Smart Phones as a Disruptive Technology for Business

This report was created in order to discuss, analyze and indicate the significant impact of smart phones over the business environment. It offers answers to the questions: 1) How smart phones have changed the world of business? What are the consequences? What is the indirect and direct impact over the business? 2) What advantages offer smart phones to the business? How they affect it? What could be expected in the future? 3) What are the concerns related to the change? What could be the future issue, which we should take into consideration? BACKGROUND

In 1973, started the conception of combining technology and computing. In 1974, Theodore George Paraskevakos, who was “Years ahead of his time…” as Berkman says, patented the Basic Smartphone Concept. The actual release of the smart phone in the market was 1994, when IBM combines a cell phone and PDA Forming the Simon Personal Communicator. “This ancestor of the modern smartphone”, says Berkman, “was capable of text messaging, faxing and emailing, in addition to making phone calls”. The price of device was retailed for $1,099, or $899 if the buyer signed up for a two-year service contract.

In 1999, BlackBerry created email device. Its price at $399 was more affordable than the Simon Personal Communicator. “The only problem”, says Berkam,” was the first BlackBerry was only a two-way pager with email capabilities, not a phone”. Later, in 2000, when Ericsson described its R380, The name “smart phones” was created. “The Swedish company called its mobile phone a ‘smartphone’ invented a device lightweight flip phone that ran the Symbian operating system” . Finally, in 2007, Apple invented its Multi-Touch Screen iPhone. It was similar to iPod, except it could be use for making phone calls, taking pictures, browsing on the Internet. Even though Apple was not exactly a pioneering smartphone company and it was not the first company to have a multi-touch screen, by combining the features, it created a smartphone that offered more than just a communication with other people, it created a mobile multi media center.

The difference between the smart phones and feature phones is that smart phone run applications, which have better integration in smart phones then feature phones. Smart phones offer the easiest and most convenient way to improve business environment presenting as a small computer in your pocket, which allows the businesspeople to do almost everything what they usually do in the office.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

The results of this research highlight the benefits of using smart phones. The findings are discussed in three categories: (a) smart phones changed the business, (b) advantages, and (c) fears. Smart phones have changed the business world.

According to a recent customer survey made of Ring Central from March 12 to March 16, 2010, the owners of small to medium-sized businesses across the United States discussed the increased role of usage of smart phones. The survey was compiled from almost 400 customers. They said that smart phones have changed the way they do business. There are the complete results:

As a result, 40% from smart phone users cannot live without them, which is the same percentage compared with the people who cannot live without relationship.

When conducting business, only 22% of the respondents use the traditional office phone, other 77% use smart phones, which increase productivity and flexibility. As an addition, smart phones save time and could be used everywhere anytime, which creates competitive advantage for the companies. Most businesspeople use a smart phone to manage and make money. It is much more convenient to use it to check your bank account instead to go back to the office and do it on the computer. Unfortunately, smartphones became source of distraction and dangerous behavior. As an example is that 1 in 4 smart-phone owners say they check their phones while behind the wheel, even all prohibitions and penalties for texting and driving.

According the survey more 47% of its participants spend 2/3 of the time their time on the smart phone. Only 17% of them spend 1/3 of their time talking by smart phone. Therefore, we can conclude that almost every second participant in the survey use 2/3 of the time talking on the smart phones. “Smartphonatic” is a new category of consumer, which defined as someone who changes shopping, banking and payment behavior after switching to a smart phone. According to a study by ACI Worldwide and Aite Group approximately, a quarter of smart-phone owners are considered smartphonatics.

The significant 34% of the professionals say that they use their smart phones more than their computers. This percentage tends to increase as more the number of the integrated applications in the smart phones increase. Having a smartphone is like having a laptop in your pocket! You can work virtually from everywhere, you can check your e-mail, you have your Wi-Fi, etc. That increase the busness efficiency. “This survey demonstrates the critical
role smart phones play in business. The passion business professionals have for these devices reflects a major shift in the way we work, and the new reality is that businesses do not have to choose between mobility and professionalism,” said Vlad Shmunis, CEO of RingCentral.

Advantages

With the years, purchasing of smart phones increases rapidly. According to the Pew Research Centre, 46% of Americans have smart phone. Furthermore, the business has changed the approach to accommodate the new technology by benefit from their advantages. 1. Email, Instant Messages, and Response Times

The convenient access from the smart phone to the e-mail and instant messages saves time. That have changed the way to reach colleagues, customers and vendors, as well the business communications. More importantly, though, is the ability of email to reach customers through the use of email marketing, which now has its own industry and service providers. Smartphones have changed understanding for response time. For instance, in the past was accepted the response time to be from “one to three business days”, now, it is about “two to twelve hours” 2. Easier Travel Opportunities

Business trip is facilitated from finding the ticket to finding the hotel prices. Moreover, mobile Maps applications and even GPS make easy traveling from one place to another, even in the new unfamiliar area. 3. Decrease the cost of communication

Smartphones offer applications as Skype, Facebook, and Twitter, which keep the communication between people with low cost. Using Skype allows calling free in every point around the world. The Pew Research Centre’s survey found that 65% of online adults use a social networking site regularly. That is why, it is crucial for your business to have a social media presence. 4. Increase productivity

Business productivity is increased by keeping smart phone in the pocket.
There is no need, business people to be at the office to perform their job; they can do it by their smart phones. This saves time, money, and effort.

Fears

1. Distraction
Once people have access to YouTube, Facebook, Skype, etc., they can be easily distracted. Moreover, during the work time in the work place, businesspeople tend to spend time browsing different websites; that makes hard to log off and start working again. Moreover, “It’s difficult to have a conversation with someone who looks at their phone every 5 seconds” . 2. Health Issues

Smart phones are consider as new technology and scientists still examine their effect over human body. The waves, which are transmitted through the human body, have negative effect. The consequences are still unknown. 3. Unsecured Apps and Websites

Many of the websites are dangerous and by visiting them, businesspeople can easily became victims of hackers or thieves. Their privacy information it could be object stilling. As an addition, they could catch a virus to their smart phones from the websites they brows. 4. Security issues

More and more people are keeping all type of personal information through the devices, such as email passwords and bank account information, which is “exactly the type of information cyber criminals wants to steal”. Moreover, people install “third-party software” onto their smartphones, which lead them to security problems, such as Trojan virus.