Mobile crazy

As the year begins, it seems like everybody is talking about mobile and the growing demand for ‘mobile hubs’. Single devices that can do ‘everything’, ‘anywhere, ‘anytime’.

It’s not a new story. Our insatiable appetite for connecting to information and people and things is being fuelled by new technology and new apps that make it easy to get whatever we want, whenever we want and wherever we want.

You see it on the street.  You see it in cafes.  You see it in your own TV room.  Yes, we’re mobile crazy.  So what’s happening at work?

I think it’s interesting that I haven’t had a client ask about mobile technology since the early days of the cell phone – when it was decided that guys that drive trains or go up poles had hands that were too big to handle the technology.  Today many employees are able to work remotely.  And most employees – even those with big hands – have company cell phones and laptops.  And some have smart phones.

But are we thinking about how we can make it easy for employees to get whatever they want, whenever they want and wherever they want to do their jobs.  Are we planning for a workforce that could be fully mobile.  So I’m curious about what kind of thinking is going on in your organization and what you think the implications are.

Would being fully mobile make it easier for your workforce or parts of your workforce do their jobs?

Are you and your colleagues thinking about supporting employees with a single integrated mobile device?  Should you be?

How would it change your workplace?

Is your intranet mobile accessible? Should it be?

What kinds of hardware and apps would employees need/want that they don’t have today?

What implications will this have for the content you develop?

And when and how should internal communications be part of the discussion?

Or would  “mobile work hubs” be crazy?

I’m hoping to hear from you.

Tags: Innovation, Tools and tactics, Work