Business person on phone. Image: Michaelpuche/Shutterstock
The days of getting work done at your desk appear to be quickly going out of fashion, as a new survey has found that 64pc of business owners have become heavily reliant on their smartphones to do business.
With productivity apps galore and many business services now adapting to mobile, it might not be of much surprise to hear that the business world is changing dramatically due to the presence of smartphones.
This rapid transformation has been seen in a new survey conducted by Three Ireland among 350 business owners in the country on their attitudes and behaviours in the modern workplace.
According to its findings, 64pc of business owners say they have become more reliant on access to mobile data in the last 12 months, with 77pc feeling that they can – either totally or somewhat – stay on top of their work using just their smartphone.
Perhaps most interestingly, Three Ireland claims that the majority of those surveyed (60pc) think that a better work-life balance can be achieved by working through a smartphone.
Adding to that, 55pc of these respondents claimed that smartphones gave them the ‘gift of time’, despite a number of differing voices who have criticised the smartphone’s role in destroying people’s work-life balance.
Reliance on mobile data
When presented with the option of using just one device for the working day, over 30pc chose a smartphone over a laptop, PC or tablet.
This increasing reliance on mobile working has meant that mobile networks like Three Ireland and others in the country are finding increased demand for mobile data.
Within its own customers, the network has seen a 50pc increase in demand last year from SMEs for mobile data, while business customer data usage grew 39pc last year also.
Commenting on the survey findings, Eóin MacManus, business director with Three Ireland said: “This research shows how crucial smartphones are for business life and how important they are as a tool to help businesses become more efficient.”
