Despite the paucity of unlimited data plans for mobiles and 3G coverage that's either patchy or charges like a wounded bull, Australian small businesses are poised to become completely addicted to mobile email, new research suggests.
Despite the paucity of unlimited data plans for mobiles and 3G coverage that's either patchy or charges like a wounded bull, Australian small businesses are poised to become completely addicted to mobile email, new research suggests.
A new IDC research project examining technology adoption amongst small businesses says that Australian SMBs "exhibit entrenched usage behaviour of mobile and wireless technology".
The phrase "exhibit entrenched usage behaviour" is a prime candidate for the APC All-Time Hall of Shame, but the actual message -- blurring the lines between home and work isn't just the prerogative of corporate drones -- is somewhat clearer.
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According IDC, mobile data spending in this segment is growing dramatically, fuelled by the increased availability of 3G networks in various flavours. "Business adoption and usage of mobile email is the most dominant application" IDC research manager Jean-Marc Annonier said in a statement announcing the research results.
Attempts to convince smaller businesses to use other mobile solutions such as sales force automation are less prevalent, although to be fair these haven't exactly exploded even in larger companies which can afford the complex infrastructure and sometimes tedious development required.
Other researchers have identified similar trends. Sensis' E-Business Report earlier this year suggested that 36% of all small businesses owned a mobile phone which was capable of Internet access, a number which had doubled over 12 months. Whether they actually used this feature for business purposes, rather than to download ringtones featuring Timbaland, remains unclear.
Small businesses are also apparently exhibiting what IDC calls the "prosumer effect" (rival Gartner prefers "consumerisation", incidentally), whereby businesses adopt a technology without bothering to clear it with the IT department.
The classic large-enterprise example of this is the boss showing up with a shiny new smartphone and demanding that it be made to work with the existing IT infrastructure by lunchtime.
Of course, in a smaller firm without a full IT department, it's the boss who'll probably end up suffering through the implementation anyway.