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Avanade: Companies are changing business processes to embrace mobile technology

Companies are changing their business processes to take advantage of mobile and consumer technologies in the workplace. Avanade’s latest global study of consumer and mobile technologies’ impact on enterprises shows that 71% of companies have changed at least one business process and 20% have changed four or more business processes. This new trend was one the main topics of a video interview with Dan O’Hara, vice president of mobility at Avanade.

Avanade’s research reveals that many executives and IT decision-makers are modifying business processes in key functions such as sales and marketing, and critical roles inside companies, such as HR, to leverage mobile devices and other consumer technologies for their company’s benefit. Rather than dictating technology use, corporate policies and processes are, in this case, playing catch-up with technology.

The survey about the impact of the employee-driven workplace and how companies are taking advantage of this shift was conducted in September 2012 with nearly 600 executives and IT decision-makers in 19 countries. Results showed that the most progressive businesses are building entirely new business processes around these trendsand seeing a surprising impact on growth, product development, and employee satisfaction and collaboration.

Among the survey’s findings, more than six in ten companies (60%) reported that the majority of their employees now use personal computing devices in the workplace. Avanade also found that large companies are open to change—even if it disrupts business as usual. “Rather than shut out mobile and consumer technologies, Avanade’s survey of business and IT executives shows companies are not only embracing these technologies in the workplace, they’re enabling them,” the report states. 

Of the survey respondents, 54% reported that the majority of their employees use smartphones for basic work tasks such as checking email, reading online documents and managing schedules.

One of the survey’s conclusions was that while technology use had been dictated by business requirements in the past, now executives are authorizing technology purchases based on corporate needs and objectives; for instance, new regulations led to email archiving systems, and bigger customer rosters led to centralized customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

Highlights of the survey’s findings:
• 60% of companies reported most employees use personal computing devices at work
• Employees use smartphones and tablets for both basic and advanced business functions
• Business processes are being built to capitalize on mobile and consumer technologies
• 71% of companies have changed at least one business process; 20% of companies have changed four or more business processes
• Companies that capitalize on new ways of work are seeing stronger growth and more happy customers
• Companies that have embraced collaboration technologies are 73% more likely to report improved sales and new customer acquisition

ABOUT AUTHOR

Roberta Prescott
Roberta Prescott
Editor, [email protected] Roberta Prescott is responsible for Latin America reporting news and analysis, interviewing key stakeholders. Roberta has worked as an IT and telecommunication journalist since March 2005, when she started as a reporter with InformationWeek Brasil magazine and its website IT Web. In July 2006, Prescott was promoted to be the editor-in-chief, and, beyond the magazine and website, was in charge for all ICT products, such as IT events and CIO awards. In mid-2010, she was promoted to the position of executive editor, with responsibility for all the editorial products and content of IT Mídia. Prescott has worked as a journalist since 1998 and has three journalism prizes. In 2009, she won, along with InformationWeek Brasil team, the press prize 11th Prêmio Imprensa Embratel. In 2008, she won the 7th Unisys Journalism Prize and in 2006 was the editor-in-chief when InformationWeek Brasil won the 20th media award Prêmio Veículos de Comunicação. She graduated in Journalism by the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas, has done specialization in journalism at the Universidad de Navarra (Spain, 2003) and Master in Journalism at IICS – Universidad de Navarra (Brazil, 2010) and MBA – Executive Education at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.