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1. Workforces are increasingly mobile
This "work anywhere" concept is not new in Asia-Pacific – 60% of all employees already required remote or mobile access to complete their tasks out of the office before the pandemic.1 As many as 79% of companies plan to permanently shift to more remote work after the health crisis eases2. Workers need to get things done while working from home, on the go, or from a shared workstation or hot desk. Forty-three percent of workers say the ability to work flexible hours, remotely and on-the-go, is a must-have.3 This shift in the workforce dynamic requires a rethink of workplace technology.
2. Employees prefer mobile
According to a survey by GfK, mobile workers spend one-third of their day working on their smartphones and can get half of their work done from these devices. That effectiveness led 62% to say they'd be willing to give up their PC entirely, provided they could connect their smartphones to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The flexibility that comes with mobile can also impact your ability to attract and retain talent.4
3. Your business is already heavily invested in enterprise mobility
Most companies have used smartphones and tablets for many years. Chances are, your company has already adapted and supports enterprise mobility in a significant way. Enterprise mobility initiatives can include investing in mobile devices, MDM/EMM software, apps and processes such as stipends for personal smartphones used for work, or, most likely, all of the above.
4. BYOD is an ineffective mobile strategy for long-term digital transformation
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is a short-term solution for enterprises that allows additional mobility but leaves PCs as the hardware centrepiece. On the other hand, an enterprise-led mobile strategy such as Choose Your Own Device (CYOD) or Company-Owned/Personally Enabled (COPE) is a firm commitment to a mobile future. Issuing mobile devices to employees can achieve greater security, management, and effective use of applications at a similar long-term cost. According to an Oxford Economics study, BYOD companies consistently see less benefit from their mobile investments versus those that provide devices.5
5. Supporting both PCs and smartphones strains IT budgets and resources
Managing smartphones can place a strain on IT resources — unless the mobile devices replace your PCs. It's time for IT departments to take a hard look at the costs and time required to support increasingly duplicative infrastructures. If you can transition early to mobile-only, the cost savings and increased focus obtained are significant.
6. Mobile technology has reached a tipping point where it can deliver a full desktop computing experience
Smartphone processor power, storage and screen size, and work-anywhere capabilities such as Samsung DeX, complemented by 5G connectivity, can make "turn any space into a workspace" a reality. Since smartphones are typically upgraded more often than PCs, your employees are likely carrying phones with just as much computing power as their PCs.
7. Software and service providers are focusing app investment and innovation on mobile platforms
Software vendors have embraced mobile apps, and like enterprise IT departments, they want to cut down on duplication of effort. In a recent Gartner study, the market for enterprise application software is growing steadily, with many companies looking to shift partially or entirely to SaaS solutions.6 New players are building new, more powerful mobile apps with less effort and in less time. In that light, it's unsurprising that vendors are moving to mobile as fast as they can persuade their customers to join them.
8. Business apps are increasingly cloud-based
Concurrent with the rise of mobile has been the increase in cloud computing for business, with each enabling the other. Storing apps and data in a central cloud is easier to secure and update, while mobile devices represent the perfect gateway to the cloud. This shows a fundamental shift in computing needs — away from physical, on-premise storage and toward securing the connection to cloud and SaaS applications.
9. Mobile-only will help IT by streamlining device management and enabling more focused innovation
Having to invest time and money to support legacy infrastructure such as PCs is complicated and costly. It keeps IT constantly looking back to the past instead of focusing on future innovations. It's time to welcome innovation, jump into mobile-only computing, and let go of legacy technology that holds enterprises back.
10. Mobile-only benefits users by providing a single device, unifying workflows, and computing experiences
Rather than carrying multiple computing devices — each with a different UX, applications, and stored data — users can address all their computing needs with one powerful smartphone, leveraging peripherals to connect and work quickly. Embracing mobile-only is key to transforming from a closed to an open enterprise and creating an agile company culture. According to a study by the UK think tank, The Future Laboratory, 87% percent of business leaders agree that collaborative mobile tools unlock flexibility and productivity among employees.7 Whether you're at a high-flying start-up or a high-security enterprise, your workers will need mobile devices to help them work anytime, anywhere — so they can be part of critical conversations and opportunities that will make or break your business.
