Small Business IT Trend: Mobile Technology as a Competitive Advantage

Remember the days when your day at the office literally mean working from behind a desk surrounded by colleagues? Times are certainly changing and mobile technology is a driving force behind the transformation that is changing where and when business is being done. The exciting part? Small business is one of the biggest benefactors of the new trend.

What’s Driving The Trend?

In February, Nielsen reported that 50% of all mobile subscribers owned a smartphone. As competition in the the smartphone space increases, prices continue to fall, and people fall ever so deeply in love with the utility that owning a smartphone provides, the rate of adoption is only going to quicken. As it does, more IT staffs are scrambling to accommodate what’s been dubbed as the “Bring Your Own Device” trend.

The interesting part is that while all companies are adjusting to the impact smartphones are having on their IT staff and operations, small business is clearly viewing mobile as a way to create a competitive advantage. The infographic above highlights a couple interesting statistics that signal the importance that mobile technology has for today’s small business IT strategy, but that’s just the beginning. In a recent eMarketer survey 91% of small businesses said that mobile technology is important to their business.

With numbers like that the biggest question in the minds of SMB’s isn’t whether they should be looking to enabling their workers with better mobile tech, rather the question is really, “what the heck are those other 9% thinking?”

How To Get Started

For small business owners that want to make the step toward a more mobile and productive workforce, Microsoft recently shared partner offers for new smartphones and other mobile devices that come bundled at a discount with Office.

You can read the initial blog post here that also offers up some examples on how small business is utilizing mobile technology.

Read more:

• Survey: Small Businesses Love Mobile Technology