If you were to ask anyone under the age of 30 what the most important invention of their lifetime is, you may be surprised how many of them would say “the smartphone”. These devices have revolutionized the way that people communicate, work, and play, but like any other technology, the form factor may not be here forever. So what’s next after the smartphone? We unpack what technologies may replace the smartphone as the next big jump in personal computing.
Mobile utilization in business has been on the rise for quite some time and today’s business has to stop and confront the issues that come along with it before they become problems. Like any technology that people have come to rely on outside of their job, a business’ first consideration is how to make use of it for business as well. This month, we thought we would take a look at some of the pain points organizations can experience when managing their mobile devices.
Did you know that people tend to spend an average of 3-5 hours on their phones every day? The smartphone might be one of the most useful modern tools out there, but it can get in the way of running your business if you let it. Here are a couple of ways you can get the most out of your smartphone for business purposes.
You always read that “business has changed”. This is true because people have changed. More people use their mobile devices for a majority of their communication, their browsing, and a lot more, and it is changing the way business is conducted; it’s just not always easy to separate work use from personal usage. Let’s take a look at some of the ways the smartphone has changed the way people approach work, and how that shift in perspective has changed business.
Smartphones are everywhere. You go to the supermarket, people are on their phones, you go to the gym, people are on their phones. Go into the office? People are constantly on their phones. All that phone use cannot be in the best interest to organizational profitability. The question becomes, do smartphones help or hurt business? Let’s get into it.
Think about how happy you are when you first get your new phone. If you are like most of us you can’t keep your hands off of it. You try all the new features out and mutter to yourself, “wow, this is so cool”. The enthusiasm that people have for their new mobile devices can be a major benefit for the company they work for, too. Today, we are going to discuss how, with all the features and powerful computing power, you can work effectively on your smartphone.
Digital payment options have become commonplace in today’s society. In fact, ever since people could purchase goods and services off of the Internet, some of the world’s most successful companies are a result of digital payment. It was a natural progression then, as the mobile device boom came, that mobile payment would take the place of cash and/or cards and bring these digital payment options beyond the Internet, and into our retail stores. This simply hasn’t happened and here are four reasons why.
The Tried and True Payment Still Works
The first reason is simple. Retailers still accept cash and credit cards. Why would anyone who has been using these tried and true methods of payment for 20-plus years change things up? According to First Annapolis Consulting’s “Study of Mobile Banking & Payments”, while 64 percent of all smartphone users have used some form of mobile payment platform, only five percent consider themselves frequent payment users. The fact is that it’s not as attractive as you may think, and is further relegated to the background because...
There is a Lack of Incentive
What added value does a mobile payment service actually offer? Sure, in some states that have gone to a digital ID system, this would seemingly allow consumers to forgo the wallet completely. That’s it. Most mobile payment interfaces make it difficult for users to redeem loyalty points or take advantage of special offers at mobile point of sale machines.
There are companies, such as Starbucks, that have made a point to integrate their loyalty points system into their mobile payment platform. Their mobile app combines the loyalty point program with mobile payment options, which is great for consumers. But like the consumers themselves, if a company doesn’t see an immediate (or even long-term) demand, they will avoid laying out the capital until that demand is present.
In order for mobile users to take full advantage of the mobile payment platforms, you will need to give them some form of incentive to use it. This is mainly since...
Mobile Payment Actually Takes More Effort
One of the claims that mobile payment providers make is that it is much easier to use than any other type of payment. Just tap and go. While this seems reasonable on the surface, the reality of it is that it takes just as long or longer to access your mobile payment platform through your smartphone as it does to take cash or a card out of a wallet. Consider for a minute the steps you have to take in order to make mobile payment work: You have to take your phone out, unlock it, access the mobile wallet app, select which card you want to use, and then hold your phone to the terminal. After this they still need to either sign the screen/paper or provide a pin. Why take so much effort to make purchases when it takes less time to buy goods in a traditional way; and, still have to deal with…
Mobile Payment Security Concerns
To be fair, mobile payments may be as secure as any other form of digital payment, but there is an inherent fear in many consumers’ minds that because there is an all-digital transmission of financial information that it is somehow less secure than traditional digital payment options. This fear isn’t unfounded, as each day people can read about data breaches at banks, stores, and major online retailers, that only work to fuel the anxiety surrounding mobile payments.
Many cyber security experts have cautiously endorsed the use of secure payment apps, while others point to studies like the 2015 Mobile Payment Security Study that overwhelmingly urges a wait-and-see approach, but does admit that the industry is making headway in the security of mobile financial transactions with the inclusion of account tokenization, device-specific cryptograms, and multi-factor authentication.
In the future, mobile devices will become the only computer we’ll need, but will they become the only wallet we’ll need? Only time will tell.
The new smartphone models are here. This year there are plenty for consumers to get excited about in the smartphone space. The return of the Galaxy Note, the evolution of the Galaxy s8, a premium iPhone, and the return of two of the industry's heavy hitters highlight this year’s best smartphones.
Chances are, you’ve heard of phishing before--emails that promise some benefit or prize if you only click on the included link, that actually only results in trouble for you and your data. Unfortunately, as technology has embraced mobility, so have phishing attempts. This is why you must also be aware of SMiShing scams.
We typically use this blog to share information about the technology that a business should be leveraging - but in this blog, we’ve decided to focus on a different group that is increasingly reliant on technology: students. As these pupils will someday make up the workforce and almost certainly utilize technology on a daily basis, it is important that their education reflects this increase in their curriculums. Here, we’ll consider some of the effects (good and bad) that this has had.
The Internet is rife with potential threats. Some are situational, but most are deliberate actions made by malicious entities who are trying to obtain any semblance of value from you or your company. Some of these exploits have been around longer than you’d imagine possible. This has been made evident by huge Internet-based companies such as PayPal and Facebook testing positive for a 19-year-old vulnerability that once allowed hackers to decrypt encrypted data.
When you mention the term 'disaster recovery,' most people think about the big ground-shattering events like earthquakes, fires, floods, tropical storms, etc. While these natural events are certainly disasters and devastating in their own right, smaller things can constitute as a disaster for your business, and they aren't seasonal.
Collaborative work is pushing organizations forward faster today than ever before. With the use of more dynamic and option-rich technology, your organization can benefit from the improved productivity that comes from enhancing your collaborative strategies. Today, we look at some of the technologies used by organizations that prioritize collaborative work.
Capital One is one of the largest credit card issuers in the world. On July 29th 2019, Capital One made an announcement, confirming it is the victim of one of the largest data breaches in financial sector history, as a former software engineer for Amazon has been indicted on charges related to the hacking.
Microsoft Office is the most utilized productivity suite in the world; and, there are several reasons why. One of the most cited is that they routinely update the applications with new and innovative features. Office 2019 has been out for just under a year and today, we’ll talk about the biggest improvements Microsoft has made within their signature productivity suite.
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