The Inevitability of a Mobile Workplace

Stories of collaboration and innovation

Sharon RichardsonJoining Dots

@joiningdotswww.joiningdots.com

ReadMe.FirstThis presentation was delivered at the Ovum Industry Congress in 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

How Disruptive?

Mainframe vs PC

PC vs Mobile

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 digi-tally. But organisations of all sizes share similar traits

This time, it is the organisation structure being challenged. The rise of networked individuals able to workbeyond traditional boundaries

Mobile Economic Time

People are creating an additional 30 days per year for doing ‘stuff’ online – CA Technologies

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 acces-sible to respond when the unexpected happens

Increasing Availability

Mobile notifications enable you to react and adapt to unplanned

situations

06 . . 09 . . 12 . . 15 . . 18

= unaware of need to act

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

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 sup-portive hierarchy. That includes having permission to fail if you want people to solve problems

Learning by Doing

There’s only so much you learn by readingwhat others have to say on a subject

Simplicity trumps Features

4 mins

5 days

2 wks

3 mths

5 mths

Source: Given Tablets, Ethiopian Children Teach Themselveshttp://www.technologyreview.com/news/506466/given-tablets-but-no-teachers-ethiopian-children-teach-themselves/

Children in a remote village un-touchedby technology given a box of digi-tal tablets with no instructions

Simplicity trumps Features

4 mins

5 days

2 wks

3 mths

5 mths

Source: Given Tablets, Ethiopian Children Teach Themselveshttp://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 hadnever seen before. In 5 months, hackedthe settings to activate the camera.

All achieved without any train-ing or instructions. Learning by doing

Simplicity trumps Features

4 mins

5 days

2 wks

3 mths

5 mths

Source: Given Tablets, Ethiopian Children Teach Themselveshttp://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?

Employment Shifts

Source: What The Future of Work Looks Like - Fortune Magazine, May 2014http://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…

"Internet of Things"

The range of mobile devices is expanding, but the disruption remains the same: mobility and ability to act

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 collabo-ration

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 Reviewhttp://hbr.org/2011/09/high-performance-office-space/ar/1

Potential to both save costs and create bet-ter working environments. If technology is likely to automate more, conversations will matter more

The Rise of Virtual Assistants

Respond Alert Predict

Then there is the individual impact. Virtual assistance is more useful when we’re mo-bile

…from answering our questions to notifying us about changes to predicting next steps…

The Future of Work

Too often, the future of work appears bleak: the race against the machines that will automate ev-erything

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

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 prioritis-ing.

Things that can be done simulta-neouslyare likely to be strong candidates for automation. The things that re-quire concentration are what matters

New Organisations?

Connected & Mobile with Virtual Assistance

= Amplified Individuals

The future of work is about am-plified individuals. Connected and mo-bile.Enabling them to react and adapt

Further Reading

• The Value in Mobile Economic Timehttp://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 Processeshttp://www.joiningdots.com/blog/2013/01/digital-trends-compressing-processes/

The Inevitability of a Mobile Workplace

Stories of collaboration and innovation

Sharon RichardsonJoining Dots

@joiningdotswww.joiningdots.com

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