5 ways Instant Apps could mobilize workforces on Enterprise Planet

In a classic scene in The Matrix, Neo wakes up from a simulation machine and says "I know Kung Fu". What if employees could experience this type of instancy for information and actions they need for work tasks? That was the promise of enterprise mobility, yet as I've argued in a previous post,  enterprise mobile apps remains a late 90's desert in an ocean of 2016 consumer mobility. In this  post, I share my views on Instant Apps, announced at Google I/O and its enterprise potential. (For instant apps and Google/Android strategy go here and here). 

If you're new to enterprise mobility, allow me to introduce you to Consumer Planet and Enterprise Planet. On Consumer planet, each day is exciting. There are ~3 B smartphone users, everyday Americans or Syrian refugees - mobility is reaching everywhere. We're awash with amazing apps and quirky bots and Virtual/Augmented Reality on phones. On Enterprise planet, its still err... different. Its like going to an IMAX movie on Sunday night and switching on B&W TV Monday morning. We are employees. We have a few cool mobile apps like Box and Slack and Evernote, and but for the most part, daily work tasks are tethered to desktop and web apps, some of which may just never be mobile. 

So what are Instant Apps and how can they help Enterprise planet? Instant Apps allow apps to be streamed to a mobile device without installation. You tap a link and go directly to a specific portion of the app. Here's a quick video.

What can instant apps do to accelerate the mobilization of enterprises?

1. Trailer, not movie. Experience an app without full installation

Let's be honest. Downloading apps isn't as sexy as it first was in 2008 when the iOS App Store first came out. Finding and installing apps are just extra layers of friction to get users inside the actual app. On Enterprise Planet, cumbersome internal stores have further impeded app distribution. With Instant Apps, employees could experience slices of apps and decide whether they want an app. Didn't like that expensing app whose screen you just used? No need to install! 

2. Golden paths, not full forest. Go directly to critical resources

In the pre SaaS world, a dirty secrets in enterprise software was most portions of enterprise applications are simply never used. Yes, SaaS and mobile apps are better designed and updated frequently, but even then, for many employees, the holy grail is seeing only what you need to see to do what you need to do. Enterprise Planet already has other issues like passwords and VPN and cloud security, if you can just provide secure access to 1 screen and the 2 actions a user needs, you can make everyone so much more productive. 

But how could you activate and light up these instant apps across the workplace?

3. Slack + Instant App Links = Better Workflows?

Instant Apps could fit right into the new world of work collaboration. Slack has not only reduced email usage in companies, Slack will soon talk back to you with AI infusions. Imagine a world where you Slack a link standing in a coffeeshop line. Your colleague at the airport taps that link, opens up just the app resources they need, and tap out a few responses, all in seconds. For complex tasks you make it easier for a user to think about and act on a piece of information in the context of a conversation, versus start from a cluttered apps home screen. 

4. Beyond Mobility. Instant Apps for IoT?

Mobility is not just what happens on a tablet or 6'' mobile device. "Mobility" has gone to some workers in manufacturing facilities at Boeing and Tesla faster than to some knowledge workers in Silicon Valley because companies like APX Labs have built productive mobile optimized flows for data lookups, quick actions, and collaboration. IoT apps are just getting started and an Instant Apps approach could help create relevant app slices from current Android, iOS and WIN apps and extend the life of those apps with new form factors and users. 

5. Instant Apps for customers, suppliers and the world

Given the limited success companies have had with equipping their own employees with full powered mobility, it is no surprise that other parts of the ecosystem, e.g. suppliers often get traditional portals first before they get any mobile apps. How do you reach an audience spread across Marshmellow (only 7.5% of the install base), Jellybean, WIN 8, WIN 10, and iOS to even deliver the most basic content and actions? The Instant Apps approach could help achieve a baseline experience of enterprise mobility across more company ecosystems. 

Will Instant Apps scale and should I do anything about it?

While Instant Apps from Google and Apple's app thinning technology hold promise, it won't happen without fixing mindsets. Alex Austin of Branch Metrics succinctly argues that first most companies will need to shift from a "mobile web is good enough" mindset. Mobile-First shouldn't just be an empty slogan. (Alex also adds that marketing services aren't ready to support apps - spot on). 

So if you're an Enterprise Planet CEO looking to mobilize, get an intern to keep tabs on Instant Apps. Run a few experiments. If you're an Enterprise UX Designer, this is an opportunity to revisit user stories and visualize enterprise resources as bite-sized pieces of information and 1-tap actions.