TECH TRENDS
Revolutionising business mobile calling : how to empower on the go workforces
There have been big improvements in the way remote workers communicate since the pandemic due to technological innovation . But there is one area of the workforce which is being ignored and that ’ s the mobile workforce , encompassing a range of professionals whose day-today activities span outside the office or home setting . Chris Brenchley , Director , PiPcall , explains the various different options available to improve communications for the mobile workforce .
Since the rise of hybrid working , business communication has evolved immensely . For the 44 % of workers in the UK still embracing a hybrid model , they have experienced a golden era of technological innovation . However , while Unified Communications is re-shaping ways of working for office and remote employees , there is a ‘ tale of two cities ’ with a second workforce being ignored .
This is the mobile workforce , encompassing a range of professionals whose day-to-day activities span outside the office or home setting – typical of construction , real estate , domiciliary care , logistics , retail , transportation and more .
Lay of the land : the gaps in business mobile calling
For these industries in particular , mobile phone calls have been a key communication pillar for over 30 years . Made over a dedicated mobile voice network , they are consistent and reliable . However , this way of communicating has its limitations . Until now , there has been a lack of advanced calling features , call analytics and an inability to interconnect individual mobile users into one system using the dedicated mobile voice network .
Comparatively , mobile apps from VoIP ( Voice over Internet Protocol ) or cloud phone systems have led the charge in innovation , providing features like call recording , call transfer , interconnected staff networks and shared contact directories . However , these calls take place over the Internet and therefore rely on a stable Internet or mobile data connection to perform at business standards – which isn ’ t always possible for deskless workers .
What ’ s more , there is a lack of available reporting and data for mobile phone calls . For example , there ’ s no easy way for a sales director to monitor the amount of calls their team is having , or for how long . If this data were possible to get hold of it could be used to boost operational efficiencies massively .
In some organisations , there are also a whole host of different mobile devices and solutions including SIMs , eSIMs and BYOD ( bring your own device ) within one company . It can mean poor security compliance , hidden costs and administrative complexity for IT teams .
GDPR compliance risks are especially high when it comes to BYOD , because employees ’ personal and work lives become intertwined . BYOD has many benefits such as cost savings and flexibility for staff but can attenuate security . In a global survey , nearly half ( 45 %) of companies said they had suffered a compromise involving a mobile device in the past 12 months . The same report also highlighted that securing BYOD devices can be considerably more difficult than securing company owned ones .
Re-defining business mobile calling
As it stands , making calls over the mobile voice network is the best way to get consistent and reliable calls out and about , however , it is underutilised as a platform that can deliver advanced calling features . By making use of this tried and tested voice network , on the go
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