Mobile eTMF: Once A "Would-Be-Nice". Now A "Must-Have"!

By Larissa Polejaev, myTI Product Manager, Trial Interactive and William Mellinger, Communications and Product Strategist, TransPerfect Life Sciences

Mobile devices, and the apps that live on them, have become as attached to us as our purses and wallets. While there will always be a debate about when, where, and how much time people should spend on their phones, there is no debate to be had about how easy they can make accessing information and accomplishing tasks on the go. Every day people pull up their navigation application to get from point A to point B, log in to their bank account to scan and cash a check, look up a piece of trivia on their mobile browser, jot down a world-changing idea in their favorite note-taking app, manage personal tasks with a task manager, shop conveniently, set reminders, manage their schedule, send emails, chat, text, take pictures… simply put, we use our mobiles to do just about everything!

Mobile applications are streamlined, simplified extensions of the things we already do—both personally and professionally. In the world of business software, these mobile extensions are all about placing important insights and processes at the user’s fingertips. These micro experiences demonstrate an ability to distill all of the power of a platform down to a focused set of data and features that are the most advantageous to have available at any time. Just as a copywriter is tasked with developing a deep understanding of the business to summarize a brand in a single tagline, product teams must similarly shrink the exhaustive capabilities of enterprise business software down to the most practical features for a mobile use case, based on the needs of their users. Companies vetting software should not overlook the extent to which a mobile experience can illustrate real empathy and understanding for their business needs. Moreover, there is no longer any reason for a platform not to offer a mobile experience to lend convenience and efficiency to users; we are far enough into the rise of mobile that it should now be expected.