In today’s mobile-first world, fast-growing SMEs are ideally placed to adopt a mobile-only approach to business IT. While this may sound a little radical, there are several reasons why smartphones and tablets can replace burdensome enterprise hardware…
Accelerated Adoption of Lean IT
Given that SMEs and startups generally don’t have large-scale legacy technology infrastructure and systems in place, these businesses can be more agile and leapfrog to a mobile-only approach. As many business leaders are now finding, being geared to operate on-the-go can undoubtedly spur the growth of new and expanding businesses. Indeed, many of the new productivity apps are more efficient and user-friendly than legacy desktop software, making things like payments and document creation far more simple and seamless.
Mobile-Only Mindset Driving Innovation
According to analytics firm ComScore, mobile digital app use has grown by around 50 percent over the past two years. The company has noted that ‘mobile has grown so fast that it’s now the leading digital platform, with total activity on smartphones and tablets accounting for 62 percent of digital media time spent, and apps alone now representing the majority of digital media time at 54 percent.’ It’s no surprise then, that technologists are creating highly innovative and effective tools that align with a mobile-only mindset. For example, the Superbook is a ‘Laptop Body’ that transforms your phone into a laptop. The device uses your phone’s data, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to enable a seamlessly connected experience.
Millennials Want Mobility
For any emerging startup or fast-growing SME, it is becoming critical to attracting young and tech-savvy talent. This generation has grown up with smartphones and social media, and expect to be able to work remotely (preferably off a mobile device). In SA, Millennials represent the largest generation (at 19.5 million) to enter the workforce. They’ll represent over 50% of the workforce by 2020 and 75% by 2030!
Given these statistics, SMEs simply cannot afford to ignore the need for a mobile-first (or mobile-only) approach.
Focus on IT Security
Before diving into this new and seductive idea of smartphone-led business, however, we have to underscore the importance of mobile security. Unsurprisingly, given the shift within the business and consumer ecosystems, mobile is now being described as the new ‘playground’ for cybercriminals and hackers. Worryingly, analysts are finding that the level of protection with regards to security tools for mobile devices is very, very low – making smartphones equivalent to “sieves in our pockets”. Bottom line? Speak to your IT provider to ensure that you have the best protections and strategies in place to keep your mobile environments and data safe!
