14 Sep How Mobile Reach Complements the ServiceNow Mobile App

Mobile Reach provides a very strong offering on a variety of mobile devices and form factors (iOS, Android, Windows) that integrate directly with ServiceNow, which just announced an upgrade to its own mobile offerings. Given this updated support for mobile platforms, ServiceNow customers may be wondering if and why they would need a Mobile Reach at all? The answer, of course, is it depends!!

First, we applaud ServiceNow for embracing the mobile employee, the center of our world! Mobility is fast becoming a central and necessary component of all business applications and the owners of enterprise software solutions must focus on mobile users.

ServiceNow has done this by changing its approach to the user interface so that tablets and smartphones have equal priority to the desktop version. Each new release will incorporate a seamless extension of the ServiceNow interface to mobile phones and tablets with features that optimize for those form-factors.

Many of our prospects are wondering, however, whether this makes the Mobile Reach for ServiceNow product less necessary, and the answer is a resounding “No!” Mobile Reach is a terrific and often necessary complement to ServiceNow that supports certain mobile use cases that have extended requirements.

Here are the four primary differentiating features of Mobile Reach and when they matter:

• • Mobile Reach operates natively, with natural offline capability, on ALL mobile platforms. This matters when your end users work in remote areas, or areas that don’t have reliable network connectivity. Equally important is the significant performance improvement in all connectivity scenarios. Native, offline mobile applications are much more responsive and provide a consistent user interface regardless of the strength of the user’s network connection. In situations where responsiveness is a key success factor for your mobile application, Splitware is an excellent option.
  • Mobile Reach contains a variety of special features to support barcode scanning and handheld RFID reading. Effective use of these tools requires intelligent mobile workflow to interpret and handle scanned data, incorporating pattern recognition, on-scan triggered actions, and data entry control. These features are crucial to a well-designed IT Asset Management or Field Services (Work Management) solution, where Splitware should always be considered.
  • Mobile Reach mobile applications can be task-oriented, incorporating a customized and controlled user interface to guide end-users towards completing a task (or set of tasks) as quickly, easily, and effectively as possible. Situations that call for a well-controlled mobile process can benefit from a Splitware implementation.
  • Mobile Reach contains excellent security functionality, including device-side and over-the-air (OTA) encryption to a level that meets the information assurance requirements of our DoD customers. A flexible product architecture allows us to add additional controls when necessary. Splitware should always be considered when mobile security is a concern or a requirement for success.

In summary, ServiceNow provides an excellent platform that supports general purpose and customizable mobile access to any ServiceNow application that you build. Mobile Reach for ServiceNow extends that functionality to support complex circumstances where:

• • • Users want or need offline support.
    • You are implementing ITAM and/or a Field Services type application.
    • You need to develop a specific or controlled User Interface or require access to device accessories such as camera or GPS.
    • Your organization needs a highly secure mobile software solution.

If ever in doubt about what is right for your organization, do not hesitate to discuss with a representative from Mobile Reach or any one of our ServiceNow partners!

You can learn more about our mobile apps for ServiceNow here.

You can learn more about our mobile field service apps here.