With the introduction of 5G, faster wifi speeds and intelligent data processing fuelled by AI, the future is mobile. Work is no longer limited to a bulky desktop computer or even a laptop. Instead, we have seen a tremendous turn towards a mobile workforce. With this paradigm shift playing out, savvy businesses are now looking to the benefits of business mobility to transform their operations.
Given the number of smartphone users worldwide has surpassed three billion now and is forecast to grow by several hundred million in the coming years, this isn't surprising. Mobility apps and devices bring greater productivity and efficiency, which makes business mobility an attractive starting place for any digital transformation initiative.
In fact, 80% of senior IT and business leaders say they believe that their employees can't do their job effectively without a smartphone. In the same study of 500 leaders conducted by Oxford Economics, 75% stated mobile devices were essential to their business workflows.
Digitising your business with enterprise mobility provides a measurable impact with a relatively small amount of effort. So what are the advantages of taking this path? We outline four key benefits of business mobility and how they can transform your operations below.
1. Increase collaboration
Mobile tech like laptops, tablets and phones are no longer the unique territory of the business traveller. As technology evolves in leaps and bounds and tools become more cost-effective to use, all levels of employees are jumping on board the mobility train. With telecommuting, working remotely and flexible-work programmes becoming the norm, mobile has allowed businesses to change the way their employees work without sacrificing the ability to communicate and collaborate.
With collaboration tools like Skype and Slack, employees can stay in touch with each other whether they are in the same room or in opposite corners of the world. With data, documents and content at their fingertips thanks to Enterprise Content Management (ECM) they have all that they need no matter the location or time. Mobility allows employees and teams to be connected, to collaborate and to work anywhere anytime.
2. Improve flexibility
Today's workforce expects the way they work to be mobile. To be able to work just as easily from home, from the bus or from the office. And with this comes the ability to make a real difference in their work-life balance.
One of the benefits of business mobility is that it offers employees the ability to work just as well from the neighbourhood cafe as in the office or to take that super important client meeting even though they're travelling. Mobility means that employees no longer need to wait around in the office for that final approval to come through, they can action it from their smartphone on the commute home instead.
All of this improvement to flexibility thanks to business mobility means employees have more flexibility for work-life balance yet are still getting the job done. This, of course, has significant positive impacts on employee engagement and retention.
3. Increase productivity
With cloud-based business operations, employees can perform their roles from anywhere at any time. Businesses can run from anywhere in the world, in multiple time zones, as employees have the tools to work from anywhere with an internet connection.
Mobility empowers employees to be more productive by bringing their office tasks to their mobile device. Tasks can be actioned whilst waiting for coffee, emails answered cruising at 36,000 feet and approvals given between meetings. Connections in real-time between mobile and systems keep businesses running efficiently and allow employees to optimise their productivity.
4. Increase efficiency
Mobility gives employees the ability to access data, information and content from their device whenever and wherever they need it. It also enables easy and secure sharing and can be used to enhance not only an employee's experience but, in many applications, also the customer experience.
With cloud-based ECM solutions, collaboration tools and the like, content is stored in a version-controlled environment with easily-set permissions, improving the accuracy of data and decreasing the chances of human error, all leading to increased efficiency.
Whether your business has a BYOD program or not, the smartphone-literate employees of today require little training thanks to clever UX design and intuitive applications. Most employees are already familiar with the basics and, in fact, are used to using such apps in their personal lives, so they will be working effectively from day one, increasing process efficiency and reducing costs.
Australian workers are expecting more flexibility than ever from their employers. And with technologies to enable hybrid workforces now readily available, the workplace has changed forever. Download our Guide to Hybrid Workplace Strategy to learn how to implement a resilient enterprise mobility strategy.
