Mobile Office

Pages749-750

Page 749

Advances in communication technology, entrepreneurial creativity, and the ever-more-hectic pace of modern life have all combined to encourage the development and refinement of mobile business offices. Indeed, entrepreneurs have been a driving force in the creation of computers, telephones, and other office equipment that are both effective and portable. Broadband networks and

Page 750

wireless communication devices have made it possible for office work of most types to be done from almost anywhere given the appropriate equipment. These advances have provided many benefits, many challenges, and they continue to alter the ways in which we communicate and work in the information age.

MOBILE BUSINESSES

Some businesses lend themselves more easily to mobility than do others. A manufacturing facility, for example, may benefit from the same technologies that make a mobile office possible—wireless communication devices like smartphones, laptops, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) as well as scanners and digital imaging devices—but they can hardly be considered mobile. The sales and marketing arms of manufacturing operations, however, are very likely to become more and more mobile as are service industry businesses generally.

Mobility of both people and data is implied in the term mobile office. Data mobility and the ease with which data may be accessed are both important aspects of making the mobile office a reality. Many business-people rely on portable office equipment primarily during transitional periods, such as at the airport or in a hotel room during a business trips. But observers have noted that mobile office technology has also become an essential performance tool for sales representatives, business planners, and busy entrepreneurs. Moreover, some enterprising small business owners have learned to synthesize communication technology with today's system of roadways to create truly mobile businesses that do not rely on a central office. In fact, equipment one may not expect to come ready for mobile office use is now being offered with equipment preinstalled. In late 2005, the Ford Motor Company announced that its 2006 line of full-size trucks would be offered with an optional mobile office preinstalled.

ADVANTAGES OF MOBILITY

Entrepreneurs with mobile businesses point to several major advantages associated with...

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