small biz goes mobile

more than half of small businesses have at least 1 mobile woker

new york (ami-partners) – more than half of small businesses (those with 99 or fewer employees) have at least one mobile employee, far more than the 13% of the u.s. workforce in general.

“these figures have been increasing significantly over the last couple of years as technology has made it considerably easier for employees to access real-time information from outside the traditional office setting,” says new york-based avinash arun, research analyst at ami-partners. “this trend is expected to continue over the next few years, based on the results of ami’s recently completed survey.”
that comes from a recent study by access markets international (ami) partners inc. sbs are starting to realize the benefits and flexibility of having a mobile workforce. increased internet and bandwidth speeds, coupled with lower telecom costs, are helping more sbs opt for remote access in the u.s. in a survey designed to gauge the importance of various it-related issues during the next 12 months, 27% of respondents said deploying vpn was either “very important” or “important” for their business. although the most common applications used in a mobile setting were email and instant messaging, mobile access to more advanced applications such as crm and sfa are also on the rise.

however there is a gap between perceived benefits and actual usage of mobile technologies. “with growing complexities, many sbs currently lack the necessary expertise and tools involved in setting up an efficient mobile solution,” mr. arun says. “so they depend on external consultants for service and support. this could offer a huge opportunity for network and systems integrators or value-added resellers to provide integrated and secure mobile services for sbs in the u.s.”

another concern among u.s. sbs are the security issues pertaining to working in a mobile environment. “u.s.-based sbs are becoming more aware of security threats and concerns, and this has led to increased investments in security applications,” says mr. arun. “total security spend grew 21% in 2006 over 2005, which is excellent among sbs.” the most common security applications used are anti-virus and anti-spam. however, other mobile security applications such as router/firewall appliance based vpn will also see high penetration rates among sbs this year.