Enterprise Mobility Trends And How To Go Mobile

Managed IT services can help your organization embrace mobile technologies to create a flexible work environment.

Articles published June 20, 2019 by Ben Killion

Recently, we talked about business mobility and the benefits of a flexible and remote workplace. But there’s another side of business mobility that we want to delve into: enterprise mobility.

What is enterprise mobility?

Enterprise in this instance refers to an organization that has multiple divisions or locations that work together to achieve a common purpose. Therefore, the term enterprise mobility describes how these organizations are embracing mobile technologies to create a flexible work environment.

Enterprise Mobility Trends

Let’s dig deeper on some enterprise mobility trends. According to the 2019 IWG Global Workspace Survey, flexible work options matter to employees. Here are some of their key findings:

More than half of employees globally are working outside of their primary office for at least 2.5 days a week
In the US, 82% of businesses are using flexible working as a mechanism to improve employee work-life balance
45% of workers report that businesses are concerned about data security with mobile working
37% of respondents report that ensuring workers have access to all the technology they require to work productively and securely can prove an obstacle to mobility

These statistics reinforce the ongoing trends of flexible and mobile technology solutions and underscore the importance of securing your organizational technology.

Employees seek opportunities to work anywhere, anytime, and on any device. This increases the expectations laid on an organization and the necessity to support technologies that enable such mobility.

More Mobility Leads to More Flexible Technology

If organizations want to satisfy their employees, they need to have the tools and technology in place to make working from home and using additional devices a possibility. This may mean implementing new software, processes, and policies, in order to become truly mobile.

Here are some mobile technologies that organizations are using to increase their mobility and security.

The Cloud

One key way to go mobile is to utilize cloud solutions for application hosting, file sharing, and data storage. When your systems are hosted in the cloud, you don’t have to build, manage, or maintain the underlying hardware infrastructure (like servers and switches). Cloud solutions ultimately simplify your IT operations and can save you money in the long run. This is the foundation to going mobile, as it allows your employees to access your applications from any internet-connected location.

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Even if your technology isn’t hosted in a data center or “cloud,” you can still offer remote access via a VPN connection. This lets remote workers securely log on to the organization’s network from any location. Having a VPN in place allows your employees to establish a secure connection, while still getting their job done effectively.

Unified Communications

Your organization’s phone system should accommodate a mobile workforce. Consider a solution that has features for unified communications to help improve communication and collaboration among remote offices and employees working from home. Examples include: integration of office applications (for features like presence and call lists) and mobility apps to fully integrate your cell phone with your office phone.

Meshed WAN network

A Meshed WAN network creates a totally private and customized network, and is an ideal solution for organizations that have two or more locations. This helps organizations bridge remote locations and makes new ways of doing business possible. Since a Meshed WAN network runs “in the cloud,” you benefit from professional management, advanced security, and flexibility, allowing employees and customers to communicate on one network.

A managed IT service provider can ensure all of these technologies are up and running for your business. While these services aren’t the only ones that an enterprise could use to enhance mobility, they are all favorable for allowing employees to work from home and use other devices. Additionally, they all offer security benefits as well. Statistics from the Citrix report add to the importance of these technologies and show that employees seek organizations that offer the tools and the flexibility to work from anywhere at any time.