WHY INFORMATION MOBILITY IS THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS

This story first appeared in workintelligent.ly.


On June 17, 1955, the Walt Disney Company opened a theme park called Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Chances are you may have heard of it.

One of the last Disneyland attractions to be finished was Tomorrowland, Disney’s vision of the world of tomorrow – in their case, 1986. Some of their predictions – such as the TWA Moonliner – never quite panned out. But others, such as the still-existing Autopia, depicted an accurate vision of the future; in particular, the yet-to-be-built interstate highway system.

The point? It’s hard to predict the future. Especially the future of business. No matter how much we might want to try. But we can make some educated guesses about where things are headed. And in business, you’ll need to make the right educated guesses if you want to grow and survive.

For example, did you know that data storage is doubling every 18 months? Or that there are now 1.5 billion smartphone users – and more than 5 billion mobile users – worldwide? Or that the average U.S. adult now spends nearly 2 ½ hours a day using a mobile device?

We’re already in a world of information mobility. In many ways, the future of business is now. And this will have serious ramifications for your business in the coming years.

Because the successful business of the future will be one that takes full advantage of these trends. Providing remote employees with anytime, anywhere access to critical files. Using mobile to improve communication and collaboration with easy-to-use, high-quality video conferencing. Even customer service will be different, because why should you have employees at one of your locations sitting on their thumbs while another location is slammed with customers? New technologies are enabling workers to provide customer service remotely, while being face-to-face and one-on-one, so your employees are always there when they’re needed.

And with this mobile trend, borders will become even less important than they are now. Your office no longer stops at your walls, so why should country borders be any different? Of the 50-fold increase in smartphone data traffic expected by 2016, China alone is expected to account for 10 percent of that growth, matching the growth rate of the Chinese economy over the past 30 years. Any successful business strategy will need to accommodate a changing world economy, and have the means in place to be successful no matter where you are.

These changes will not be easy. While younger workers are generally comfortable with new technologies, they only make up 35 percent of today’s workforce. And because this rate is expected to grow significantly over the coming years, it will create challenges for your workforce. Any business wishing for success – and information mobility – in the coming years will need to find ways to give all types of workers the very best chance to be successful and productive, no matter how they work.

Because this shift to a more mobile world is coming. And businesses that don’t want to be left behind need their information to be mobile as well, so they have the agility to be successful in the fast-paced business world of tomorrow.

They need information mobility. You need information mobility.

Because the future of business is coming. And while the Moonliner might still be a ways off, the world of information mobility is already here.