Put small-business time to good use

Time is crucial to business and even more so in the SME space. Here staff is the greatest expense, so empowering them to work smarter and more efficiently using mobile technologies makes good business sense, says Craig Brunsden, Chief Marketing Officer, Axiz.

SMEs are very much the growth engines of the world's economies, and in South Africa it was estimated that there were 600 000 small businesses in operation at the end of 2007. Success is not easy, but the indications are that those businesses that have survived up to five years tend to be more competitive through investment in better tools, technologies and services to support their business.

Service calls, remote visits and travel play a big role in the day-to-day operations of SMEs, Brunsden says. “If the proper tools are provided to them, employees can achieve greater efficiency and produce far more output. While many SMEs are equipping staff with common mobile technologies like notebooks and cellphones, very few have extended this functionality into more complex technologies like wireless networking and mobile broadband.”

According to Meta Group, on a global basis notebook users increase their work output hours by an average of 13% per week versus their desktop counterparts through increased efficiency. Research also indicates that businesses that embrace mobility by providing notebook computers to their employees gain an average of six hours per week of useful work per employee over those fixed to desktop PCs.

“SME owners or managers will find it difficult to dispute what mobility can do for them,” says Brunsden. “Mobility means that unproductive time - on planes, in hotel rooms, at airports and in coffee shops, for instance - becomes a thing of the past. Equipped with easy-to-use products such as a notebook and handheld devices, staff can deal with their workloads more promptly, with more flexibility and more efficiently, making their company more competitive.”

The reality today, however, is that the adoption of mobile technologies usually starts and ends with the SME owner. If the owner doesn't perceive the technology to be useful, nor understand its potential, then they will be reluctant to adopt it. The level of computer literacy of the owner and a lack of knowledge on how to use the technology can also result in the business being less likely to adopt it. This is where seeking advice from professionals is imperative.

Brunsden believes that IT is one of the biggest enablers to the development of SMEs in South Africa, but these businesses are being left behind in the race to embrace mobile and wireless technologies because the options are becoming too complex and the choices too bewildering. “As we move towards the reality of an undefined wireless world, the challenge for vendors is how to make connectivity manageable, simple and adaptable so employees can access the information they need, wherever and whenever it's needed, cost-effectively and without compromising their company's security,” he says.

For SMEs, extending the network and providing constant connectivity gives their employees the agility they need to profit from fast-changing business conditions. They can respond to customer needs faster, which in turn helps to enhance customer loyalty and increase customers' lifetime value. In essence, Brunsden says, how to get the most from mobility is to focus on how mobile technology can adapt to the way you work, as opposed to adapting the way you work to the technology.