Get to Grips with your Business Mobile Spend

A recent case of mobile phone abuse has cost a borough council thousands of pounds in unnecessary charges, highlighting the need for better mobile technology management and security at every level. 

Business Mobile costs may be seemingly smaller than IT costs, but they are not insignificant, and managing mobile technology contracts is becoming increasingly important, especially when it comes to departing staff. 

A confidential investigation was triggered at Blackburn with Darwen borough council following an audit that concluded the council had been open to "significant abuse" of its £182,000 mobile phone contract.  One member of staff was found to have been racking up a £200 monthly bill on a council-issued mobile phone, despite having left three years earlier.  Ridiculously, that is not where the story ends, with a further 327 phones deemed untraceable and more than 60 staff who had left the council, still in possession of their phones.  In 2010 alone, they racked up £3000 worth of charges. 

 

With the right management, organisations could cut their spending on mobile phones by up to a quarter, our suggestions include:

• Identify and recover the costs of non-business calls
• Reduce the number of mobiles given out to staff
• Consolidate all contracts into one
• Ensure that all hardware is returned to the company when a member of staff leaves or retires
• Use online billing to monitor usage

Fundamental to ongoing mobile management, is suitable security on all handsets particularly with the rising use of smartphones in business.  To avoid expensive reactive costs, there is a need for active investment.  For less than £20 you can now arm a smartphone with anti-spam, anti-virus and anti-theft software.

Adodo’s business mobile solutions incorporate first-class technology management, account management, and security protection as standard.  Ask Adodo today to find out what we can help you with.

WHO links Mobile Use and Cancer

A new study from the World Health Organisation's cancer research agency has reignited the concerns surrounding the possible link between mobile phone use and brain cancer.  

The agency research has said mobile phones are "possibly carcinogenic" a review of the research suggests an increased risk of a malignant type of brain cancer cannot be ruled out.  However, they have concluded that it was "not clearly established that it does cause cancer in humans".

Ed Yong, head of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: "The WHO's verdict means that there is some evidence linking mobile phones to cancer but it is too weak to draw strong conclusions from. 

The majority of previous studies have concluded that there is no link between cancer and mobile phone use, and that remains the view of the majority.  It is clear, that given the potential consequences of the most recent announcement, further research is needed to clarify the risk.   If you are concerned, the suggestion is to take pragmatic measures to reduce exposure such as hands free devices or texting.

Is Your smartphone Ready for the Criminals?

Just like any computer, smartphones are vulnerable to hackers and their malicious code.  With the rise of mobile viruses, are you or your operators taking them seriously enough?

If you are in business or not, the chances are that you spend a large part of your day using a computer.  Therefore, you are probably aware of constant threat that looms in the form computer viruses, and we would hope that you take precautions to protect yourself against them.   

Are you aware though, that the threat of viruses and the ability of someone to worm their way into the centre of your life has taken on a new form?

Last year alone, according to IDC, approximately 302 million smartphones were shipped globally with sales up 67.6 % from 2009.  In an article published earlier this month, Gartner Inc. estimated that in 2011 approximately 468 million smartphones will be sold worldwide.  

Smartphones are becoming more and more popular, and as a result there is growing threat of mobile viruses, spam and smartphone theft.  Despite this, 86% of mobile phone users do not have any security software installed. 

If you use your smartphone for personal and business use, you are doubly at risk of criminal attacks.  If you keep personally identifiable data on your mobile phone, such as email addresses, contact lists, personal dates etc, imagine what you could make available to criminals if you do not protect yourself.  

The threat is real, and it’s now, call us to find out how to protect your smartphone.

Drop in Costs For Cross Network Calls

The fee mobile phone firms charge rivals for handling calls from their networks, is set to fall by 80% over the next four years following cuts imposed by Ofcom. 

