In my last blog I introduced the concept of Martini Computing – Any Application, Any Device, Any Network – the expectation that Enterprise grade communication on mobile devices is ubiquitous.
To put this in context, it’s worth remembering that over the next 3- 4 years the rate at which we communicate and collaborate using mobile devices is set to rise exponentially. Cisco recently forecast a tenfold increase in global mobile IP traffic by 2018, and 3 billion more mobile ready devices and connections than existed in 2013.
Clearly this is not just about the devices themselves, as powerful as they are. It’s about Productivity. The first and most common productivity mobile app was and is email – anyone remember a time when we didn’t have it? But we’ve already come a long way from that. A colleague of mine talks of a move towards “working moments”, where what was dead time can now be used to file expenses, check and update a sales forecast, book travel – all from the convenience and security of Enterprise apps on a smart mobile device. But now we’re even moving beyond ‘point transactions’ to even more powerful possibilities.
I’m talking about mobile collaboration and new ways of working that might have seemed improbable or difficult in the past. Increasingly, productivity gains will be made by continuously connecting employees, customers, partners, suppliers on mobile applications that are always on, always available regardless of where a person might be or on what type of network they are connecting from.
Take Cisco Squared, a business collaboration app that combines chat, audio, video, multi-party meetings and content sharing in a single experience that supports the collaboration needs of modern teams who are highly mobile.
Squared aims to solve the challenges many workers face on a daily basis around staying connected across devices, time zones, and project teams. Quickly getting up to speed on projects that are already in progress. Sharing thoughts and ideas with people both inside and outside the company without violating security policies. Better connecting with teams and individuals – reducing email threads, improving meeting requests, and staying connected to the projects, ideas, and content that matter most. Letting us chat, talk, and meet live – via real-time video calling to individuals and groups. And the rooms in which we meet never go away, even when we’re logged out.
It enables us to connect in ways that have never been possible before – virtually. It’s simple, fast, intuitive, and fun. It’s a new way to work in a world that increasingly demands new ways of working. Squared lets us work the way we want to work – mobile-first. We can manage projects, provide input, and make business decisions from anywhere, at any time, and on any device. Martini Computing afoot!
Today’s changing workplace requires businesses to offer tools to enable us all to work with agility and speed, across teams, juggling lots of concurrent projects, and with very short completion cycles, taking workforce productivity to a new level.
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