ORGANISATIONS are finding that an increasing number of their staff require mobile computing solutions in order to accommodate flexible working practices.

Fraser Kyne, field product marketing manager UK, Ireland and SA of Citrix Systems, says access to information is becoming increasingly important for organisations.

In addition, enterprises are starting to seek out a competitive edge by being more flexible in terms of their information access.

"Many companies operate literally hundreds of different enterprise applications and information comes from a number of different sources.

"There are an increasing number of devices being used to access enterprise information. Employees are buying their own devices and asking the business to allow them to use the device," Kyne says.

Complicating the situation still further is that staff work from a variety of locations.

Many companies have staff who operate in a mobile role as a standard part of their jobs, such as field-service personnel and sales representatives.

These employees need to carry out a variety of interactions with their organisations' systems while they are on the move, including placing orders and checking service bookings.

"It is critical for these people to be able to access information on a real-time basis, while ensuring that information is absolutely secure and managed in a proper manner," Kyne says.

He says what has become known as extended-day working is becoming increasingly popular.

For example, workers may begin their working days at home to miss peak-hour traffic.

"UK research has found that 77% of workers claim that remote working boosts their job satisfaction. As a counterpoint to this result, 75% of IT managers do not understand why this trend is taking place but most of them believe that mobile working is growing for cultural reasons.

"In other words, there is a culture of information usage that is driving the technology," he says.

"There is a need to extend the reach of remote office connectivity, with the definition including a branch office or a home office."

He says work has become something that people want to do, not a place they need to be.

Oct 27 2003 07:28:53:000AM  Business Day 1st Edition