• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, September 26, 2011

According to the second annual survey by Kony Solutions, compiled from retail, financial, media, and healthcare verticals to uncover current mobile strategies and future developments for some of the largest brands in the world, 40% of organizations believe developing applications across multiple operating systems and devices is the biggest challenge in their mobile strategy.

Other top challenges include keeping up with changes in the mobile market and supporting connectivity and technology challenges/updates.

In addition, most companies believe they can receive the funding necessary for their mobile strategy with little or no effort.

Available Funding for Mobile Offerings (% of Respondents)
Access to Funding	% of Respondents
Available with reasonable effort	80%
Easy to fund	10
Difficult to fund	7
Declined to specify	3
Source: Kony Solutions, September 2011

According to Raj Koneru, founder and CEO of Kony, "... as companies increasingly look to mobile... With the rate at which the mobile landscape is evolving... it's vital... to choose a partner with capabilities across a multitude of devices and channels... to reach their full customer base..."
While Android's open system has outpaced iPhone in consumer adoption, for the last several years, the urgency given to the iPhone has exceeded other operating systems. Last year iPhone surpassed all other operating system priorities that companies felt the need to urgently support by nearly 15%. This year 38% of Fortune 500s claimed that the iPhone is their number one priority operating system, with Android not far behind at 35%.

Top Priority Operating Systems
Mobile System	% of Respondents
iPhone	38
Android	35
Blackberry	18
Windows phone	4
iPad	2
WebOS	1
Other	2
Source: Kony Solutions, September 2011

With the diverse mobile market, brands have come to recognize the importance of reaching consumers not only across a variety of devices, but channels as well. Despite HTML5 mobile web standards gaining traction, mobile web and native apps still top the list in terms of corporate offering priorities, with nearly 30% planning a mobile website and 28% preparing to deploy a downloadable mobile application. SMS campaigns remain the lowest priority channel for brands at 18%.

Planned Mobile Offerings by Type
Mobile Offering	% of Respondents
Mobile website	29%
Downloadable mobile app	28
Tablets	24
SMS	18
Other	1
Source: Kony Solutions, September 2011

Despite the mobile platform's increasing prominence for consumers as a banking, shopping and information gathering tool, only 10% of brands surveyed have fully deployed all aspects of their mobile offering, a decrease of 3% from 2010. Brands are unable to rapidly deploy full offerings to the range of devices, channels and variety of features and functions available.

71% are in the planning stage, or early stages of launching their mobile offerings. This is a 15% increase from the previous year's survey, further proof that brands have come to recognize the significant revenue opportunities that lie within the mobile market.

Mobile Offering For Prospects and Customers
Offering	% of Respondents
Some launched with plans to do more	71%
Planning initial deployment	14
All offerings fully deployed	10
No plans to deploy	5
Source: Kony Solutions, September 2011

Mobile continues to provide brands with opportunities for valuable touch-points with consumers, says the report. Store locators and rating systems help to keep customers in touch and in the loop with their favorite businesses. Other app features, such as coupons, give customers incentives to purchase and repurchase products, all while continuing to use a company's mobile application.

While consumers are expected to increasingly rely on mobile for retail purchasing, 32% of companies remain focused on leveraging mobile for marketing and providing information. Despite market expectations for mobile wallets to gain traction within the next year, only 2% of companies plan to provide mobile wallet capabilities.

Activities Planned to Provide With Mobile Offerings
Activity Anticipated	% of Respondents
Marketing/Information	32%
Sales/Commerce	29
Customer support/service	27
Content	4
Mobile payments	2
News	1
Other	5
Source: Kony Solutions, September 2011

The report concludes by noting that there is undeniable potential for additional revenue streams, deepened brand loyalty and consumer engagement. However the pace at which the mobile market is developing makes it challenging for companies to not only connect with consumers across all devices and channels, but also develop comprehensive long-term strategies.

Please visit Kony here for a brief overview and access to the complete PDF report file.