Six things to consider before upgrading your business mobiles

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Six things to consider before upgrading your business mobiles

Six things to consider before upgrading your business mobiles

Every company across the country is using mobile phones in some shape or form for day-to-day business. When buying for a business, the actual requirements are very to those of a consumer when many are led by buying a phone, they like the look of. Experience tells us that to really get the best mobile phone plans for your business, it is important to consider what your business’ needs are, first and foremost.

Businesses depend on providing good communication to customers and suppliers alike, so it is worth choosing the best handset, plan/tariff, and options to suit the nature of your business.

Here are our Six key points to consider when choosing mobile plans for your business operations.

 

1. What are the company mobiles for?

 

Before proceeding with any purchase, you should be clear about how your business intends to use the new company mobiles. An important question to ask yourself and your employees around how they use their phones to determine which features and plan you will need, there is a lot more to it for some than simply choosing the latest Apple or Samsung device.

Here are some example questions to consider internally:

 

  • How frequently do you make calls?
  • Do you need the phone during business hours?
  • Where do you call-UK only or international too?
  • How often do employees use their phone to go online?
  • How much data does every phone user need?
  • Preferred network-O2, Vodafone, EE?
  • Which network has the best mobile coverage in Sussex?
  • Which network has the best mobile coverage in Surrey?

 

2. Productivity Tools

 

Each type of handset whether it an iOS or Android device, provides in-built tools plus the ability to download the relevant applications linked to the many platforms used in the business such as Microsoft Outlook and Office365. For staff, organising their workday can be managed from their mobile device for company administrators, keeping track of your employees can be achieved through various applications.

Staff are now using their mobile device to access the company VoIP system such as Horizon and Horizon Collaborate which is available as an application on the App Store and Google Play Store.

The key is to choose a device that makes it easy for everyone across the business to access the information that’s important to them in the simplest way possible. This will be one of the iOS Vs Android points.

 

3. Mobile Device Management

Depending on the brand of smartphone device that you choose there are several options available in the marketplace regarding Mobile Device Management to secure mobile access to your all-important company data.

 

With options available from IBM’s MaaS360 and Samsung Knox there are options available for small businesses right through to Enterprise level organisations.

 

Each smartphone can be managed from a central meaning should a device ever get lost, then its possible to act quickly to prevent unwanted access to that device. Equally, it is also possible to lock-down data access on the company device and limit the type of content that staff can access on each device.

 

 

4. Environment

 

What type of environment are staff working in? For those who are predominately office based or sales staff who work on the move, a higher specification device may be required. Assessing whether all employees work in the same environment is crucial in assessing what your overall business needs are. It may be that certain groups of employees are better suited to certain handsets and others will need more robust models or those with a longer battery life.

For engineers out on the road, it’s possible to provide rugged devices offering a higher level of protection from damage. Contact your supplier to discuss the options available.

 

5. Cost

 

Every company looks at the bottom line and we understand that budgeting communication costs may be very important to you but the price needs to be weighed against the benefit to your business. Make sure your business has the tariffs in place that fits the needs of everyone involved. We recommend that the following should be considered:

  • Handset Cost (Top of the range devices cost in the region of £1,000 in the UK)
  • Monthly Service Fees (Is everything clear and easy to understand?)
  • Cost of any additional fees (Bolt-Ons when travelling outside of Europe etc)

 

6. Work with a trusted partner

 

Finding the right solution can take time and effort especially when you are not sure where to begin or who to trust in helping you find what you need. Time is precious for business owners, we understand that, so our recommendation it to pass the task of finding the best mobile service and plan for your business to an expert like Keytech Networks.

We will ask you the right questions to assess your business and can offer you advice and guidance on what deals will be best for your specific requirements.

If you would like some assistance with choosing the right business mobiles, contact us today for further information.

 

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