The modern smartphone generation seem to be constantly attached to their gadgets and more clued up than ever before about the latest developments in the tech industrythat would have blown many of us away ten years ago, because we simply didn’t have any idea what they were on about.
Such has been the advancement in technology over such a short period of time, businesses are now able to encourage – and almost expect – their employees to use the devices at their disposal to stay on top of work-related issues even when they’re away from the office. Some people just naturally stay ‘switched on’ with emails coming through to their own devices and taking calls even when at home, while others have been allowed to get involved with the latest enterprise trend, Bring Your Own Device to help boost productivity.
BYOD – as it is also known – is an innovation that lets employees use their own range of smartphones, tablets and laptops in the workplace rather than having to use those provided by the company, meaning that they can be much more productive because they’re not having to deal with different platforms and operating systems every time they work in a different location. Cloud computing and enterprise mobility have opened the door to all kinds of mobile business possibilities, and people who were struggling to handle technology – in any form – ten years ago, are now embracing whatever they feel can be beneficial in their professional and personal lives.
A lot of people are criticised for working too hard, sending and receiving emails at all times of day and night, but it can be argued that they’re committed to their job and trying to go above and beyond the call of duty. If they’re going to be working at all hours, they want to take advantage of the latest technology and security to make sure that they’re fully equipped, and that their data is safe. Devices would include:
Laptops
Laptops started this trend, with people able to access their files and emails from wherever they wanted to. Whether it was an important news article they were working on, a spreadsheet to present to the board, or a presentation that would help to seal a new contract for the company; employees were now able to do their work from a mobile device rather than having to sit at the office PC late into the night which ruined their family life.
Smartphones
The development of the smartphone changed a generation, quite simply. All of a sudden users were able to do just about anything from one small, handheld devicewith the BlackBerry among the first smartphones designed for business with access to emails, instant messaging and the Internet. Mobile security has had to be developed in the same way to anti-virus and firewalls on computers because of the digital data trail left behind when emails and messages are sent between devices, which has actually proven to be a huge challenge to administrators in recent years with BYOD playing a key role.
Tablets
The latest of the great innovations, tablet computers are being used in business for a variety of purposes, with apps and programmes enabling people to work from any location and even to control presentations using their device.