SMBs recognizing benefits of enterprise mobility

It's a misconception to assume that enterprise mobility is only good for large enterprises with teams of employees working remotely. According to a recent survey conducted by the Business Journals, small- and medium-sized businesses can also leverage smartphones and tablets to increase sales and productivity.

In polling nearly 2,500 small business owners, the report, which was conducted on behalf of online news provider Portfolio.com, revealed that 71 percent of SMBs can be classified as mobile companies. Mobile professionals are employees that complete at least 30 percent of their work outside the office.

The average mobile professional spends more than half of his or her time - approximately 56 hours each week - working remotely, according to the research.

"This tech-savvy group is spending more time doing business outside of a traditional office by staying connected via smartphones or tablets, and are already looking ahead to the next step - cloud computing," Portfolio.com editor J. Jennings Moss said.

Other findings show that mobile small companies enjoy annual sales of $10.8 million, compared to $5.7 million for non-mobile businesses.

In a similar report, research firm Techaisle revealed that 81 percent of small companies were engaging in mobility.