Collins notes that the mobile revolution is the latest major shift in the direction work is taking, following in the footsteps of both the Cloud Computing movement, and the rise of social technologies. As the next step in the natural transformation of how we work within the enterprise, Collins discussed what he feels will make for a truly engaging, and useful enterprise mobile application that will redefine how we work.

He says the great enterprise mobile experience will be made up of three key components.

1. Big Data  

Collins notes that today’s successful software companies such as Google, Facebook, etc are taking information such as your geo-location, calendars, contacts, followers, etc and harnessing all of that context to make your experience more relevant every second of the day.

It’s imperative that enterprise applications continue to drive more engagement and encourage users to provide more data, and more context.  He mentions the idea of “throwaway apps,” applications designed to promote a particular conference or event. What happens when that event is over? Your applications need to keep users coming back every day, over the long haul. So, what do you do with all of this data you’ve collected from such an application?

2. Recommendations 

“If you can recommend to someone, in context, what they should be doing at any given part of the work day, that’s a really powerful thing that will keep people coming back to an app again and again.” notes Collins.

A great enterprise app will certainly recommend relevant documents, files and content from the get-go. As users spend more time with your apps, however, they must be designed to update dynamically as users switch not only positions, but companies as well. Users will connect with new people, learn new skills, and become interested in different areas of expertise. An enterprise mobile app must be ready to meet those ever changing demands.

3. Relevance

At the end of the day, harnessing user data and making accurate, useful recommendations to app users must serve some type of business goal. 

Collins says a great enterprise app must always consider business performance and which of these recommendations will help close more deals and business. “Being able to harness big data, and couple it with all of that great context you’re collecting and be able to recommend the best resources, the best content at the right time to help convince customers, and close more sales. For example: "What are the most relevant resources to show a doctor in order to sell he or she on your medical device, or drug, right there during a sales meeting?" More enlightened sales people will result from having mobile apps at the ready that are consistently upgraded with more informed context and collective intelligence. 

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