Smartphones are essential to workforce productivity in today’s mobile economy. A recent Frost & Sullivan survey of 500 managers and executives found that smartphones increased work productivity by an estimated 34 percent. But for cash-constrained small to medium businesses (SMBs), adopting the latest and greatest mobile technologies can often seem out of reach. There are, however, a number of smart strategies, tips and tricks business leaders can embrace to ensure they get the most advanced mobile productivity tools, without breaking the bank. Send your productivity soaring with these five strategies that you can implement today.
Look for Big-Bargain Promotions
Who doesn’t love a great bargain? Good deals are easy to find if you know what to look for. In today’s competitive market, mobile service providers are offering significant deals specifically catered to the needs of SMBs that give you the best of both worlds: an powerful device and an affordable service plan on a reliable network. You can often find deals for older models that pack a powerful punch, and are available at a reduced cost — or even free with a service plan.
Don’t Underestimate the Data Needs of Your Business
Running a business doesn’t mean just talking on the phone anymore — it means texting with your team, using productivity and collaboration apps and accessing customer data stored in the cloud. Your business runs on information, so don’t sell yourself short when it comes to your data plan. Make sure that your contract includes unlimited premium 4G LTE data, talk and text, so your phone can keep pace with how you do business. The last thing you want is to pay a premium or penalty for exceeding your data plan limits.
Don’t Let Device Management Weigh You Down
For small businesses with even smaller IT teams, deploying and managing mobile phones can stretch your limited resources thin. An effective mobile device management (MDM) tool is essential for streamlining the mobile phone management process, letting you easily roll out security updates and new business applications, and ensuring the right security policies are in place. A good MDM tool will quickly pay for itself through the time saved by your IT team and potential mobile security incidents averted.
Make Sure Security Is Baked in, Not Bolted on
According to the Ponemon Institute’s “2017 State of Cybersecurity in Small & Medium-Sized Businesses (SMB)” report, 61 percent of respondents said their companies have experienced a cyberattack in the past 12 months. The need for devices that meet the highest security standards for protection against intrusion, malware and other malicious threats has never been greater. Solutions like Samsung Knox deliver defense-grade, hardware-based security out-of-the-box so you can protect your business’ most valuable assets.
Do More With Your Mobile Investment
Today’s smartphones are as powerful as many laptops. For a lot of modern workers, their phone has already become their primary tool for not just communications, but computing too. Forward-thinking SMBs can now look at ways to consolidate multiple devices — desk phones, desktop computers and laptops, and other single-purpose devices — into one. With advanced productivity and collaboration applications available on devices like the Galaxy Note8 with the S Pen, users can capture ideas on the go or move calls seamlessly between office and mobile devices using one shared number, so you don’t have to worry about missing a call from a customer, partner or team member.
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