Never stuck behind the desk
By Julia Talevski | smh.com.au | 13 October
Outside the square ... Carolyn Evans (left) and Tanya van der Wall talk business at a cafe in Coogee. Photo: Janie Barrett
Carolyn Evans can tell you where all the good coffee places are in Sydney, Adelaide and Auckland – but she's not a barista. She runs her own management consultancy, called ThinkEvans.
She has no office presence or fixed-line phones but finds her clients are often more comfortable to meet in a cafe to discuss projects and growth plans.
Evans relies on her mobile phone and notebook to run her business. Her notebook runs Skype and has a mobile broadband connection. Other ThinkEvans employees have similar configurations on their devices.
"We have employees based overseas as well, so having things like Skype is really important to us," Evans says. "We also use online software packages to do things like a research survey."
ThinkEvans attracts a variety of clients, from large government departments to not-for-profit organisations and small businesses.
The company has been running as a completely mobile environment since it took off in 2002. It has more than 10 staff and often employs a number of associates to work on particular projects.
"I have met all the staff through my travels but not every member of the team has met each other face-to-face. They have only met online," she says.
Evans stresses they all had to develop good work practices around conducting telephone and Skype meetings. "It's not easy to have a meeting over the phone," Evans says.
"It does require a particular skills set." Two main reasons why Evans wanted to run her business on-the-fly was she didn't want the financial overheads of an office or to be bound to a desk and chair.
"We wanted to have a life," she says. "It's more important for us to do the work rather than spend time travelling to an office and talking about doing the work."
Evans says she spends most of her time at client meetings and thought it was pointless to have an office space to sit in. But sometimes, she admits, she does need to have more formal sessions that take longer than a cup of coffee and has conducted board meetings in her clients' space.
Evans points out companies going down the mobile path need to be disciplined about minimising the amount of paper in the organisation, backing the notebook up and archiving important files.
Melbourne-based Mobilise IT shifted from a bricks-and-mortar office into a mobile environment. The company started in 2004 and its managing director, George Deligiannoudis, says since the organisation began growing, it's physical infrastructure had become redundant because its mobile capability was taking over.
He says there was some resistance to change within the company but over time the advantages of adopting a completely mobile environment won over the doubters.
"It provided us with significant cost savings and increased performance," he says. "Mobilise IT provides mobile workforce services to all types of government agencies and enterprise organisations."
With about 18 people on staff, it uses a range of Windows Mobile-based HTC phones. Applications used on their mobile devices range from Exchange email to Communicator (see breakout), right through to forms-based information such as expense and time sheet applications.
"With [smartphones] the voice and data component is the one device, you don't need any additional hardware to be connected," Deligiannoudis says. "Mobile devices aren't as costly as notebooks, they are like a computer in a pocket."
Online tools for the road warrior
Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile 2007
This is an application for mobile devices that allows users to find and communicate with colleagues. It can tell you if someone is available, provide a single number that links your mobile and desk phones, and instant messaging (IM) is included. It also allows users to join a conference call directly from a meeting invitation.
Skype 3.0 for mobiles
kype-to-Skype calls are free providing you have Wi-Fi access from your handset. For commercial reasons, carriers have prevented Skype from working over the mobile network from a handset.
Samsung NC10 netbook
Comes with a built-in Optus Wireless Broadband Service, which saves you from buying a separate USB modem. Users have the option to choose between 2GB ($50 a month) or 5GB ($70 a month) on a 24-month contract. The 10.2-inch netbook weighs about 1kg and also features Protect-o-Edge casing that can handle knocks and bumps.
First published by Smh.com.au on October 13 2009
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