Telstra research claims mobile data tech set to surge

Mobile Internet, The, Nov, 2004

Australian businesses are ready to take on mobile data technology in the near future, according to a new survey from ACA Research.

The survey, commissioned by Telstra, showed that about half of Australian businesses surveyed plan to progressively implement the technology in the coming years.

Telstra managing director of mobile sales and solutions, Murray Bergin, said the research confirmed that mobility solutions were an increasingly important part of business operations.

"The research showed that most businesses recognize the benefits of mobile technology for e-mail connectivity, and offered some encouraging evidence that a growing number are realizing the advantages it provides for a wider range of data applications," Bergin said.

He continued, "The research highlighted that IT managers saw mobile solutions as playing a significant role in the day-to-day running of business, with roll out expected to take place across the board, from executives through to support personnel and technical staff."

Non-IT managers believed that mobile solutions were most applicable for staff at the highest levels, with most executive and management staff expected to have access to the technology.

Around 90 percent of the respondents saw the main application for mobile data technology as sending and receiving e-mail. Eighty-five percent saw the main application as accessing a corporate intranet and 79 percent for accessing the Internet. Around 80 percent of the respondents saw mobile solutions for operating office systems and databases.

While 95 percent of survey respondents believed mobile data technology would bring additional benefits to their business, 89 percent also had some concerns. The key concerns raised amongst the non-IT managers surveyed were the costs of implementing mobile technology (52 percent) and mobile devices (36 percent), while 55 percent of IT managers were more concerned about data security.

Bergin said they expect the figure of businesses interested in mobile data technology to increase following the launch of Telstra Mobile Broadband-1xEV-DO, with average data speeds of 300-600 kilobits per second and a maximum of 2.4Mbps.

Telstra launched the service that allows broadband access anywhere in the major cities and regional centers across Australia. Telstra announced it will initially target business customers who access the Internet on laptops, mobile phones and portable devices such as BlackBerry.