MOBILITY
Staying within Arms Reach
How does mobile fit into the collaboration puzzle?
One of those universal experiences we share is turning up the first day of a new job. Along with getting to the office before most of your new colleagues, taking a seat and waiting for someone to tell you what to do, a common activity for the first day is to take a trip to the IT department and get the technology you’ll need in your new role. In years gone by, a work phone would be one of the first things that you’d be given, along with a laptop, a handful of accessories, and a bag to carry it all in if you were lucky. But in the age of collaboration platforms for internal communications, video conferences for business-to-business meetings, and VoIP for customer interactions, the mobile phone could, in theory, be redundant. However, that school of thought was quickly shut down by Kristian Torode, Director of Business at mobile provider Crystaline, who said that there is a place for mobile in modern businesses, and we’ve grown accustomed to the benefits of mobility for a long time. “The real rise of business mobile took place with the insurgence of BlackBerry,” said Torode. “Its encrypted messaging function, BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM, introduced the concept of business mobiles into many companies, providing a secure way to communicate outside of the office. “The ‘businessman’s best friend’ offered many of the features we see in modern unified communications (UC) systems, such as file sharing and the option to create groups. Mobile communications have continued to flourish since then, with almost 60 per cent of business leaders claiming their smartphone is the device they use most to run their operations. “However, recent years have seen decreasing investment in dedicated business mobiles. Instead, there has been a move toward ‘bring-your-own-device’ (BYOD)
policies, wherein employees use their smartphones for business communications. BYOD offers both cost and time-saving benefits, as employees are able to use an interface they are already familiar with. The rise of UC systems combining voice, messaging, video and file sharing that can be downloaded across multiple devices also facilitates the move to BYOD.” Enhancing Productivity As businesses slowly modernise telephony, the question of who needs a smartphone from the company and who can make do with their personal device will cross the minds of business leaders. Work modes and profiles for businesses have been features that employees can set up for getting on for a decade, and the savings businesses can find will also be enticing for some of those in the finance department. Ash Miri, Founder of Air Landline, said that the advantages of business mobiles should not be limited to certain types of employees.
Kristian Torode Director of Business
crystaline.uk
almost
60%
of business leaders claiming their smartphone is the device they use most
to run their operations
CONTINUED
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