Essential Qualities for a Business’ Mobile Device Policy

Nowadays, every business should have a mobile device policy, because mobile phones have become such a heavily integrated form of technology in our lives. More than 80% of the world’s population use smartphones, and the fast-paced nature of modern business means the mobile devices can help a business keep up with demand (and their competition). We discussed mobile device policy with a company that provides IT support services London businesses use to help manage their own tech, which often includes mobile devices.

Benefits & Challenges of Business Mobiles

When we spoke with the IT provider, they discussed what they feel are the main benefits and challenges around using mobile devices in business.

Advantages:

• Staff Mobility – Our contact said that as an IT support provider London business rely on, they often need to perform callouts to clients – in which case, their Field Engineers need a mobile device to maintain communications even when they’re out of office..

• Increased Productivity – Tying into the previous point, when staff are able to communicate with work, and even access their data and resources via their mobile device, it means they can continue working out of the office, which can greatly improve business productivity.

• Remote & Hybrid Work – Staff that use business mobile devices have the option to work remotely, because there is no barrier to their work.

• Customer Service – Using mobile devices can also enable staff to deliver better customer service. Like we mentioned about IT support providers who perform callouts to clients, staff can engage in much more flexible communication with customers.

Challenges:

• Cost – Equipping every member of staff in the organisation with a dedicated business mobile phone can be costly; not to mention additional costs, such as insuring phones, purchasing tariffs, replacing accessories such as chargers, etc.

• Work-Life Balance – Having round-the-click available may erode employee’s boundaries around when they are working, and when they are off the clock. Having poor work-life balance can actually affect productivity in the long run.

• Lifecycle Management – A company needs to consider the lifecycle of the business mobile devices they use. For instance, when does a particular device become outdated? Is the next model backwards compatible with the accessories used for the outdated model?

• Security – There is the risk that employees will use their business mobile to access non-business resources, such as personal emails or social media. This can create a risk of corporate data leaking out of the organisation. Likewise, if a business implements a Bring Your Own Device policy without proper security measures, this risk is even bigger.

Essential Considerations for a Business Mobile

1. Meets Environmental Demands – Consider the environment in which a business phone will be used by staff. Will the devices be deployed in a factory floor or warehouse? Is it likely to be dropped on hard surfaces, or get wet? Consequently, the phone should be equipped to deal with whatever environment it is deployed in.

2. Software Compatibility – Your business probably uses a range of applications and services to fulfil daily workloads, but are those software supported on the mobile devices you are acquiring? Some apps may only be available on a specific mobile operating system (iOS or Android).

3. Sufficient Battery Life – This is tied to the environmental demands of the phone. If staff are just going to be using their business mobile in the office, or while working from home, then they should be able to charge it on demand. However, for field workers, or people travelling for work, battery life is an important consideration.

4. Ease of Use – The business mobile model you choose should have a user interface that everyone is happy with. This is sometimes why business opt to standardise mobile devices, so that everyone has the same model and interface, and it is easy to train new staff in using them.