Currently, mobile operators charge between 4.18p and 4.48p for delivering a call to another network.  However, Ofcom wants this to be reduced to 0.69p by 2014-15, and says it expects the cuts to be passed on to customers.  The proposed changes should increase competition within the market and thus, improve prices for consumers.

The phased reductions will begin on 1 April with the termination rate for the big four operators - O2, Everything Everywhere, Vodafone, and 3UK - cut to 2.66p. Lower termination rates will also reduce the cost to landline companies of passing calls to mobile phones.

More Controversy for Vodafone

There continues to be a lot of concern surrounding network and smartphone security at the moment, and there is much we can do to protect you from such faceless crimes.  However, a break in at an exchange in Basingstoke has taken everyone by surprise. 

The facility was hit in the early hours of Monday morning and have affected several hundred thousand Vodafone customers who subsequently lost voice, text and internet access.

Stolen computer equipment and network hardware has resulted in prolonged outages and Vodafone customers have turned to social networking sites to voice their displeasure. 

In a statement, Vodafone said: "We are working quickly to restore these and will be back to normal as soon as we can."  They have also allayed security fears by stating that there has been no impact on the security of customers' private information.

However, they have refused to speculate on whether the break-in could be linked to several high-profile controversies involving the company.

Facebook in the Mobile Market? The Boss Speaks Up

In response to rumors regarding facebook’s future in the mobile market, Mark Zuckerberg said "Phones are inherently social devices and the industry is just beginning to discover what's possible".  However, he seems to have dismissed the introduction of a facebook branded phone.

The inference is that facebook are not joining forces with a major manufacturer at this point, as Google did with Nexus phones, but are concentrating on software integration instead.  This will probably prove a strong selling point for cheaper smartphones. 

Mr. Zuckerberg told delegates at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to expect to see “dozens of phones with much deeper social integration than we have so far."  He was referring to the Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) provided by facebook that allow phone manufacturers to build social networking into their operating systems.

However you view at their approach, the unyielding force of facebook, plans to extend its presence within the mobile world and if the past is anything to go by, they will not let up.

Is Nokia in Crisis? According to the boss, they are.

Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, has sent a blunt but honest memo to his staff suggesting that the once mobile market leader is now in crisis.

In particular, he feels that the firm was caught off guard by the success of Google's Android operating system and Apple's iPhone.  Despite the first iPhone being shipped back in 2007, he states that Nokia “still don't have a product that is close to their [Apple’s] experience”.

As a result he describes the company as standing on a "burning platform" surrounded by innovative competitors who are grabbing its market share. Although Nokia leads the global smartphone market in terms of handset sales, its overall share has been gradually declining.  According to research firm IDC, Nokia’s shares fell 10% between 2009 and 2010.

Mr Elop's leaked memo also suggests that Nokia is also being squeezed at the lower, non-smartphone end of the market by Chinese manufacturers because they are produced quickly and cheaply.  

3G Switchover May Cause Unfair Advantage

After a long period of deliberation Ofcom has finally given the go-ahead for mobile operators to use their 2G spectrum for 3G mobile broadband.

The result will help mobile operators to "increase mobile broadband speeds" as well as offer more mobile broadband coverage in rural areas, meaning that consumers will receive a better service. 

Currently the 2G spectrum is used for making phone calls and sending texts, but this decision could ease some of the pressure on current 3G services.  They are feeling the strain due to the massive increase in the use of smart phones and mobile internet.

However, not all UK mobile phone operators were happy with the decision; Kevin Russell, chief executive of Three UK said the decision would give "unfair competitive advantage" to the operators that hold 2G licences.

Ofcom’s verdict comes ahead of the Digital Dividend auction planned before 2012, in which we will see the government sell off frequencies for next-generation mobile services, which will offer speeds faster than today's 3G networks.

It was the issue of “competition” that delayed Ofcom’s decision for so long.  Mr. Russell called on Ofcom to ensure the 2012 auction would create a market where all operators could compete on a level playing field.