How companies are using wireless networks
Published: 24 Aug 2007 17:04 BST
...that the ability to increase the efficiency of remote workers was either an important or very important reason to boost mobile network speeds, while about 70 percent felt that they needed more bandwidth to cope with the ever-growing size of data files and applications that were being accessed remotely.
Other key drivers included rising demand by end-users for remote access, a general increase in the number of mobile and home workers and a desire by organisations to reduce current levels of business travel.
"With the ever-increasing trend in mobile working within UK organisations, it is perhaps not surprising that efficiencies in use as well as demand for better access to applications by remote workers are among the top three drivers for higher-speed networks. The trend towards home-working for some staff over all or part of the working week is also an important factor in this regard," explains Paskins.
Interest among end-users in using a broader range of mobile applications appears to be strong
Interest among end-users in using a broader range of mobile applications appears to be strong. This means if existing issues surrounding bandwidth, cost and availability could be overcome, the use of many packages would increase significantly in UK companies of all sizes. Unsurprisingly, the mobile applications that organisations would most like to deploy in the future, if constraints were removed, are those that are already the most popular — a fact that implies there is still plenty of room for growth in the market. Mobile applications included in this category are email (87 percent), voice (84 percent), internet access (83 percent), data communications (81 percent), SMS text messaging (73 percent) and electronic calendars/diaries (69 percent).
There also seems to be much latent demand for a second tier of packages, which between one-half and two-thirds of respondents indicated they would be interested in purchasing if cost and bandwidth constraints were no longer an issue. These consist of global positioning systems (GPS), instant messaging, mobile videoconferencing and database applications, and it is here, says the report, that "the greatest potential for increased usage lies".
Uptake potential
"These applications offer the potential for very strong growth in uptake in the future. Approximately 40 to 45 percent of the respondent base could potentially be new adopters of these applications if constraints were removed," the report states. Such constraints are having little impact on the use of key applications such as voice and SMS text messaging, however.
But this is not to imply that these are the only systems of interest. Should existing inhibitors to higher-bandwidth adoption be eradicated, about 36 percent of those surveyed could be expected to go for shared workspace technology in order to help them collaborate more effectively.
Between 25 and 30 percent, meanwhile, would adopt contactless smartcards, whiteboards, high-quality video, presence and video applications, and provide access to such business process-based systems as customer relationship management. These figures are likely to reflect both the number of potential users for such software within any given organisation, as well as the perceived value that could be derived from their deployment, despite the fact that "many of these applications are in limited use on mobile devices today".
Finally, the applications category in which organisations showed the lowest levels of interest comprised access to corporate enterprise resource planning and management systems, push-to-talk packages and image capture and transmission applications. Nonetheless, the report points out that these still offer "significant potential", with between 15 and 20 percent of respondents likely to implement them for the first time at some point in the future.
Of the 371 executives that took part in the survey, about 30 percent worked in large corporates with more than 1,000 staff; 29 percent were employed by small-to-medium enterprises with between 11 and 250 employees; 23 percent had one to 10 personnel; 13 percent had a headcount of between 251 and 1,000 and the rest did not know.
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- Research: The realities of wireless working
- Video: Fifty percent of UK companies using 3G
- Wi-Fi: The next generation
- How companies are using wireless networks
- Will mobile WiMax transform wireless working?
- Vendorboard: What can super 3G do for your business?
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