Smartphones and tablets are increasingly common in the workplace, with trends like bring-your-own-device (BYOD) contributing greatly to this increase. One benefit of this development seems to be a rise in employee productivity (see this recent Forrester survey, for example) as workers make use of these devices to check emails and stay connected while on the move.
Speaking to our customers about their IT strategy, we have been hearing more and more about mobile apps for business use, typically implemented with a view to further increasing productivity. Our impression has been confirmed by Melanie Turek’s recent article, Mobile Apps Go Mainstream in the Workplace, that discusses the findings from a Frost & Sullivan survey of 300 North American software decision makers. An overwhelming 82% of respondents reported deploying at least one mobile worker app, an increase from the prior year’s survey result of 73%. What’s also interesting is that 79% of those surveyed also plan to deploy additional mobile apps for business in the next year.
These decision makers give various reasons for implementing these apps, which include the common goal of striving for increased employee productivity and efficiency, but also “enhanced customer engagement, increased employee collaboration, cost savings, new revenue opportunities, and competitive advantage.” While these apps are largely deployed onto smartphones, use of business apps on tablets seems to be steadily increasing, and native apps are strongly preferred (77%).
As we’ve discussed before, a well-designed mobile app for business (such as our conferencing app) can provide real benefits to enterprise users. Provided that the app is well-designed for users’ needs (and solves real problems they face), mobile apps for business users will increasingly be necessary to provide high-quality business solutions.
For more posts on Technology Solutions, check out:
BYOD and Productivity: Why You Need a Good Conferencing Smartphone App
Conferencing and Online Meetings: 5 Tips for Choosing a Provider
3 Business Apps Which Solve Problems
