We all agree that Mobile Devices are a great tool, there is no question about that. Regardless of your platform of preference, they all facilitate a multitude of tasks that used to require of us doing work at the office/home office. From email to remote access to administer a server, mobile tools are a great solution.
However; not every company has a mobility strategy, some will just purchase cell phones to some of their key employees and management, some only management, some have no strategy at all. If your company falls under any of these scenarios, here are some ideas to turn your company into a mobile device user:
If you see yourself in the first or second scenarios you will probably have an easier task convincing your management to turn into mobile devices. If not, you may have to do a little bit more work. In any case it is very likely that you will be successful.
We will assume that you are working for a relatively intelligent individual and that he/she will be likely to hear what you have to propose. This person will be your "partner" once you sold the idea to him/her in selling the idea to the rest of the company key players. The secret here is to be very open about what you are using your device of choice (yes, you may have to purchase one – see this as an investment). Spend as much time as you can explaining what you are doing on your device. It will show what a great tool it is.
The easiest thing to begin with is to use your device to access your email account. Connect to your exchange server with a little help from your admin or research into what parameters you need for the connection. Use a POP/SMTP connection if that is what you can use from outside the company, or simply access webmail if that’s what you have. In any case, doing any of these helps you get your corporate email into your personal device.
If you have a VPN from work, have in mind that you could connect to any resource available as soon as you get past VPN validation. Need to write a Word/Excel document? no problem, you could do that and save into the appropriate share. Need to reply with that document as an attachment? yep, you could do that. Need to access a remote server to test, admin, upgrade? yes, yes and yes… just when you do that, make sure your manager knows how you are doing it. It will make the convincing much easier.
Having said all this, once you show how useful it is, there is probably no turning back… any smart manager will know that what makes you more productive will make the whole area look much better (even if the area already has a great track record).
