Do all those mobile devices you and your team carry boost or reduce productivity? New research suggests mobile productivity is on the rise. Azzurri surveyed 188 UK-based IT decision-makers. Respondents represented a broad set of industries. 65.1% were from companies with fewer than 200 employees. The study found that mobile devices are already increasing workforce productivity. Yet the biggest gains are still to come.
If it seems everyone has a mobile device it’s because it’s virtually true. Nearly 96% of employees work from a smartphone or tablet at least occasionally. Workers are essentially evenly split between working from mobile devices “several times a day”, “a few times a day” and “not very often”. An additional 2.7% work exclusively from mobile devices.
IT leaders were also asked whether device access led to greater productivity. Over 90% of managers said they had noticed gains. Almost half (46.7%) noted mobile productivity gains were substantial. The intuitive takeaway is that move universal access has driven greater mobile productivity.
Arguably the same tools that drove corporate adoption of web tools are driving mobile productivity. Email was overwhelmingly the greatest contributor to the productivity, scoring 4.7 on a 5-point scale. This was followed by file-sharing/data access. (3.9) and CRM/customer info (3.5).
Tools with lesser value, today, include features real-time communication tools. They include web conferencing (2.8), instant messaging (2.8), and video conferencing (2.9). These features were also laggards as web productivity tools too. Their importance grew rapidly once hardware (for example, built-in webcams) and connectivity (greater access to broadband) became lower cost and more broadly available – history will repeat itself.
Even more IT leaders, 95%, said further mobile productivity gains are possible. These will stem from enhanced communication and collaboration. 37.8% of managers suggest gains will be substantial. The most popular mobile priorities for 2015 are workflow management (60.7%), video conferencing (57.4%), and video calls (59.3%).
Prioritization of voice calls will fall dramatically. 95.1% of respondents said this was a priority for 2014. Yet just 11.0% will focus on this area next year.
Can anything impede the mobile productivity momentum? If anything, IT leaders suggest mobile security. This was a concern for nearly half (46.8%) of respondents. Some were resistant to mobilize activities like CRM for fear of outsiders gaining access to their customer data.
Most likely though, growth in mobile productivity will continue for several years. New apps, more efficient tools, like Greetly's iPad Receptionist app, and better security will override concerns and resistance.
Photo credit: Michael Coghlan