Mobilizing Business

White Paper

M obilizing the Small- and
Medium-sized Business
Extending network access to mobile employees
I ntroduction
In response to flat or shrinking budgets, today’s small and medium-sized businesses are
searching for ways to generate more value from the resources, systems, and customers they
already have in place. As organizations strive to improve productivity, increase customerresponsiveness, and cut operating costs, companies are increasingly relying on networked
applications and Internet technologies. More and more, businesses view the company
network as a cornerstone of their ability to succeed.
The electronic tools available to knowledge workers today empower a single employee to
achieve a level of productivity that once required multiple employees. However,employees can
only use network-enabled tools and resources when they are connected to them, usually within
the confines of an office workstation. And, as companies strive to become more collaborative
and responsive to customer needs, employees are spending less time at their desktops. Instead,
they are spending more of the workday in meetings, visiting customers and business partners,
and conferringwith managers and subordinates.
How can businesses make the most of the company network while adapting to the needs of
a more mobile workforce? The solution lies in mobilizing the business—extending network
access to employees while they are away from their desks. Intelligent wired networks,
intelligent wireless LANs, and teleworking capabilities are the technology enablers. Together,
thesemobile office solutions expand the “productivity zone” of knowledge workers away
from their desks, and keep them better connected to customers, partners, and business tools.
M obility in the Mainstream
When professionals conduct business away from their desks, they lose access to valuable
network resources. This impedes their ability to respond rapidly to customer requests, to
collaborateeffectively in meetings, and sometimes even to close a deal. Now that mobility
solutions have matured, however, companies can afford to extend their information
infrastructures to workers in meeting rooms, in public areas at the main business location,
in airports and hotels on the road, and even at home. A recent study conducted by NOP
World—Technology for Cisco Systems shows that doing so canadd one to two hours a day
of productivity per worker while empowering them to respond more quickly to customers,
partners, and colleagues (Figure 1).

Cisco Systems, Inc.
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Figure 1 Cisco Mobile Office Solution Categories

As businesses add mobile officesolutions, they extend employee access to the
company network, beyond the desktop, thus increasing employee productivity.

In addition, mobile network extensions give workers more flexibility in where and how they do their jobs—a boon
to employee satisfaction.
Mobilizing the business by extending network access to mobile employees at work and at home yields benefits in
the following areas:
• Increasedemployee and workgroup productivity
• Improved responsiveness to customers, partners, and colleagues
• Improved workgroup collaboration
• Increased use of the existing wired network infrastructure
• Enhanced employee satisfaction and retention
Today, many companies view mobile office solutions as a “nice to have” rather than a critical business requirement.
However, the return on investment(ROI) for mobility transcends mere convenience. Organizations can actually save
millions of dollars each year on their profit lines—all for a per-user investment of less than US$2 per day (see section
below, “Doing the Wireless Math”).
C hallenges Facing Professionals
Because of the rise of more sophisticated company networks, applications, and Internet-enabled tools, each
knowledge worker...