Tips for choosing your business mobiles

The highly competitive world of mobile phones, in terms of both the handsets and the tariffs, can be a little daunting.  Whichever phones you choose for your business, they need to be the effective in relation to the way your company operates. It’s also important to ensure the tariff you are on suits your usage so that you are getting the best value for money. It is worth spending some time considering exactly what you need from your business mobiles, as this will help to ensure that you make the right choice.

Here are ten tips that will help you to choose the right business mobiles for your organisation:

1. Some mobiles are designed with personal consumers in mind. If the marketing literature is primarily about music, games and the internet, then it is likely that it will not be the optimum device to work with in a business environment. Evaluate the sales pitch against your requirements.
2. Are you intending for the device to be effectively used as a computer and not just as a phone? Will you need a QWERTY keyboard built in or attachable? If you stick with the regular phone keys, are they large enough to support business use and efficiency requirements? It will obviously be a huge disadvantage to spend several minutes typing a short e-mail via a phone when it could have been done much faster on a larger keyboard. No one wants to be slowed down in business – time is money!
3. Business mobiles will contain sensitive company data, so it is hugely beneficial to have encryption tools so that, if the handset is lost, the data will be secure. Remote wiping facilities also aid security and confidentiality needs.
4. Is there a facility for a personal organiser on the mobile that you’re considering? A comprehensive appointment/diary function is essential and should be easily accessible and easy to use.
5. Does the mobile allow software additions, packages like Excel and Word for instance, and are business apps downloadable? This includes apps specifically built for your company, like a client record management app. If these are not permitted, does this compromise the level of service that field staff can offer?
6. The business mobile that you select should have GPS and mapping software for the ease of field staff logistics. Long gone are the days of the expandable paper map, so ensure that the phone serves productivity and confidence requirements.
7. Does the mobile offer e-mail facilities? E-mail is, as we know, vital for business operations. It, therefore, needs to be readily accessible and easy to use, in a desktop format preferably, to maximise on productivity and customer service response times.
8. Will multiple e-mail accounts be accessible on the mobile? Workers may need to see a variety of inboxes to be able to work effectively.
9. If you want the facility of a tracking app so that you can ensure and manage staff movements and safety, then you need to ensure that this is possible before you make a purchase.
10. Will you need handwriting recognition tools for note taking? Is there software in the phone pre-purchase or will the handset allow a download?

The above considerations should enable you to make the right choice of business mobile. Once you have narrowed down your options to a few handsets, the next step is to compare tariffs across different providers. Whilst the same phones will be available with most providers, the tariff options will vary considerably. It can often be better, from a business perspective, to go with a smaller, independent provider as these tend to be more flexible about the tariff options and offer a service that’s tailored to your individual needs.

For business mobiles in Solihull and the wider West Midlands region, contact Midland Networks today.