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Employees now using their smart phones for more than just tweeting at work

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You there, yes, you, reading this. Are you tweeting during working hours? What’s that? You’re just replying client emails. Sure you are.

A new study has revealed that more Australian employees are using their mobile devices for more sophisticated business uses. Furthermore, Australian companies are embracing enterprise mobility and consumer technologies to help employees do their jobs in new ways.

The Avanade survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 45 C-level executives, business unit leaders, and IT decision makers, ages 18 and older, in Australia. The study was conducted between August 20th and September 13th, 2012. Avanade® is a global business technology solutions and managed services provider.

What the survey reveals is that the “bring your own device” trend continues to grow steadily among the working class. More than seven in ten companies (72%) report that the majority of their employees now use personal computing devices such as smart phones and tablets in the workplace. Over half (62%) said the majority of their employees use smart phones for basic work functions such as reading email, web documents and calendar invitations.

Which mobile devices are being used most for business use at work?

However, the research shows that tablets in particular are quickly being adopted as key tools in a multi-device world. Four in ten companies reveal that most of their employees use tablets for simple work tasks. One in three report that the majority of their employees use tablets for advanced business uses with enterprise applications such as customer relationship management (CRM), project management, content creation and data analysis.

“What the research shows us is how ingrained tablets have become in the workplace in less than three years since they hit mainstream,” said Jeyan Jeevaratnam, Country Manager, Avanade Australia.

“Companies are recognising the business value tablets can offer, and creating solutions and enabling access to business systems to capitalise on the opportunity. With the release of Microsoft Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, there will be a new wave of enterprise-ready mobility solutions entering the workplace as employees increasingly use their personal tablets and smart phones to get their jobs done more effectively.”

With Microsoft Windows 8 set to usher in new smart phone features and tablet form factors, as well as enterprise applications and services to improve business productivity and user experience, Avanade believes Windows 8 will see an uptake in business applications in areas including retail, healthcare and sales.

“To take advantage of the value mobility brings to employees and customers, companies are redesigning the building blocks of their business,” said Jeevaratnam.

“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.”

According to Morgan Stanley Market Trends, more than half of network devices in 2012 will ship without a wired port, and the majority of these devices are being brought into the workplace. Avanade is working with companies to deliver an enhanced mobility experience to their employees and customers.