You always read that “business has changed”. This is true because society has changed; and technology supports this new normal. More people use their mobile devices for a majority of their communication, their browsing, and a lot more, and it is changing the way business is conducted; it’s just not always easy to separate work use from personal usage. Let’s take a look at some of the ways mobility has changed the way people approach work, and how that shift in perspective has changed business.
The Rise of Mobile
The rise of business mobility didn’t just happen overnight, but it was a fairly rapid ascension. It’s been years since mobile has overtaken desktop computing for most things. In fact, nearly 70 percent of all computing is now done using mobile devices; and the number grows every year. As mobile devices get bigger, get extra screens, and gain substantial (and downright impressive) computing capabilities, it stands to reason that people would be using them more to do work-related tasks.
Here are some of the ways people are utilizing their mobile devices to enhance their professional lives:
Urgency
Many businesses are being forced to do more with less and that means that many times the people responsible for the generation of a product or service are also responsible for the support of it. If a client has a problem outside of work hours, employees might be asked to handle support calls with clients when off the clock. Technology has come far enough that this can happen at any time in nearly any place.
Triggers
The smartphone has become a professional’s most useful tool when it comes to jotting down notes or researching things off the cuff. For example, say you see something in a shop window or on a flier, you can immediately get more information in seconds with your smartphone. Businesses have been leveraging this notion for some time. Say an idea comes to a project manager off the clock. If this manager doesn’t want to wait to inform his/her team about it, they can simply update the collaboration software or send direct messages to the team members that would be able to act on this information.
Project Management and Scheduling
One of the most important parts of any business is the management of the worker and the dissemination of tasks. Project management software has come a long way to where now there are mobile apps that can keep teams in the know and up-to-date while also providing communication, file sharing, and much more.
Networking
Since your employees are constantly using their phones to check social media, browse the web, and communicate with the people in their lives, it stands to reason that you can make it work for you. Encouraging your employees to network and find products and services that are in competition with yours can really help them understand your business better and it can result in better ideas flowing through your collaboration apps.
Issues with the Mobile Workforce
While more and more workers seek additional flexibility and embrace the intrusions that sometimes come with it, some workers are concerned that they are being taken advantage of. For example, some workers don’t want to be bothered with work-related issues when they are off the clock. They don’t want their superiors and contemporaries blowing up their phone to send memes or give suggestions on how they can do their job better when they are out to dinner on a Friday night.
For a long time, business owners tried to find a solution for the loss of productivity they would see when their employees would check their phone five times a minute throughout the workday. With the advent of mobile device management software, Bring Your Own Device policies, and cloud-based management and productivity applications that make it easier to use the mobile device than it is to return to a workstation to do a litany of business-centric tasks, businesses have tools that can help them provide the flexibility their employees demand, while also facilitate getting work done.
There is a lot of technology out there that can help you enhance your business through mobility and we can help point you in the right direction. If you would like to talk to one of our IT professionals about enhancing your business’ mobile footprint, give us a call today at 800.618.9844.
