CSC Smart Business UK Edition February - Mobility necessity
Mobility necessity
To ensure staff are where clients need them to be, forward-thinking businesses are mobilising their people and data
Modern business is data-driven and so to remain competitive organisations must connect their people, wherever they and their customers need them to be, with both internal and external information, as well as one another.
This requirement is being underlined by clients increasingly expecting the organisations they partner with to work where they are, rather than stay rooted in their corporate offices. For this to happen, people need to be as productive outside of their office as within.
Whether it is through laptops, or increasingly smartphones and tablet PCs, the key is to ensure staff have seamless and secure two way connection to the information they need. This ensures that they not only have unfettered, safe access to data but they can also enrich stored information through insights gleaned outside the office. The alternative is to have the lifeblood of the modern company, its data, sitting in silos which can neither be accessed nor refreshed.
Mobility opportunities
Hence, this mobility requirement should not be seen as onerous, according to Jonathan Marshall, End-User Global Portfolio Director at CSC. Instead it is a huge opportunity for organisations to offer the best possible service, by connecting the people it has out with their customers and suppliers with relevant data and allowing that data to be constantly kept up to date and relevant.
In fact, by mobilising their data, applications and staff, organisations stand a far better chance of winning new business from existing customers as well as making themselves more attractive to prospects.
"Modern companies realise their staff are often achieving a lot more if they're out working with partners and clients," says Marshall. "That time spent face to face is where they build strong relationships and get under the skin of a client's business.
"So, staff need the infrastructure and a powerful mobile device to allow them to be as productive outside of their office as in it. They need to be able to access data in the field and collaborate with colleagues and clients without any hindrance."
Secure devices and connections
The prime consideration when mobilising staff is ensuring that the ability to work where clients require them to be does not compromise data integrity. When an organisation's staff are accessing their own company's data, as well as information stored by customers, and potentially third party partners, security has to be the prime consideration.
"There are some very simple but important golden rules around the device itself," advises Marshall. "Devices have to be encrypted and be set up so they can be blocked and wiped remotely if lost. People may think that a pass code is sufficient but if there's data on a device, someone has the potential to read it."
Just as the smartphone, laptop or tablet PC has to be secure, so too does the connection handling confidential information.
"If the application is going to be used for sensitive information, such as sales figures or financial predictions, we recommend data is routed over a company's Virtual Private Network," says Marshall.
"This provides a secure connection that an application can be set up to log on to automatically. However, for a lot of services employees need, security might not be such an issue. For these we often provide them through a browser, both for our staff and customers. It means a user can work through their device's web browser over their network's own connection or, if there is one, a shared Wi-Fi signal."
Performance and talent gains
The benefit of having staff who can work seamlessly and securely within a customer or supplier's business as easily as their own can never be underestimated, Marshall concludes. In fact, the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology quantified the productivity gain of giving staff unfettered access to the right information at the right time. It believes it leads to a 7% boost in productivity: equivalent to handing out every employee more than two hours of extra capacity per week.
Furthermore, Marshall believes organisations that put in place the network, applications and devices to ensure staff can work where clients need them to be, get a more tangible benefit. If they combine mobilisation with IT flexibility, by allowing staff to select their own mobile device, they will find it easier to attract and retain top talent, he contends.
Today, consumer mobile products are incredibly powerful and staff are likely to have a preference for the device they believe will help them organise their home and work life most efficiently. Organisations that fail to tap in to this "Bring Your Own Device" movement will find it far harder to recruit and retain the top people that will keep clients delighted, Marshall believes. Those who do, will conversely find mobilisation a means of getting data to its people in the field and ensure those people are the best available.
Learn more about CSC’s work in: mobility