 35%
Under 10% 27%
None 0
None 9%
10 to 29% 48%
10 to 29% 49%
Base: 47 marketing respondents
Data: UBM Tech survey of 238 insurance business technology and marketing
professionals, May 2013
Hyperconnectivity
in Industrial
Automation
In the face of rising costs, increased liability
and expensive downtime, the construction
industry increasingly uses technology to
boost effciency and save costs. Companies
such as Rasmussen Equipment rely on the
effciency and reliability of their equipment
to stand out from their competition. Afford-
able bandwidth from wireless carriers is their
number one technology enabler for hyper-
connectivity, according to Rasmussens
Shane Johnson.
Location-based functionality is important in
construction, especially in terms of helping
crews travel and communicate in remote
locations, and to track the whereabouts of
expensive equipment. Additionally, as with
most, security remains high on the list of
needs in the area of hyperconnectivity.
Areas of hyperconnectivity that arent as
important to Rasmussen Equipment and
other companies in the construction indus-
try include social network integration and
enabling user workfow.
Base: 47 marketing respondents
Base: 118 IT respondents
Fig 5. How do you envision your applications user experience changing
in the future?
59%
Seamless connectivity
44%
Common user interface components
70%
Multi-device compatibility
More personalized experience
44%
Device convergence
39%
Quicker transactions
Increased device-to-device communication
Common app management platform
Predictive based on user patterns
Enhanced security
More convenient billing and payments
39%
37%
35%
26%
24%
20%
Note: Multiple responses allowed
Base: 47 marketing respondents
Data: UBM Tech survey of 238 insurance business technology and marketing professionals, May 2013
60%
Multi-device compatibility
44%
Seamless connectivity
Device convergence
40%
Common user interface components
39%
Enhanced security
More personalized experience
Quicker transactions
Increased device-to-device communication
More convenient billing and payment
Common app management platform
39%
39%
23%
23%
20%
14%
Conclusion: Changing Relationships
According to our survey on the subject, hyperconnectiv-
ity is in the early stages as mobility continues to mature.
As mobile device and application usage increase, the
need to personalize users experiences and integrate
them into larger workfows and processes so they
work seamlessly across desktop environments, tables,
and smartphones as users change locations is sure
to increase and accelerate.
Device compatibility and improved mobile bandwidth
(as well as costs) are important factors for the future of
hyperconnectivity. Although mobile payments are slow
in gaining traction, adoption is certain to increase over
time as vendors continue to integrate with social media,
where forms of mobile currency are gaining popularity,
especially as security concerns are ironed out.
Overall, marketing and IT managers surveyed believe
that hyperconnectivity leads to new opportunities, im-
proved customer relationships and increased effciency.
End-user experience and value is top of mind for both
sets of respondents. When the goal is to increase cus-
tomer satisfaction and improve relationships with exist-
ing customers through hyperconnectivity, both the com-
panies and their users will win in the end.
Base: 47 marketing respondents
Base: 118 IT respondents
WI NSI GHTS Volume XVI
References: http://www.inc.com/karl-and-bill/its-cheaper-
to-keep-em.html, also Industry Outlook 2013: CMOs Lead
the Big Data Revolution, http://www.wipro.com/the-data-
directive/docs/Wipro-analytics-CMOs-lead-the-data-revo-
lution.pdf