The time saved by small businesses that use mobile devices in their day-to-day activities is equivalent to $67.5 billion (about £40.2bn or au$71.8bn) a year, according to a study conducted by AT&T and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. Smartphones save organizations the most time at 1.24 billion hours per year, which amounts to $32.3 billion (about £19.2bn or au$34.3bn).
Ninety-four percent of small businesses report using smartphones to conduct business, up from 85% last year, according to the survey’s findings. Forty-nine percent of small business employees are using their smartphones to conduct business seven days a week. Tablets have helped save small businesses an additional 754.2 million hours and $19.6 billion (about £11.7bn or au$20.9bn) a year. The increased usage of smartphones and tablets by small businesses has impacted data usage, with approximately one-third of small businesses reporting that their mobile data usage double over the past two years.
Mobile SMBs
Productivity benefits gained by enabling remote and mobile working has been reported as worth potentially $7,000 (about £4,200 or au$7,497) annually for every staff member as a result of reduced printing costs and allowing businesses to make more efficient use of space. However, when asked, only 36% of British workers say they feel they would be just as productive working from home as they are in the office, while 23% think they would actually be able to get more done in their own home.
The 2014 AT&T Small Business Technology Poll was conducted with 1,042 small businesses from 48 states and the District of Columbia. Small businesses were defined as having between one and 20 employees.