Sage Canadian SMB Survey on Mobile Devices March 2013 Summary Report
Introduction Sage North America, a leading provider of business management software and services to more than 6 million small and midsized businesses worldwide, recently polled 476 small and midsized businesses in Canada for the Sage SMB Survey on Mobile Devices, which found that Canadian business owners find the use of mobile technology to have a positive effect on their company s productivity. Eighty-three per cent of respondents said that mobile technology has had a positive effect on their businesses, while just 1 per cent found mobile technology has negatively impacted their business. Moreover, 78 per cent of respondents are using devices to access work-related information. Devices used outside the office Of those businesses using devices while out of the office, more than 55 per cent have one to two employees using laptops, about 40 per cent have one to two employees using desktops, and about 40 per cent have one to two employees using tablets or smartphones. Business leaders report that the use of devices for remote access have increased over the past year with laptops increasing by 48 per cent, tablets by 64 per cent, and smartphones by 78 per cent. How many of your employees are using the following to access work-related information when they are not in the office? Question None 1 or 2 3 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 25 More than 25 Don't Know/Not Sure Laptops 17.7% 56.1% 18.0% 4.8% 1.4% 1.7% 0.3% Desktops 37.4% 39.5% 12.9% 5.4% 2.0% 1.7% 1.0% Tablets 45.2% 38.1% 10.9% 2.4% 0.7% 0.7% 2.0% Smartphones 21.4% 39.5% 19.7% 11.6% 3.1% 4.4% 0.3% SMB s BYOD strategies When asked about having a bring your own device policy (BYOD), 45 per cent responded that they already have this policy in place, while 35 per cent have not considered this option. Another 9 per cent have considered but decided against a BYOD strategy for their businesses. Business decision makers may be better off establishing a BYOD policy in order to protect their company s proprietary data. By doing so, decision makers can capitalize on the growing trend of employees conducting work activities on mobile devices with the peace of mind that their company data is still secure. The Sage mobile survey found that smartphones are used for work more than 59 per cent of the time. Page 2
Are the mobile devices used by your employees supplied by your company? Supplied by company 192 71% Supplied by employee (no company reimbursement) 76 28% Device supplied by employee but service paid for by company 48 18% Don't know/not sure 7 3% What is your company s approach to BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices) to work? We already have this company policy which lets employees bring and use their devices 158 45% We are considering this policy to let employees bring and user their devices 16 5% We have not considered this policy 124 35% We have considered this policy and decide to not permit employees to bring and use it 33 9% Other 21 6% Do you personally use a device (such as a desktop, laptop, tablet computer or smartphone) to access work-related information remotely (when away from the office or your main computer)? Yes 352 78% No 100 22% Page 3
What types of devices do you use to access work-related information remotely? (Check as many as apply.) Desktop 143 41% Laptop 261 74% Smartphone 241 68% Tablet 135 38% Other (specify) 8 2% For the desktop device, laptop, smartphone, and tablet that you use, what percentage do you use for work versus personal? Answer Min. Value Max. Value Average Value Standard Deviation Responses Desktop 0.00 100.00 68.10 32.27 143 Laptop 5.00 100.00 69.02 26.26 257 Smartphone 2.00 100.00 59.25 24.78 241 Tablet 0.00 100.00 37.77 25.07 135 Productivity The Sage survey also found that the use of smartphones and tablets for remote access has increased by 78 per cent and 64 per cent, respectively. What effect has mobile technology had on your company's productivity? Positive 225 83% Negative 4 1% No effect 41 15% Page 4
Other Highlights How much do you believe the use of the following devices for remote access has changed over the past year? Question Decreased Remained the same Increased Laptops 12.6% 39.6% 47.8% Desktops 26.7% 55.9% 17.4% Tablets 4.1% 32.2% 63.7% Smartphones 1.9% 20.4% 77.8% Page 5
What type of work-related information or applications do you personally access remotely on a mobile device? (Select all that apply.) Accounting/ERP 96 27% Banking 226 64% Contacts 270 77% Schedule 199 57% Documents (Word, Excel) 188 53% Email 316 90% Field Service 13 4% File Storage 83 24% Online Meetings 31 9% Operations 25 7% Sales 44 13% Marketing 35 10% Social Media 130 37% Text Messaging 232 66% Time Management 90 26% Other (specify) 17 5% Page 6
How useful would it be to use mobile devices for the following tasks? Question Very Useful Somewhat Useful Neutral Somewhat Not Useful Not At all Useful Viewing your calendar 12.5% 4.2% 25.0% 0.0% 58.3% Keeping up with the status of projects and organizing project details 4.2% 16.7% 12.5% 0.0% 66.7% Creating customer invoices 8.3% 4.2% 12.5% 0.0% 75.0% Keeping your task list and/or assigning tasks to team members 8.3% 4.2% 20.8% 0.0% 66.7% Viewing accounting and business reports 12.5% 4.2% 16.7% 0.0% 66.7% Tracking time spent on your work 8.3% 12.5% 12.5% 0.0% 66.7% Accepting payments 8.3% 8.3% 8.3% 4.2% 70.8% Accessing customer information 12.5% 12.5% 16.7% 4.2% 54.2% Processing customer payments by credit card 8.3% 0.0% 16.7% 0.0% 75.0% Page 7
Please indicate how your business currently carries out each of the business functions below: (Check all that apply.) Question Paper Desktop spreadsheet software Desktop software (other than spreadsheet) Mobile application Web-based application Outside service Other Don't do this Scheduling 24.8% 25.6% 27.0% 25.2% 15.2% 1.1% 3.7% 10.7% Keeping up with the status of projects and organizing project details 17.0% 31.1% 31.5% 20.4% 13.3% 0.7% 2.6% 15.2% Creating customer invoices 10.4% 21.5% 65.9% 4.4% 4.4% 0.4% 3.0% 5.6% Keeping a or task list and/or assigning tasks to specific employees 21.5% 20.4% 31.1% 26.7% 10.7% 0.4% 5.2% 14.8% Managing the business' accounting 4.1% 20.0% 79.6% 3.7% 3.3% 3.3% 2.2% 0.7% Tracking time spent on specific projects 14.4% 20.7% 28.9% 8.9% 5.6% 0.0% 3.0% 35.6% Keeping all your contacts organized 8.1% 14.4% 57.4% 39.3% 18.1% 0.7% 3.7% 2.2% Page 8
What is your company s approach to supporting the following operating systems for smartphones and tablets? Question Use today Plan to use within the next 6 months Considering Rejected Undecided Android 25.2% 1.9% 11.5% 28.9% 32.6% Apple ios 52.2% 2.2% 7.0% 17.0% 21.5% Windows 36.7% 3.7% 13.7% 20.0% 25.9% About the Survey The Sage North America mobile survey was conducted among 476 Canadian respondents and has an error rate of +/- 4.5 per cent with a 95 per cent confidence level. 13888 Wireless Way Richmond, BC V6V 3A4 2013 Sage Software Canada, Inc. All rights reserved. Sage, the Sage logos, and the Sage product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software, Inc. or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Page 9