What mobile working can bring to every small business

Sponsored article This article is sponsored by EE.

We can all recognise the enormous benefits going mobile can bring to a business.

It means staff can be more efficient and responsive because they are more readily available and can work on the move. A small business can not only compete more easily with larger competitors but also appear bigger than it actually is.

No business can ignore the current trend towards mobile working, even if business users are still trying to figure out what mix of devices and screen sizes might suit them best.

The market for mobile devices has grown very quickly and the number of devices now being shipped are huge.

According to research house Gartner, worldwide combined shipments of PCs, tablets, ultra-mobiles and mobile phones are projected to reach 2.5 billion units this year. Traditional PCs, including notebooks, account for only 276 million of this total.

Burst of speed

Of course the huge recent improvement in mobile connectivity has been a great enabler for the mobile business. The 4G networks rolled out over the last couple of years have meant business users can be assured of broadband speeds and coverage on the move that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.

For example, EE, whose 4GEE network has the widest coverage in the UK, offers speeds of up to 60Mbps, which is faster than most people’s average fibre broadband speed.

Its 4G network already covers 75 per cent of the UK population and is on track to reach 98 per cent by end of this year. With an asset like this at their disposal, mobile connectivity can become a real game changer for smaller businesses.

But optimising a mobile estate is a process that is fraught with difficult decisions and pitfalls for the unwary. This is especially true for small businesses, which often have limited time and resources to spend on researching options and educating staff.

Cloud on the horizon

Every small business uses mobile devices, including handsets and tablets. How can they best be exploited and how can business owners and managers ensure that they are used in a business-like manner?

Connectivity to enable remote working is now fast, simple and reliable. But how does a small business ensure it is able to take full advantage of cloud-based mobile access technology so that staff have no need to cart all their data around with them?

“Keep it simple” is sound advice in any sphere, and this is certainly true of mobile connectivity. There is nothing to be gained from having many suppliers when just one can provide the coverage and services needed.

Think about the type and pattern of mobile usage your business experiences

It is important to think about the type and pattern of mobile usage your business experiences. How much voice and how much data will you need and what are the likely peaks and troughs through the year?

How many handsets and tablets do you have now and how many more are you likely to acquire? If you carry out any international business and staff are likely to rack up roaming charges, then this too needs to be factored into the decision on which provider to choose.

Then think about what business applications staff will want to use when working remotely and the types of apps available in an operator’s store. Many of the apps now available on phones and tablets are not a compromise when compared with the desktop version.

EE’s cloud-based store of mobile apps includes Sage One Accounts and Payroll. This accounting software specially designed for small businesses offers the same levels of functionality on a handheld or a tablet as the desktop product.

Keep up with apps

Similarly the EE app store offers Office 365, with patches and upgrades all handled by Microsoft. It allows staff to collaborate and keep in sync while on the move by sharing mails, calendars and the like.

If the business needs to access a lot of data on the move, then it also needs to make sure that data is backed up and stored securely in the cloud using a package such as MozyPro, also available in the EE app store.

Customer relationship software from Zendesk and credit management software from Credit HQ are on offer too. These enable customer or management issues to be handled from a mobile device.

No matter how small the business is, a policy that enables the company to discipline any misuse and reclaim unreasonable costs from staff needs to be in place from the outset.

Mobile device management software which allows the company to enforce policies on devices, rather than simply requiring users to adhere to them, is also worth considering.

If there are any doubts about the effectiveness and feasibility of going mobile in a small business, remember that 4G is the game changer here.

Once users experience the speed of 4G, they will want to access everything from everywhere, and they will expect everything to be in the cloud to enable them to do this. ®