Maria Grant, Intercity's Product Director, recently spoke with EnterpriseManagement360.com and answered a number of key questions around mobile working:
- What are the pros and cons of mobile working from the point of view of a C-level decision maker, the business and employees?
- Where do you see mobile working in the next decade or beyond?
- Can you see entire companies having no offices, and what would be the consequences?
- What software and/or hardware solutions are available to manage the network?
What are the pros of mobile working from the point of view of a C-level decision maker, the business and employees?
The pros of mobile working vastly outweigh the cons. Mobile working can offer employees a better work-life balance, improving employee happiness and staff retention. Giving staff the freedom to achieve work objectives when and where they want can be a truly empowering notion and encourages better performance rather than presence.
In terms of business benefits, you can’t argue with the fact that the happier an employee, the more productive they are, and therefore the more they contribute to the bottom line growth of the business. Employers can get the most out of their staff by removing workplace distractions and allowing them to work when they’re most alert by facilitating the means to work from anywhere at any time.
Remote working can also reduce recruitment costs and overheads since office space requirements are lowered. Taking advantage of the cloud has further positive cost implications for businesses when adopting mobility strategies around BYOD, as it means they don’t need to invest in expensive hardware.
The most important step to adopting mobile working is to realise that work is something you do rather than somewhere you go. Using this terminology can help C-level decision makers approach technology with the right context in mind and help them better see the advantages of adopting new products and services.
Where do you see mobile working in the next decade or beyond? Can you see entire companies having no offices, and what would be the consequences?
We aren’t likely to see remote working completely replacing the office environment any time soon. More than anything an office gives an organisation a physical identity and a sense of being ‘real’.
What we will see though is mobile working becoming the norm for many companies and businesses needing less space to operate out of. For example, our office in Holland has more employees than there are desks, to encourage our ‘work from anywhere’ policies. Consumers already access more data than ever before on-the-go, and enterprise applications are on the rise. But it is important that businesses balance the need for user familiarity with their business needs.
What software and/or hardware solutions are available to manage the network?
Mobile devices are getting more sophisticated and are more like hand-held computers now. Many of these offer solutions specifically designed for work, providing secure document sharing through the likes of Watchdox and encrypted voice calls through programs like Movirtu and Secusmart, for example.
Any good service provider should also offer control of these investments by delivering Software-as-a-Service so that all devices can run the same business-critical software, as well as providing appropriate managed services.
It’s important that businesses are able to monitor and manage those who are working remotely. It is therefore wise to adopt an enterprise mobility management or mobile device management strategy in order to fully take advantage of what remote working has to offer.
The main key to success is connectivity – investing in private networks, secure hosting and monitoring services and working with high-end providers.
Organisations must remember that their requirements are bespoke. Simply taking ‘off-the-shelf’ mobile working solutions won’t deliver the right results. A strategy needs to be designed with users in mind at a budget a company is comfortable with. Think about how it will scale with the business, and build in review points to ensure the technology tools are always appropriate. Be open to change, be active in the market and ask lots of questions.
