Mobile Devices Make Managers Work More Outside Office Hours

LAREN, Netherlands, August 9, 2011 -

- Research shows more activity outside office hours, but little use of business applications

Mobile devices allow almost a quarter of managers to work beyond regular office hours more often, according to results of a recent study conducted among 300 Dutch managers for Kadenza by researcher SSI. SSI surveyed managers on the use of their tablets and smartphones, in a personal as well as a business context, to understand the current need for Mobile BI (Business Intelligence). Twenty-four percent of all managers who own a smartphone and 20% who own a tablet have started to work outside office hours more frequently. Managers still focus on personal and traditional activities, however, when using their mobile devices, such as phoning and texting. Smartphone users only spend 3% of their time logging into business applications, while tablet owners spend just 7%.

Need for information

How do managers stay up to date outside office hours? And what mobile information do they specifically need? Most managers surveyed indicate they need insight into turnover (42%), costs (51%) and customer satisfaction (42%) on their mobile devices. A remarkable outcome is that only 10% of managers claim they need real-time business information. Even more striking is the finding that 37% of company owners say that they do not need up-to-date company information.

Decision making

What resources do managers use when making decisions? Of all managers who own tablets, 60% use them regularly to make decisions. In addition, 45% of all managers with tablets and 50% with smartphones have started to use their devices more often over the past 2 years when making decisions. However, desktop and e-mail are still the most important tools for receiving up-to-date information. Moreover, personal interactions are the most important information source for decision making.

Erik Leene, CEO at Kadenza explains, “The need for Mobile BI is on its way but slowly. Our research shows that the use of mobile for business applications is still far behind the use of mobile for personal activities. This shows that managers have not yet included mobile in their core businesses’ activities. Though we can’t deny the increased need for information worldwide, our survey shows that managers’ need for up-to-date business information is lagging. This might be explained by the lack of flexible and solid business applications. Through the execution and presentation of this survey, we are giving critical insight into the opportunities and challenges for companies considering using Mobile Business Intelligence solutions.”

For more information about the Kadenza research and the effects on Mobile BI, click to watch an animated video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeS4m11GYWQ.

About Kadenza

Kadenza is a Dutch leader and specialist in Enterprise Intelligence. Its core business is bringing solutions to companies that give them access to the best business information for improving their strategy, practices and results. Kadenza’s approach is based on three disciplines: BI & Datawarehousing, Value projections and Planning & Control. Kadenza is a partner to several large BI suppliers, such as SAP Business Objects, IBM Cognos, QlikView, Oracle, Microsoft and Roambi. The company also developed its own DREAM intelligence platform for the property market. Kadenza employs over a hundred highly experienced consultants. For more information, go to www.kadenza.nl/mobile.

Marcommit PR, Ellis Akkermans, +31(0)35-582-27-30, kadenza at marcommit.nl