3 key topics to consider when adopting a mobility strategy

Mobility isn’t just for enterprise anymore. Our article on the breakdown of SMB mobility spending explored how SMBs are benefiting from a mobility strategy. You want to bring engagement and productivity to your team, so here are the 3 most important areas for you to consider as you build out your mobility strategy:

• Security
• Bandwidth
• User Experience

Securing your team

There’s a myth that SMBs are too small to attract major security threats, but a Symantec study shows otherwise: 52% of phishing attacks in December 2015 targeted SMBs. What’s the best way to cultivate a security focused workforce? Training. A team trained to recognize threats will be much less susceptible to those threats (a strong security policy doesn’t hurt, either).

Increasing mobility means you’re opening up company data to locations outside your network, so it’s also important to work with encryption and understand tools like VPN and SSL.

A Mobile Device Management tool (MDM) also provides a window into device security by tracking the usage and status of your team’s devices. It’s perfect for a more varied fleet of devices, because it allows you to locate, erase, and provision devices all in one place.

Connectivity

Mobile strategies require reliable connectivity, both internally at the office and outside. Internally, you should examine bandwidth usage, to ensure your team can work the way they want to work, while the network handles the increase in devices.

Externally, you need to be sure your company’s platforms can work on all types of networks—think public coffee shops, home networks, and cell data networks. Slow networks might work for basic websites, but running software like a CRM on a low bandwidth connection will only end in complaints.

Upgrading network infrastructure, providing your team with in-home specs, and best practices for various mobile work environments will help them work their best, and have fun doing it.

User Experience

Find the tools that actually fit the culture and workflow! If a device or app isn’t user-friendly, your workers will naturally avoid working with them—so open the discussion to your team. You need to ask: what devices and software will people want to use?

Beyond personal preference, you’ll also want to make sure that new software is device agnostic, to prevent any compatibility gaps between different devices. Don’t write off any piece of hardware or software that could improve your team’s productivity and happiness.

Taking the next step

Focus on the core areas of security, bandwidth, and user experience, and your mobility strategy will lead to higher engagement and productivity for your team. Map the best strategy by working with a partner: give Newmind Group a call and we can talk about the best solution for you.