Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in SA can benefit from mobile solutions which are tailored to their need for simplicity and affordability, without compromising on security and reliability.
So says Deon Liebenberg, regional director for sub-Saharan Africa at Research In Motion (RIM). “Smaller businesses should start looking at mobilising workers beyond the executive team and embracing applications beyond personal information management and e-mail to reduce costs and improve productivity.”
Many executives employed by SMEs already depend on smartphones to keep up to date with everyday business, yet, this is a small part of the potential that mobile holds for SMEs, he says.
"Even though most businesses are cutting back on non-essential IT spend, those that adopt mobile technologies can use them as an effective competitive tool in a tough trading environment... to field sales and service staff, for example," says Liebenberg.
“Some of the functions SMEs can mobilise with smartphones and mobile applications include time management and tracking, electronic forms completion, document viewing, contact management, customer information, and even billing,” he adds.
According to Liebenberg, some of the factors that have held SMEs back in using mobile solutions include price, a lack of awareness of the benefits, and insufficient knowledge on what to choose.
“Smartphones are steadily dropping in price, and are now affordable through bundles and contracts from most major network operators,” he adds. Mobility platforms have also become increasingly affordable and give smaller-sized businesses most of the features that enterprise-class systems offer, but with less complexity.
RIM recently released BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express, which wirelessly synchronises BlackBerry smartphones with Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft Windows Small Business Server.
It has access to e-mail, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks, as well as other business applications and enterprise systems behind the firewall, Liebenberg states.
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