Roaming resources

The growth in the range of devices that allow users to access information on the move is offering contractors more options on how they work.

To many firms, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, the vast options available can be a daunting prospect to deal with. Many find themselves getting too wrapped up in the technology and confusing terminology such as 3G, GPRS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, UMTS and Roaming rather than actually focusing on the benefits that mobile working technology can bring to the business.

These benefits have been widely documented, from increased productivity and faster response times to client or new business enquiries and flexible working. But what do they actually mean to a business and how are they achieved?

Time is of the essence

Providing staff with mobile working solutions gives them more control over their time. It can also significantly reduce the amount of paperwork that they face as data can be entered and processed electronically. There is no longer the need to take notes manually then enter them onto a firm's system on return to the office, this can be done on site, freeing up time at the office to focus on other tasks.

Mobile working enables staff to make more effective use of their dead time - be it travelling to a client site on a train or simply waiting for a meeting to start. By being able to connect to the internet, e-mail and office systems such as intranets by using a datacard or a Blackberry, staff can check and respond to e-mails and continue to work on documents.

Being able to do this on the move is proving invaluable for firms. It gives staff the opportunity to respond to new business, check the latest information needed for a job or deal with customer enquiries faster than those without these solutions. A rapid response to enquiries from potential or existing customers suggests a firm is on the ball and able to deal with all eventualities.

By finalising tasks throughout the day when they would otherwise not be able to do so until they returned to the office can enable staff to finish tasks more quickly, helping to address and improve their work/life balance.

Flexibility in the workplace will become increasingly important, especially when the EU working hours directive is put in place. By enabling staff to work where they work best, companies can benefit from a happier, more motivated workforce. This in turn can lead to further increases in productivity. The benefits have come full circle.

Selecting a solution

It's clear to see what benefits mobile working can offer. Now comes the tricky part - what devices do you opt for? More importantly, how much should you pay for using these?

Too often, mobility solutions firms have been guilty of offering business customers the most expensive option and inappropriate devices simply because they are the latest product on the market. Mobile working solutions for businesses should be about offering the right device, at the right price for each business, given their individual needs.

For example, it may be more appropriate to provide an out-of-office worker with a Blackberry if all they want to do is be able to respond to e-mails, rather than supplying them with an expensive laptop with Wi-Fi connectivity.

However, a laptop will be significantly more beneficial to someone that spends a lot of time out of the office and needs to be able to work on a large number of documents. The use of a data card combined with wireless connectivity enables the laptop to become an extension of the office. Through this it is possible to connect remotely to a firm's intranet, e-mail and applications.

For field service personnel, a PDA may be the best option. This enables workers to keep in contact with the office so that they can see where the next job is located. It also allows them to capture signatures from customers using the device's stylus and touch screen. Again this reduces paperwork and duplication of effort as there is only one set of information to be inputted on the PDA. This can be e-mailed directly to the firm's system ensuring that field staff have to return to the office less often, enabling them to conduct more jobs each day.

There are a great deal more options available to businesses and the right choice will depend on their circumstances and area of expertise.

Getting the right price

Once you've decided the best devices to use for your different types of staff, the next stage is to ensure that you get the right tariff to support them.

Depending on which tariff is selected, the actual devices can cost little or nothing. But in order to maximise value for money, firms should look to implement a range of tariffs across the group to reflect the usage of each group of workers. There is no point in having two users on the same tariff if one relies heavily on data downloads but minimum voice calls and the other the opposite.

The key here is for firms to discuss their needs with providers of mobile solutions to develop a tailored, simple pricing structure that suits their needs most effectively. In an increasingly competitive marketplace firms should seriously consider the role that mobile technology can play and the benefits that this can bring.

It is critical that firms understand what mobile working actually entails and the benefits it delivers to the bottom line. Simply giving staff Blackberrys in the hope that it will improve productivity is not enough - a Blackberry is an effective tool for responding to new business opportunities while on the move, but other devices might be more suitable to different skill sets.

Once firms understand the benefits that each mobile working option can provide, and the different options available to them, they are a step further along the road to a more productive, flexible and reactive future for both staff and organisation alike.