A majority of Singapore employees are using tablet computers to access business applications, a new survey has found.
According to the survey commissioned by Avanade, a global IT service provider that specialises in Microsoft’s technologies, 68 per cent of respondents in Singapore reported that the majority of their employees use tablets for enterprise apps such as customer relationship management, project management and data analysis.
That figure is much higher than the global average of 33 per cent, underscoring the rapid take-up of mobile technologies among companies in Singapore to improve productivity and stay competitive.
In addition, 84 percent of Singapore respondents said their employees use smartphones for reading e-mail messages and Web documents. The survey polled 599 C-level executives and IT decision-makers in 19 countries.
Those tablets and smartphones used for work purposes are also likely to be personal devices. More than seven in ten companies in Singapore revealed that the majority of their employees now use personal computing devices in the workplace.
Kevin Wo, vice president at Avanade Singapore, said the survey has showed that companies are recognising the business value of mobility by providing access to business applications through tablets and smartphones.
“To take advantage of the value mobility brings to employees and customers, companies are redesigning the building blocks of their business,” Wo said in a statement Friday.
“Avanade’s research reveals these leaders are modifying business processes like sales and marketing, and roles inside companies, such as HR staff, to make better use of mobile devices and other consumer technologies. Our work with customers and research studies show early signs that these changes are making an impact on revenues, profits and customer service,” he added.
Wo also noted that with the release of Microsoft Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, a new wave of enterprise-ready mobility solutions will enter the workplace as employees increasingly use their personal tablets and smartphones to get their jobs done more effectively.
However, Gartner research director Peter Sondergaard said at the Gartner Symposium/ITExpo last month that adoption of Windows 8 in the enterprise will not take off until 2014. Most companies are likely to bypass this latest version of Windows, as there is “no compelling business imperatives to drive legacy devices in business towards Windows 8”.
That said, Microsoft has reportedly sold “tens of millions” of Windows 8 enterprise licenses to businesses. While companies running Windows XP are most likely to upgrade to Windows 8, those who have already switched to Windows 7 are likely to wait till the end of their PC refresh cycle before jumping onto the bandwagon.
