Saturday, June 15, 2013

BYOD, WiFi Shape Future of Mobile Workforce, Survey Reveals

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AppId is over the quota
There's some good news for managed services providers (MSPs) following the bring your own device (BYOD) trend closely. A recent iPass Inc. (IPAS) survey unveiled a relationship between BYOD policies, smartphone use by region, and worker productivity, finding that mobile workers are using connectivity to be more productive and work longer hours, and most of this work is being done over WiFi.

iPass CEO Evan Kaplan said in his prepared remarks that businesses can increase employee productivity by providing them with mobile devices to work from remotely.
There's some good news for managed services providers (MSPs) following the bring your own device (BYOD) trend closely. A recent iPass Inc. (IPAS) survey unveiled a relationship between BYOD policies, smartphone use by region, and worker productivity, finding that mobile workers are using connectivity to be more productive and work longer hours, and most of this work is being done over Wi-Fi. What else is the company's report? We'll reveal the key takeaways.
Take a trip across the globe, and you'll find that North Americans are working longer hours each week, on average, than their peers in other regions, the survey revealed. North Americans, in addition to working longer hours, find smartphones as a productive tool, opening up more opportunities for these workers to be more productive with BYOD policies in the workplace.
In fact, 70 percent of mobile workers are leveraging company BYOD policies, the survey stated. North American workers are more than likely to work at companeis with BYOD policies, unlike workers in other regions, and they tend to look for employment with businesses that implement such policies. Around 35 percent of respondents said a company's BYOD policy can sway their employment choices.
iPass CEO Evan Kaplan said in his prepared remarks that businesses can increase employee productivity by providing them with mobile devices to work from remotely.
But where does WiFI access fit into this equation? Unproductive hours in a workday. The majority of mobile workers reported that they spend the majority of their business days within a range of a WiFi hotspot. On the other hand, however, 41 percent of workers claimed that the lack of wireless coverage renders them unproductive at least 10 percent of their workday.
"Although BYOD and WiFi aren't everywhere, this survey indicates that mobile workers want access to reliable, cost-effective connectivity whenever and wherever they need to work," Kaplan said.
Other key findings from the iPass Mobile Workforce Report include the following:
Fifty-nine percent of mobile workers have paid more than $20 for one-time use of WiFi. Twenty-four percent of workers have paid $30 or more for one-time access to WiFi;Seventy percent of mobile workers are allowed to use their personal mobile devices for work (BYOD). North American workers were most likely to work for a company with a BYOD policy, followed by Asia Pacific workers and then European workers. Of workers who do BYOD, the majority said they currently do or would expense WiFi costs from their personal mobile devices;Mobile workers spend their remote work time in a range of places. The most likely locations are their homes or some type of office but 75 percent also work remotely from hotels; 40 percent report working from airplanes and coffee shops; and 29 percent report working on public transportation, such as trains, buses and subways; andNearly three out of four (71 percent) mobile workers research WiFi hotspot availability before they travel. Asia Pacific workers are most likely to do this type of research, followed by European workers and North American workers.
The company's report was based on a survey of 1,150 mobile enterprise employees worldwide between March 28, 2013 and April 19, 2013.
iPass announced a new version of its iPass Open Mobile for iOS, a WiFi client for iOS devices, back in January of 2013.

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