Tips, Insights & Tactics How to Keep Your Business Mobile

Tips, Insights & Tactics
How to Keep Your Business Mobile
Today’s business mobility is expanding at
warp speed. To make your business run more
efficiently, and your employees more productive,
you need a strategy for your mobile capabilities.
This tip sheet outlines key areas to explore as
your strategy develops.
Planning
Your business communicates with employees, customers,
suppliers and partners. Each of these groups may also contain
subgroups. For example, your outside sales or service team has
different needs than office-based employees, who occasionally
travel. Your mobile strategy should comprehend key stakeholder
groups’ unique needs. Talk with a representative sample of each
group, business owners of companies with similar needs, or hire
a consultant to help craft your strategy, and an implementation
plan that balances costs and benefits.
As you begin, focus on business needs, prioritizing what’s
essential and which processes can be streamlined. Keep these
end results in mind as you research solutions. They’ll help you
avoid becoming sidetracked by the hundreds of options available,
that don’t necessarily solve your core challenges.
Wireless Network
Many business offices still compute entirely on a wired network.
If you rely exclusively on cell phone data plans for wireless
communication, the next step in your mobile strategy may be to
upgrade your office to a wireless network. Wireless connectivity
can replace or complement an existing wired network, but
without one, your office is likely losing productivity, and the
competitive edge that operational efficiency delivers.
Tips, Insights & Tactics
How to Keep Your Business Mobile
Wireless Connectivity
Paper Conversion
Businesses need reliable, always-on wireless connectivity to access
email, the internet, cloud services, etc. The four major players in
North America are AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile.
The transformation of paper documents to digital has been a
slow migration, but is gaining speed due in large part to mobile
technology. Access to the information contained in digital
documents, in native file formats, is a key requirement for
mobile workers. So while print is declining, the need for scanning
continues to grow. A multifunction printer may offer the best
overall value, but low cost scanners can also serve your needs. You
can even add scanning capability to your smartphone or tablet
with apps like Genius Scan, Scanner Pro or JotNot Scanner Pro.
Security
A VPN connection provides secure, remote access to a private
network over a public network, such as the Internet. VPN
technology allows employees to log in to their company’s network
and provide near-onsite work capabilities from a remote location.
Providers include VyperVPN, MiTopia and StrongVPN.
BYOD
Printing
The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend, inextricably links home
and business life. The challenge for IT, is the loss of control.
Develop a list of recommended mobile devices for your company,
perhaps with an incentive through your company, or a discount
through a local supplier.
Even in the digital world, mobile workers need to print. There
are numerous solutions available. Ask yourself where you need
to print when you’re wireless: at the office, at your home office,
on the road, at customer locations? Your answers will help you
determine which solution(s) work best (see the mobile print
solutions in the sidebar on the next page).
Cloud Computing
Marketing
File storage, data backup and software services in the Cloud
provide centralized access to business critical information and
applications on-demand. Services like Dropbox, Basecamp and
Google Drive are free to try with limited storage; which can be
increased as needed, for a monthly fee.
Every major social network is mobile-ready, thanks to their crossplatform mobile apps. But consider mobile access when designing
email campaigns and websites. More and more customers are
viewing your communications while on the move, rather than
seated in front of a computer monitor.
Collaboration
Instant Messaging
Cloud services are ideal for collaboration. A central repository
enables superior version control and even allows simultaneous
editing of the same document. Leaders include Google Drive and
Office 365. And there are plenty of others such as Zoho Projects,
OpenText and SkyDox, to name only a few.
Sometimes described as digital notes, instant messaging is
useful for a short exchange in real-time, such as fact checking,
or a simple confirmation of a colleague’s whereabouts—on or
offline. It can also be useful for short, discrete exchanges during a
meeting or video conference.
Video Conferencing
Wireless Bridge
Services like Skype and Google Hangouts began as personal video
conferencing services. But they soon added features that allow
you to share your desktop and deliver presentations, to appeal
to business users, and places them in the competitive space with
services like industry leader Cisco WebEx, and Global Meet.
Specialization
In addition to horizontal services that appeal to virtually any
business, there are a wide range of verticals designed for specific
markets and needs. A few examples include Salesforce.com,
Shoeboxed (travel receipts) and OfficeTime (time tracking/billing).
A small hardware add-on device that creates a wireless
connection to a wireless network for wired devices. Converting
a wired device into a wireless one allows you to easily reposition
it without having to reroute cables, for relatively little cost. It also
provides instant connectivity for mobile devices with access to
its network.
Tips, Insights & Tactics
How to Keep Your Business Mobile
Accessories
Add-on accessories are available to add functionality and
convenience to mobile devices. A few examples: Adapters to
convert your car’s cigarette lighter into a power source, bluetooth
or plug-in headsets, and speakerphone docks.
Training
Change is always more successful when it’s easy. Make it easy
for your team to go mobile. Include training in your mobile
strategy. Once people see firsthand how mobility improves their
productivity, they’ll take it from there.
Related Tips:
• 27 Business Critical Apps
Xerox® Mobile Print Solution
• Best Smartphone Apps
xerox.com/tips
Simple, convenient, secure wireless printing to any EIP-enabled
MFP inside your company firewall, from any email-enabled mobile
device, without installation of any additional client software.
xerox.com/mobile
Related Templates:
Xerox® PrintBack
• Planners
• Presentation Templates
A free app that allows you to print to the default printer at your
office or home from iOS- and Android-based mobile devices,
through any web-based email or cloud-storage service.
xerox.com/printback
xerox.com/templates
Xerox® Mobile Express Driver®
• Favorite Health and Relaxation Apps
• Calendars
A free print driver that enables mobile workers to print in any new
location they visit, from a laptop computer.
xerox.com/drivers
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