How Is Mobility Revolutionizing Businesses? Whatever mobility means to you – be it the ability to work freely anywhere on any device, remote connections to corporate networks or accessing emails and files from mobile devices – there is little dissent that mobility has completely transformed the way we do business. With mobility enabling more flexibility and productivity than ever before, organizations can respond to changes quicker and in a cost effective manner. It then comes hardly as a surprise enabling business on mobile has become a priority for most organizations, today. According to Forrester Research, 29 percent of the global workforce are already “anytime, anywhere” workers and Gartner predicts that mobile app projects will outnumber PC-focused app projects by a ratio of 4:1 by 2015. What are the benefits of mobility? Portability– the ability to use a mobile device anywhere extends the digital communication and capability to all employees. The ability to execute tasks more efficiently– file sharing and collaboration tools, access to corporate networks and the elimination of time-consuming paperwork. Increased productivity and flexibility– File sharing applications, cloud access to business servers and the freedom to carry out work from any destination, with mobile data capture solutions being able to integrate the content into business processes. Quicker response to customers– Businesses can remain in touch with customers regularly, receive feedback quickly and rapidly react to any customer issues. Improved job satisfaction– Additional flexibility can make for happier, more motivated employees, offering an improved work/life balance, a reduction in the need for commuting or travel and less need for a rigid nine-to-five working day. Using a mobile device (such as a tablet or smartphone) comes with additional mobility benefits too, including: Real-time data capture and connectivity– The ability to capture and upload data to systems (inspection data added on location in real-time, for example), or take part in real-time engagement with customers. Geo location– Location based services can add value to captured data, help with recording or logging location-specific data or locating users and devices. Cameras– Field or remote based workers can share knowledge visually with photography or video. This content can be uploaded or shared quickly. The rise of BYOD With mobile workers increasingly embracing the mobile functionality of smartphones and third-party applications to optimize and enhance their productivity, businesses are becoming far more accepting of personally owned devices and how they empower people to do work in the way that best suits them. In fact BYOD (bring your own device) is starting to become the norm, with apps for messaging, social media, file sync and sharing being used for work purposes. The main drawback of mobility at this stage are the legitimate concerns of IT departments. This isn’t just limited to fears about security and the volume of (often identified) devices connecting to a business network. Worries about complying with regulatory mandates, privacy, app vulnerabilities and concerns about content being saved into unknown repositories can be understandable headaches. Even so, mobility isn’t likely to be going anywhere soon. IT departments are finding new solutions to manage security, employees are enjoying a new sense of freedom and businesses can enjoy the benefits of being able to work closely with employees who use a device that is kept within arm’s reach at almost all times. Newgen Softwareis a leading global provider of Business Process Management (BPM), Enterprise Content Management (ECM), and Customer Communication Management (CCM) solutions. With a global footprint of 1000 installations in over 50 countries, the company is credited with large, mission-critical deployments at the world’s leading banks, insurance firms, BPOs, healthcare organizations, government agencies, telecom companies, and shared service centers.
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