It’s not science fiction or a futuristic technology plan. Organizations need to manage a rapid transition to work environments that support a global, mobile and remote workforce, making the best of their skills and maintaining their identification with the organization, its culture and goals. 

It’s no surprise that workforce mobility has increased dramatically over the past several years. It touches each of us directly or indirectly. You or someone you know probably works as a mobile, remote or at-home worker with little time spent in a corporate office. The by-product of a changing economy, increasingly mobile and remote workforces are fueled by the proliferation of high-speed networks, Wi-Fi® (wireless fidelity) technology and mobile convergence evidenced by devices including BlackBerry® smartphones, the Apple® iPhone® and iPad®, the Droid™ and others. Worker demands for a better work/life balance add to the rising number of at-home workers seeking flexible work arrangements.

According to industry predictions, nearly a quarter of the world’s working population will not have a corporate supplied workplace or home base. Leading IT market research and advisory firm IDC issued a report suggesting that 75% of the US workforce will be mobile by the end of 2011 and this trend will continue to escalate. IDC estimates that the increase from year to year of mobile workers spending 20% or more away from their desk will grow more than 15% annually.

This trend confirms that organizations need to manage a rapid transition to work environments that support a global, mobile and remote workforce, making the best use of their skills and maintaining their identification with the organization, its culture and goals. With frequent business travelers taking to the skies, rails and roads in increasing numbers, field workers, telecommuters, remote branch office and multi-site workers need mobile enterprise applications to support existing business processes, increase productivity, reduce costs and enable them to rapidly respond to business needs that help them remain competitive - anytime, anywhere. In addition, the rise of the service economy has made face time between people in one physical location more crucial than ever and a differentiating component to business success.

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