Get Competitive, Get Mobile May 27, 2007 Mobility to give organizations the competitive edge
By Stacy Straczynski
Rising gas and facility costs have taken their toll on organizations in the last few years. Add in the challenges associated with maintaining an increasingly global staff, and it's no wonder companies readily embrace the latest trends that promise valuable and cost-effective solutions to keep their employees in communication.
According to a new survey conducted by Finland-based communications company Nokia and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the key to staying competitive in today's global market is mobility. The initiative—one that has already saved costs for many companies— is a strategic competitive decision for core business activities in attracting and maintaining top talent professionals and also in streamlining the primary way employees work.
The study polled more than 500 executives globally on whether or not their organizations had implemented mobility initiatives and how often those initiatives were being used. The results show that business mobility is now implemented in most companies and executives report that one fifth of their employees are mobile, spending at least one day a week working outside the office.
Reasons behind the mobility trend overwhelmingly point to retention incentives and brand reputation (75 percent). Other benefits of office mobility include:
* Competitive advantage: 36 percent * Improved collaboration: 27 percent * The ability to work with multiple partners/suppliers: 12 percent
Many companies who have already gone mobile plan to continue to increase their mobile capabilities over the next few years in areas including:
"This research clearly demonstrates that business mobility has arrived, and is viewed as a fundamental part of being competitive regardless of the industry," said Olivier Cognet, Nokia's vice president of strategy and business development for its Enterprise Solutions segment.
Although the survey also cited mobility challenges—including mobile workforce management (19 percent), corporate culture maintenance (18 percent) and measurement of increased competitiveness (12 percent)—most organizations are taking appropriate measures to deal with these obstacles in order to reap the anticipated business rewards.
For more information and to download a complimentary copy of "The Quest for competitiveness: Business Mobility and the Agile Organization," visit www.nokiaforbusiness.com/compete
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