Majority of SMBs turning to wireless technology

Friday, July 22, 2011

In a recent study conducted by the Business Journals and published by Portfolio.com, 71 percent of small- and medium-sized businesses are adopting wireless technology to allow their employees to work effectively outside of the office.

Employees of these "mobile businesses" work outside of the office more than half the time, averaging 56 hours per week. Also, 59 percent of the companies surveyed said mobile connections and applications are crucial for the success of their organizations.

"This tech-savvy group is spending more time doing business outside of a traditional office by staying connected via smartphones or tablets, and are already looking ahead to the next step – cloud computing," said J. Jennings Moss, Portfolio.com’s editor.

Of the respondents, 43 percent of mobile professionals are familiar with the cloud and 14 percent have utilized the technology in the past year, according to the study.

As more businesses turn to wireless technology to boost productivity, North American mobile networks are operating at 80 percent capacity, which may need increased spending by wireless carriers to support the demand, according to a recent study by investment bank Credit Suisse.