Exploring workplace innovations and the benefits that are created when you embrace the use of mobile devices in the enterprise

1. The Inevitability of a Mobile Workplace
Stories of collaboration and innovation
Sharon Richardson
Joining Dots
@joiningdots
www.joiningdots.com

2. ReadMe.First
This presentation was delivered at the Ovum Industry Congress i
n May 2014 and Ovum’s Mobile First event in June 2014
The session explored how mobile devices are enabling new
types of interaction that are fundamentally different to the
desktop era. And what that might mean for the future of work
This version has been reformatted for Slideshare which means
animations used to assist visually are unfortunately lost. Some
notes have been added to provide a bit of context from the talk
© Copyright 2014 Joining Dots Ltd. All rights reserved
Notes look
like this

3. How Disruptive?
Mainframe vs PC
PC vs Mobile

4. How Disruptive?
Mainframe vs PC
PC vs Mobile
The transition from mainframes to PCs
dramatically reduced the cost of
computing and enabled smaller
organisations to compete digitally.
But organisations of all sizes share
similar traits
This time, it is the organisation
structure being challenged. The rise
of networked individuals able to go
beyond traditional boundaries

5. Mobile Economic Time
People are creating an additional 30 days per year
for doing ‘stuff’ online – CA Technologies

6. Increasing Availability
Mobile notifications enable you to react
and adapt to unplanned situations
06 . . 09 . . 12 . . 15 . . 18
= unaware of need to act

7. Increasing Availability
Mobile notifications enable you to react
and adapt to unplanned situations
06 . . 09 . . 12 . . 15 . . 18
= unaware of need to act
Laptops are for completing scheduled tasks.
Mobile devices make you more accessible to
respond when the unexpected happens
Laptops on trains are for work
you are behind schedule on.
Mobile devices alert you about
an incident without needing
to be booted up first

8. Flattening Hierarchies
You can’t speed up decisions if you
always need permission to act
Standard Decision Processes Flexible Decision Guidelines
But mobile is only effective within a supportive
hierarchy. That includes having permission to fail
if you want people to solve problems

9. Learning by Doing
There’s only so much you learn by reading
what others have to say on a subject

10. Simplicity trumps Features
4
mins
5
days
2
wks
3
mths
5
mths
Source: Given Tablets, Ethiopian Children Teach Themselves
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/506466/given-tablets-but-no-teachers-ethiopian-children-teach-themselves/
Children in a remote village untouched
by technology given a box of digital
tablets with no instructions

11. Simplicity trumps Features
4
mins
5
days
2
wks
3
mths
5
mths
Source: Given Tablets, Ethiopian Children Teach Themselves
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/506466/given-tablets-but-no-teachers-ethiopian-children-teach-themselves/
Took 4 minutes to unpack and power on.
Within 5 days, averaging 47 apps per day.
Within 2 weeks, singing ‘ABC” songs.
Within 3 months writing a language they had
never seen before. In 5 months, hacked
the settings to activate the camera.
All achieved without any training or
instructions. Learning by doing

12. Simplicity trumps Features
4
mins
5
days
2
wks
3
mths
5
mths
Source: Given Tablets, Ethiopian Children Teach Themselves
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/506466/given-tablets-but-no-teachers-ethiopian-children-teach-themselves/
Imagine if, instead of being given tablets, desks and chairs
had been set-up with traditional PCs and keyboards?

13. Employment Shifts
Source: What The Future of Work Looks Like - Fortune Magazine, May 2014
http://fortune.com/2014/05/29/what-the-future-of-work-looks-like/
35% of US workers today are “contingent” -
freelance, temporary, part-time, contractors
70% of US workers report that they are not
engaged at work
The next generation is expected to change
careers at least 10 times before the age of
40
Simple solutions are easier to use and cost less
to maintain. Workforce demographics suggest
those are key benefits going forward…

14. "Internet of Things"
The range of mobile devices is expanding, but the
disruption remains the same: mobility and ability to act

15. Mobile in the Office
Traditional open plan cubicles are about people
staying at their desks as much as possible,
completing routine tasks. No longer the reality
Eli Lilly is one example of an organsation redesigning the workspace
for more movement and interaction – project-based collaboration

16. Per Employee Before After
Square footage 212 156
Furniture cost $9,100 $4,900
Hours lost to noise 32 22.8
Email volume ↓ 50%
Time looking for meeting rooms ↓ 16%
Overall satisfaction with workspace 34% 64%
Mobile in the Office
Source: Eli Lilly’s High-Performance Office Space, Harvard Business Review
http://hbr.org/2011/09/high-performance-office-space/ar/1
Potential to both save costs and create better
working environments. If technology is likely to
automate more, conversations will matter more

17. The Rise of Virtual Assistants
Respond Alert Predict
But there is also the individual
impact. Virtual assistance is
smarter when we’re mobile
…from answering our questions to notifying us about changes to predicting our decisions

18. The Future of Work
Too often, the future of work appears bleak: the race
against the machines that will automate everything

19. How Disruptive?
Tablets aren’t the most powerful
computing gadgets but they are
the most convenient. Particularly
for frequent intermittent use
without need for a flat surface
Tim Cook, CEO Apple
We can easily do two things
at the same time. But we can’t
concentrate on two things at once
Greg McKeown, Author

20. How Disruptive?
Tablets aren’t the most powerful
computing gadgets but they are
the most convenient. Particularly
for frequent intermittent use
without need for a flat surface
Tim Cook, CEO Apple
We can easily do two things
at the same time. But we can’t
concentrate on two things at once
Greg McKeown, Author
The desktop era enabled multi-tasking.
The mobile era is about prioritising.
Things that can be done simultaneously
are likely to be strong candidates for
automation. The things that require
concentration are what matters

21. New Organisations?
Connected & Mobile with
Virtual Assistance
= Amplified Individuals
The future of work is about amplified
individuals. Connected and mobile

22. Further Reading
• The Value in Mobile Economic Time
http://www.joiningdots.com/blog/2014/05/the-value-in-mobile-
economic-time/
• Bring your own… Everything!
http://www.joiningdots.com/blog/2014/05/bring-your-own-
everything/
• How Digital Trends are Compressing Processes
http://www.joiningdots.com/blog/2013/01/digital-trends-
compressing-processes/

23. The Inevitability of a Mobile
Workplace
Stories of collaboration and innovation
Sharon Richardson
Joining Dots
@joiningdots
www.joiningdots.com
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