Mobile technology increasingly disrupts the way SMEs do business.
The future holds a myriad of exciting advancements in technology, but mobile is already transforming Australian small businesses. Not only saving time and money, mobile technology is disrupting the concept of what being “at work” is. Work isn’t a place that we go to anymore, but about makings things happen wherever we are, and the freedom of doing it on any device.
Recently commissioned research* by Intuit revealed the self-employed are no longer confined to the four walls of an office, with almost half working from the cars at times (49 per cent), client worksites (35 per cent), and even on holiday (33 per cent).
Gone are the days of filing paper; businesses are demanding a seamless and frictionless transition between their devices. Australian business owners should consider transforming their businesses into a paper-free operation, using both mobile and cloud technology to work effectively wherever they, or their clients, are located.
At our consultancy, Nine Pillars, we are dedicated to helping Australian companies thrive and reach their potential. I have a desktop in the office, a laptop, an iPad and a phone, and can access work across them all. In the past, I carried around a huge paper folder for each client with every correspondence and shared document printed and organised inside. Now, I use my tablet as a key tool plus Evernote to organise meeting notes and correspondence, Dropbox to share files, Google Sheets for team collaboration and cloud-based Intuit Quickbooks Online to manage our accounting, including invoicing clients, all of which I now do on the go, and a virtual assistant for support.
Nicolette Maury, VP and Country Manager of Intuit Australia, says that small businesses are increasingly relying on innovative new technologies to better run and manage their business and solve every day problems.
“We already know that Aussies are among the most prolific mobile users in the world, with our smartphone penetration at 77 per cent. The fast uptake of mobile has led Intuit Australia to create a business strategy that focuses on mobile first. Our research shows 62 per cent of small businesses are on the cloud and 63 per cent use mobile to run their business,” Maury says.
Moving to the cloud allows us to perform work on the go, switching devices. We can start a task in the office and finish it later on the tablet at home, or in the car.
Australians are ahead of the game when it comes to mobile. And businesses need to be at the top of their game with mobile technology to meet the needs of their clients.
* 2016 Intuit Galaxy Research Self-Employed Study
Anil Puri, Director, Nine Pillars
