Nokia identifies five phases of workforce mobility to help companies gauge and guide their use of mobile technology

Key stages help companies measure the value of their own approach to mobile technology and outline the building blocks necessary for a successful strategy

November 10, 2005, New York, NY, USA - Leading edge? Or lagging behind? With the pace of technological change, it can be difficult for any decision maker or IT professional to know where their organization stands in deploying and effectively using a given technology, and in the still maturing world of mobile technology it can be even more challenging. While enabling a workforce with mobile voice capabilities provides certain value, overlooking other aspects of mobile technology, such as simple applications or the right type of network access, can prevent businesses from realizing the full ROI and productivity benefits the technology has to offer. It is with this in mind that Nokia is introducing five phases of workforce mobility that companies can employ to evaluate their own use of mobile technology and ensure proper planning of a successful mobile strategy. The thinking is outlined in a new report available today.

The five stages start from an organization’s idea of mobile technology and the integration of mobility into an overall IT strategy, and play out the course of mobile technology to the point where the way business is done is forever changed. That shift is still ahead, but in between the two extremes lay several phases many companies can identify with now - from starting to mobilize workers as more of a matter of convenience, to taking the notion of mobility for granted and focusing on increased productivity.

Integral to getting the most from mobile technology are several building blocks Nokia has identified that companies should keep in mind when developing and implementing a mobile strategy. These pieces consist of much of the same components that make up any IT strategy, including leveraging existing assets and infrastructure, addressing diverse user needs, and ensuring security, scalability and support is in place.

“No one would consider ignoring security or support in their desktop environment, so why should it be any different for the mobile environment? Considering most employees that have a corporate PC or laptop are likely to have mobile phones as well, you can see how important the mobile world is becoming to business,” said Bob Brace, vice president, mobile solutions, Nokia Enterprise Solutions. “The phases of workforce mobility we’ve identified are valuable in that businesses can see the large-scale impact mobile technology holds for the future, and if organizations aren’t thinking about significant pieces today, they can adjust their planning to make getting there that much easier.”

“Most companies today are in what we’ve termed the first two phases of workforce mobility. They’re either working to include mobile technology as part of their IT planning and procurement, or they’ve accomplished that and now they’re working to mobilize their workforce through voice and applications like email. Even in these early stages, taking a comprehensive approach to mobility will help avoid headaches down the road,” continued Brace.

The introduction of the “phases of workforce mobility” is part of a continuing initiative for Nokia to provide businesses with the reference materials and resources they need to successfully enable mobile technology within their own organizations. To read the detailed report, visit http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,8764,330,00.html, and for more information on Nokia’s workforce mobility initiative and the latest offerings for business, visit http://www.nokia.com/business.

About Nokia
Nokia is a world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia connects people to each other and the information that matters to them with easy-to-use and innovative products like mobile phones, devices and solutions for imaging, games, media and businesses. Nokia provides equipment, solutions and services for network operators and corporations.

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