Is Mobile Expense Management The Key To Vendors?

Thanks in large part to the rise of smartphones and tablets, bring-your-own-device (BYOD) is hardly a new term in the business world. But organizations can integrate mobile in more ways than just letting employees use their iPhone for work purposes.

With enterprise mobility management (EMM) tools, for example, companies can implement mobile devices, wireless networks and related services to better enable mobile computing in a business context.

According to a recent report from Kable, this is becoming an increasingly common trend, as EMM vendors are increasingly offering mobile telecom expense management. Additionally, mobile device management (MDM) vendors are adding more mobile application and content management to their enterprise offerings.  Mobile telecom expense management options are also on the rise, the report explained, adding that mobile expense management can help vendors provide a complete mobility suite to enterprises.

“Continuous development in the field of mobility such as enhancements in wireless technologies, the availability of advanced mobile devices and applications are providing momentum to the rising trend of enterprise mobility,” explained a press release on the Kable survey. “ICT vendors are also keen to shift their focus on improving their mobile capabilities in order to cater for the growing demand of mobility solutions amongst enterprises.”

The EMM market is undergoing a transformation, explained the press release, with MDM vendors enhancing their capabilities in mobile application platform management (MAPM), mobile content management (MCM), and mobile telecoms expense management (MTEM). With stronger offerings in these areas, MDM vendors will be able  to provide businesses with a complete suite of EMM offerings, the report said.

Kable also noted that out of the total EMM market size, the top 10 vendors contributed 37 percent of total revenues last year, an increase from 35.7 percent in 2012. This shows that the top vendors are perhaps providing stronger options, and businesses are increasingly opting for those EMM tools.

Even if a business is not sure if it is ready to “go mobile” with its expense management system, looking into those types of automated options can save money and time. PYMNTS.com reported in June that cloud-based systems or automated software can help businesses streamline their tax processing and payment structures.

For example, the cloud-based expense management system called Tallie wants to simplify companies’ expense report process. With a mobile-enabled solution, Tallie can automatically capture, categorize and process expense transactions, and integrate seamlessly with leading accounting systems, according to the company website.

Then, there is Taulia, a dynamic discounting company that has an innovative take on how suppliers and buyers conduct business with one another. PYMNTS.com spoke with Chief Marketing Joe Hyland on July 22, and he said that with Taulia, buyers can customize their entire supply chain. Suppliers are broken into sub-groups that each have a different financing offer in front of them. The supplier associate can then chose to accept the dynamic billing option. Taulia also offers this service on a mobile device.

Mobile expense management seems to be just the latest in a line of automated options that businesses can use to keep their finances in check. While it is not yet required for companies to use these expense management systems, the Kable report shows that more EMM tools are likely being developed. So instead of companies asking whether EMM is right for them, perhaps the bigger issue is choosing the best EMM option for their business.