A recent Sage North America survey of small to midsized businesses found that laptops and smartphones were the most commonly used mobile devices by employees to access work-related information while out of the office.

Joe Langner

More specifically the Sage SMB Survey on Mobile Devices polled 490 SMBs in the United State. In the survey 80 percent said their employees use laptops, 81 percent used smartphones and 57 percent used tablets.

The survey also found that 85 percent of companies that use remote devices feel that it has had a positive effect on their company’s productivity, while only one percent felt it has a negative effect. When asked about how their businesses carry out various business functions, 31 percent said mobile applications are commonly used for keeping business contacts organized, while 26 percent said scheduling and 23 percent indicated they were keeping a task list and/or assigning tasks to specific employees. 

In addition, 48 percent responded that they already have a BYOD policy in place, while 31 percent have not considered this option and another 9 percent have considered but decided against a BYOD strategy for their businesses. Those who decide against a BYOD policy may be missing out on a way to capitalize on the growing trend of conducting work activities on mobile devices, as the Sage survey found that smartphones, regardless of whether provided by the employer or furnished by the employee, are used for work over 58 percent of the time.

“Mobility can support collaboration of internal teams by enabling seamless integration between the field and the office as well as eliminating potential bottlenecks between departments,” said Sage North America executive vice president Joe Langner. “Employees are looking to work beyond the ‘four walls.’ With mobile business applications, they can do this anywhere; they’re no longer tethered to the office.”

The Sage SMB Survey on Mobile Devices has an error rate of +/-4.4% with a 95 percent confidence level.