Smartphones and tablets are fun toys -- and a godawful time suck.
It also turns out they really are productivity enhancers. So say small business owners. Six in 10 in a recent CDW survey claim that smartphones are game changers for their businesses, beating laptops 2-to-1 (and tablets 7-to-1). Why are they must-have gadgets? Chiefly, communication: Some people actually use their mobile devices to talk to other folks. Quaint, isn't it? Customer service and office collaboration are high on the list, too. (Maybe nobody's admitting to shopping, playing games and checking Facebook in these surveys.)
Ironically, perhaps, entrepreneurs are relying more on their mobile life -- even as the security risks proliferate. Mobile malware vulnerability, a.k.a. chinks in the IT armor, nearly doubled between 2010 and 2011, reports Symantec. Such breaches cost small businesses an average $126,000 a year in financial and data losses, as well as dented reputation.
So why are entrepreneurs so wedded to gizmos? Perhaps it's their infatuation with dangerous risk. For a more detailed look at the relationship between (wo)man and machine, check out the infographic.
Tech Tools Entrepreneurs Can’t Live Without
