Chamber View 8 - Tuesday 31 July 2007
SMEs and the role of mobile working (25.00)
A selection of Greater Manchester businesses joined Chamber representatives and members of the BlackBerry team (Research In Motion) in a round table discussion at Churchgate House on Thursday 26 July. The subject was the role of mobile working in the SME community and this podcast brings you the highlights of the breakfast meeting.
The round table discussion was chaired by Moneeb Awan, local president for the Salford Chamber.
Programme notes
Round the table:
Moneeb Awan, eSAY Solutions
Lisa Wilson - GM Chamber of Commerce
Steve Bower - Seven Communications
Julie Finch - Axon Birch
Ian Tomlinson - Momentum Consultancy
Hannah Jackson - Research In Motion
Rebecca Lansdell - Hotwire PR
Hazel Roberts - GM Chamber of Commerce
Jonathan Bowers - UKFast.Net
Sarah Probert - Research In Motion
0.00 - 0.14 - Podcast introduction by Jonathan Bowers, communications director of UKFast.
0.14 - 0.45 - Moneeb Awan introduces the round table discussion.
0.45 - 3.22 - How businesses define mobile working - contributions from Julie Birch, Steve Bower and Ian Tomlinson.
3.22 - 4.30 - How do Blackberry perceive the needs of SMEs in terms of mobile working? Answer by Hannah Jackson.
4.30 - 5.40 - So what features do Blackberry's have over and above email? Answer by Hannah Jackson.
6.02 - 7.23- The table discuss the phone's compatibility with other software like Microsoft technologies and the potential of its open source code.
7.23 - 9.21 - Cost of Blackberry and the statistics that show the ROI of the device - by Sarah Probert.
9.21 - 11.35 - Hannah Jackson talks about the issue of virus attacks and Lisa Wilson and Julie Birch discuss the difficulties that SMEs face with viruses, often due to a technology knowledge gap.
11.35 - 12.40 - Blackberry users round the table discuss the difficulties they had when they first started using PDA type devices. Contributions from Hazel Roberts, Ian Tomlinson, Julie Birch.
12.40 - 14.30 - The advantages of mobile working, specifically being able to update calendars and improve employer trust in staff. Julie Birch, Hazel Roberts, Hannah Jackson, Moneeb Awan.
14.30 - 17.17 - Improving the features of the Blackberry so that businesses recognise there are ways to integrate their own solutions with the device.
17.17 - 21.15 - Moneeb Awan talks about Esay Solutions report on Mobile business solutions and the companies in this development space, which prompts a discussion on the ability of SMEs to deliver solutions more quickly than large enterprises. Contributions from Ian Tomlinson, Steve Bower, Moneeb Awan, Sarah Probert
21.15 - 22.20 - Hazel Roberts brings up the question of convergence and the amount of mobile devices we currently use for communication and entertainment.
22.20 - 24.26 - Moneeb Awan and Lisa Wilson bring two viewpoints of SMEs and mobile working, from the technology experts to the small businesses who have a fear factor when it comes to technology and would benefit from good technical support if they were to adopt Blackberrys. Additional comments from Julie Birch and Steve Bower.
24.26 - 25.00 - Acknowledgments for the contributors to the debate.
Many thanks to the GM Chamber, Hotwire PR and the Research In Motion team for their assistance with the podcast.
