Accessibility problems plague growing dependence on mobile data

A majority of workers need access to company data and documents on mobile devices today, but many can't retrieve the documents and information they need remotely, according to a report from information management platform provider M-files Corp.

The company surveyed 1,500 office workers worldwide, and found that 81 percent need access to information and documents vial their mobile device but 43 percent do not have the required access.

Only 39 percent of the U.S. respondents report that it is quick and easy to find company information using a mobile device, and more than half (54 percent) of the global workers surveyed said they are not able to use their mobile device to easily share or collaborate on documents.

Of respondents who need the ability to share, collaborate, or edit documents using a mobile device, only half said they are able to do so. Even fewer respondents are able to approve documents (37 percent) or sign documents (26 percent) remotely. Of those users not able to sign documents on the move, 39 percent report that this would be their top wish.

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An attendee types on the keyboard of a Key2 smartphone on display at the BlackBerry Ltd. stand on the opening day of the MWC Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. At the wireless industry’s biggest conference, over 100,000 people are set to see the latest innovations in smartphones, artificial intelligence devices and autonomous drones exhibited by more than 2,400 companies. Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg

Despite their reliance on mobile access, respondents cited a number of different systems and repositories where they store business documents and information, including email (69 percent), shared drives/network folders (55 percent), local disks (54 percent), paper (47 percent), cloud-hosted storage (44 percent), external hard drives (40 percent), and file-sharing services (34 percent).

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Mobile technology Data sharing Data management
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