The Mobile World Congress has just wrapped up last week, and all the buzz is about the super cool new things we’ll be able do with the magical devices we keep glued to our hands. There was a little bit of everything floating around MWC this year, like phones that allow you to make calls even when you hold them upside down, (which I guess could be helpful if you frequently have problems telling which side is the top side of your phone). But even when we can Google the answers to our wildest questions and share photos of our breakfast, lunch, and dinner from any location with enough service, many business users are still unable to access important work-related information from their mobile devices.
When you consider how much time we spend at our jobs and the extent to which the average employee uses their phone in today’s world, this seems like a bit of an oversight, especially when an increasing amount of employees are working remotely. Mobile access to business documents is especially important to workers who often do their jobs from the field, where even a laptop can be impractically bulky and lacking in the correct functionality.
A great way to remedy this situation is to stop trying to download or save all your files in your email, and connect your mobile device to your content management system. Not only will this mobile workforce solution give you direct access to any documents you need, it gives you the ability to save those documents straight to your phone if you’ll need to use them offline. You’ll essentially have a tiny briefcase in your pocket, except better, because your briefcase will tell you where the closest restaurants are.
The touchscreen most mobile devices now use also offer use cases that may not be possible with a laptop, such as mobile signatures. When it takes an average of 3.1 days to collect a physical signature (according to Ombud Open Research), this functionality can be a huge time saver, even more crucial in positions where time is of the essence.
Direct access to information can make a large difference in not only turnaround times, but fast and informed decision making. Workers in the field will no longer need to wait until they can get back to their office to check their facts and take appropriate action; they can do it straight from wherever they may be.
Mobile workforce trends are increasing steadily, and according to a Cisco study, 3 out of 5 workers now say they don’t need to be in their office to be productive. With numbers like that, organizations with limited mobility could soon be left behind if the speed of their processes cannot keep in pace with those of other organizations. If your business processes are still full of bottlenecks, now may be the time to find a solution!
Need to beef up your content management before you can even think about going mobile? Check out our beginner’s guide to enterprise content management below!
