Making the most of the ‘mobile office’

Our views on ‘the mobile office’ were featured in this month’s Comms Business Magazine. Here’s the full submission, looking at how we can all work together for better business.

The mobile office is an idea which has emerged over the past few years, as professionals adapt the way they do business to become more flexible, whilst still being able to communicate and cope with the demands of their jobs. The idea of the mobile office however, does come with certain drawbacks.

Whilst technology has been an enabler for business, we can’t lose sight of core values and the inherent need to communicate effectively. Mobile technology has seen us lose control to an extent, and that can’t be good.

We’d like to see MORE human interaction, rather than less, when it comes to business telecoms. Our industry should be an enabler, not an alternative. The truth is, we achieve more face-to-face, and we can’t lose sight of this.

That being said, the benefits of the mobile office are well-documented by telcos, sociologists and business experts. Working remotely can have a positive effect on lifestyle, reduce traffic, stress and chances of illness and remove or reduce fixed costs.

Although it seems obvious that technology can make the way you work easier and more efficient, it’s only ever going to be right for certain industries, and it needs to be done in a smarter way. As with most business solutions, they need to be matched accurately, and tailored to a specific requirement.

To date, no-one has properly sold the concept of the mobile office – rather, alluding to case-studies and anecdotes. There are opportunities out there, particularly with provisioning the RIGHT solutions, in a well-managed and cost effective way.

We can see a scenario, whereby in certain industries resellers have a clear role in delivering a complete outsourced office function to the employee. This can include all telecoms and IT solutions, and even products outside of our remit, such as work wear. Just imagine that turning up by courier, with the employee all set to get stuck in, straight away.