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November 04, 2009
Egnyte Study Points to Growing Importance of Mobile Data to Small Businesses
If the growth in the number of consumers using smartphones for work-related purposes isn’t enough reason to reconsider your wireless management strategies, consider the latest smartphone usage study commissioned by Egnyte and conducted by market research firm Decision Analyst.
The study revealed that 88 percent of small businesses believe that mobile file access is critical to business success, and half of small businesses use their smartphones regularly to conduct business, with one quarter of business owners using their smartphone more often than their computer.
The study -- based on a survey of 480 small business owners and IT decision makers conducted Oct. 15-25 -- also revealed that accessing business data 24/7 from a mobile phone was the number one factor in an SMB’s mobile business strategy. Sixty-four percent of respondents admitted that they had been in situations where they needed critical access to their business file server data while in transit. Additionally, 55 percent stated that they needed access to critical data from their file server while on vacation, while 36 percent said they were offsite and needed to handle a dispute or clarify a question.
Additionally, the study reveled:
* The majority of small businesses named BlackBerry (48 percent) and Apple’s iPhone (29 percent) as the most innovative smartphone devices on the market today. Google’s (News - Alert) entry into the smartphone market doesn’t appear to be appealing to small business users quite yet. Android phones were rated last (3 percent).
* Nearly 75 percent of respondents reported greater customer satisfaction as a result of data access while on the road.
* Slow access to data is the number one challenge to small business owners while out of the office (36 percent). Not being able to access a business file server was the second top challenge (16 percent).
* Nearly 25 percent of respondents indicated that they will upgrade their smartphone in the next six months, in order to get a better phone with advanced features.
Along with the study, Mountain View, Calif.-based on-demand file server solutions provider Egnyte this week introduced BlackBerry and Android (News - Alert) device interfaces that allow small business users secure access to all their business files via their BlackBerry or Android-powered smartphones.
With this new release, both Mac and PC business users to have online file storage, file sharing capabilities and automatic backup in one solution. The new interfaces, which require no additional software installation on the device, leverage a mobile drive that lets mobile users access all of their data stored via the Egnyte file server.
For existing Egnyte users who use a Blackberry or Android-powered smartphone, the new user interfaces allow businesses and professionals to easily navigate folder hierarchies and open and share files using their Blackberry or Android device keypad or touch screen.
“We realize that smartphones are critical to staying connected while on the move,” said Vineet Jain, CEO of Egnyte. “With our m Drive capabilities, iPhone (News - Alert), BlackBerry and Android users have secure and immediate access to all their files no matter where they are located.”
Marisa Torrieri is a TMCnet Web editor, covering IP hardware and mobility, including IP phones, smartphones, fixed-mobile convergence and satellite technology. She also compiles and regularly contributes to TMCnet's gadgets and satellite e-Newsletters. To read more of Marisa's articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Marisa Torrieri
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