Salesforce mobility survey - mobile means productive
- Summary:
- UK users like the mobile experience. Survey insights into current mobile experience should be a pointer for future development
Salesforce has published a commissioned study into the current UK mobility market. We normally take these with a large sack of salt but on this occasion, the authors have provided important insights into mobile usage and impact on the future of work.
The results suggest a much higher level of mobile usage than has been perceived in the past. The data also suggests that employees believe they are significantly more productive through their use of mobile applications but 59% are less than satisfied with the rate at which mobile applications are being made available by their employers.
From the fact packed executive summary:
Although some of the stats, and especially those around chat, are somewhat self serving, more interesting results come from detail around the way mobile applications are seen to be changing the way people work and the impact on both internal and external relationships.
- 60% of British employees now use apps on mobile devices for work-related activity, including 1 in 5 (21%) who uses dedicated departmental apps.
- Among users of dedicated departmental apps, 60% have seen an increase in their personal productivity as a direct result, with the average increase being 34%.
- 89% of app users say using apps for work has changed their behaviour as a business professional in one way or another.
- 71% of app users feel the rate of change and evolution of the app world has prevented them from being stuck in their ways and that it has pulled them out of their comfort zone for good.
- 75% of British employees think the chat facilities within some apps are having a significant effect on working relationships.
- 81% feel work-related apps with a chat facility help maintain essential professional contact with the wider team, no matter where people are working and from what device.
- 71% think using apps on mobile devices enhances the image of employees.
- 73% expect business software companies to offer an app version of their software for business people to use when they are out of the office and on the move.
- 70% would like to see all of their company's software with a mobile app version at some point in the future for employees to use when they are away from their desks.
- 59% think their organisation has been too slow at delivering apps to the workforce.
- 73% say they experience app jealousy - 91% of C-level / VP-level staff and 85% of senior managers say this applies to them.
As the graph to the left shows, north of 30% of those who use mobile apps believe they makes them more sociable, more flexible, better at multi-tasking, more agile and in better control.
These are significant findings because the general sense among enterprise desktop application users is one that could best be characterized as 'meh.' This is not simply a case of users wanting more consumer like experiences, it is about being able to get the job done with the least amount of friction.
One question that was left out but which is a constant problem for developers: how do you build apps that have enough functionality for the task in hand but which are usable across a variety of mobile devices?
While these results should be seen as encouraging, we expect those numbers to grow over time as mobile technology and development improves.
Disclosure: Salesforce is a partner at time of writing
Image credit: © Oleksiy Mark - Fotolia.com