Mobility will change your business, you just need to jump on-board!
Here’s an interesting stat I came across during the Christmas break: Did you know that in 2014 we reached a technology tipping point where the number of smartphones has outstripped PC’s for the first time in history. While that was 2 years ago (wow time flies!) its an interesting topic to focus on.
When you think about it, mobility has changed our lives in so many ways. We all live on our smart phones or tablet’s. How many people take out their laptop or turn on their PC when they want to Google something? I bet not many. But it’s not just our personal lives where we’ve felt the impact of mobility; it’s arguably had an even bigger impact on business. At Inland Digital we’ve seen first hand the productivity benefits that mobility gives us, it’s really improved the way we do business.
When we look at the wider market however I think there’s still a lot of businesses that haven’t maximised this shift in technology, either through a lack of understanding of what’s available, or maybe a fear of the unknown.
For me, there are a few key areas you can focus on.
Digitise your business information
This for me is the biggest advantage we’ve seen. The ability to improve processes and systems by focusing on digitisation is a huge leap forward and its been powered by mobility. No longer do you need manual, paper driven systems around your business. Now, you can effectively remove process roadblocks or bottlenecks around your business and keep your team focused on productivity rather than administration.
There are software solutions across the board now that mean you can effectively manage tasks, such as a document sign off, completely from your smartphone. We’ve made Inland Digital a completely ‘digital’ business. For example, being to able to input information into our back office systems directly from my smartphone while on the road is a huge productivity advantage. If you haven’t embraced this already I’d suggest it’s a great first step.
Access information anytime, anywhere
Digitising your business not only powers productivity through improving processes; it also drives your ability to access information whenever you need it. This ability to stay connected to the office is massive, particularly if you have sales or technical staff on the road. Within our business we’re even putting all our back office HR forms onto a solution that gives our team mobile access. You really don’t need to be tied to your desk at all: It gives us the ability to work anywhere and whenever we want…and it’s this point that may have scared a few businesses into avoiding it altogether!
Does this mean you should allow a major cultural shift and let everyone work from home? For me there’s a happy medium; you just need to get the balance right between the office vs. working remotely. Overall the advantages mobility has given us, in terms of keeping us connected while on the move is huge.
Smart technology
There’s no doubt that the multitude of apps and tools available on your tablet and smartphone will continue to grow. While not everything we’ve seen has always been positive; for example, gambling apps that require two clicks to spend your life savings, there’s no doubt the app boom has made our lives easier. Think of all the advancements in health, transport, and education we’ve seen powered by smart technology and mobility working together.
We’ve seen this too in the office technology game. I’ve lived through everything from the introduction of colour printing to the shift to managed print services. Mobile is no different: You can easily print and scan from your smartphone or tablet. That alone adds up to a massive increase in your productivity.
If you haven’t truly embraced the mobile technology generation at work yet, my advice is to give it a go: It’ll change the way you work.