A new study conducted by mobile communications provider Truphone (so yes, this does fall into the category of "he would say that, wouldn't he?") found that international communications costs are an issue for organisations that do business overseas or who send staff abroad.
21.5% of Australian businesses surveyed reported problems with restricted communications between employees, clients and business partners, and fractionally fewer said they experienced issues with lack of access to internal network resources whilst abroad.
Issues include loss of efficiency and lost business opportunitieswhen customers and suppliers cannot make contact.
“The impact of restricted international communications on Australian business productivity is staggering – for both the productivity of employees, and to the business itself," said Truphone senior vice president for Asia Pacific Alex Ip.
"With one businesses reporting the loss of a $500,000 account due to restricted access to communications while travelling, it’s evident that businesses are suffering.”
Among the specific findings, 47.7% of respondents reported instances of employees unable to work through lack of connectivity while travelling abroad, 40.4% of business travellers said alternatives to mobile phones inhibit productivity and so use their phones while travelling regardless of cost, and one in five business travellers reported having restrictions placed on international mobile calls, and being dependant solely on email when travelling internationally.
300 respondents participated in the research, of which 53.3% were employed by large enterprises (200 or more staff) and 46.7% worked for small-to-medium sized businesses (40 to 199 employees, so somewhat larger than the usual definition of small businesses having less than 20 employees and that account for around 95% of all Australian businesses).
