November 16, 2021

Is Business Travel Doomed? The Impact of the Pandemic on Corporate Mobility

To say that the pandemic has impacted how we do business would be an understatement. Overnight, business travel came to a grinding halt as lockdowns forced companies to close their doors and countries to close their borders. In-person meetings became web meetings; trade shows and conferences became virtual. Working from home became the norm, not the exception. As the Covid-19 vaccine proliferates, companies are beginning to open their offices and countries are beginning to welcome visitors.

Will business travel be resumed or is it doomed?

That’s a good question. Certainly, cloud-based apps have made virtual interactions easier while less travel means significant cost savings and a lower carbon footprint. These are the top reasons that business travel may not go back to pre-pandemic levels, according to a recent Bloomberg survey of 45 large companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The survey found that 84 percent of these businesses plan to spend less on travel. Of those, expect reductions of 20 percent to 40 percent at the expense of both internal and external meetings.

What is the impact of business travel cutbacks on corporate mobility?

Decreases in business travel will have a profound impact on corporate mobility, but not in the way that you might think. Instead of declining, corporate mobility — once the domain or so-called road warriors —will increase with the addition of remote workers using mobile devices. 

Device usage and dependence will rise increasing the need for insight into corporate mobility inventory, usage and spend. As a result, corporate mobility management — policies, procurement, security, inventory, cost-optimization, contracts, etc. — will become more important than ever.

Does less business travel translate into reduced risks and need for expense management?  

Even as businesses rethink corporate travel — shifting to shorter trips more frequently or longer trips on select occasions — it doesn’t negate the need for prudent financial management. By integrating with your corporate travel systems, you can proactively activate/deactivate appropriate plans and features for mobile devices based on need, eliminating unnecessary roaming charges or costly overages.

How can businesses better manage modern corporate mobility?

Modern mobility management is more sophisticated than a few spreadsheets can handle. Outsourcing to experts that specialize is mobility management is a smart option for your business. vMOX, for example, provides patented technology, automated processes and specialized knowledge to optimize mobility spend that may see fluctuations from corporate travel and hybrid work models.

As telecommuting becomes the norm and business travel slowly rebounds, here are six ways your business could benefit from an outsourced mobility management provider like vMOX:

1.     Inventory management — Go to one place to see your active and inactive devices across carriers and geographies.

2.     Cost optimization — Leverage patented technology, automated processes and specialized knowledge to find the lowest possible costs for your mobile environment. Automatically alert for international usage on a line that has no international plan, or alert users’ the same day usage starts in another country.

3.     Expert knowledge and support — Secure competitive contracts and stay ahead of mobility demands and trends. Get automated provisioning of users traveling, ensuring that all features are in place for not only their destination, but also any connecting/layover locations.

4.     Enhanced security — Benefit from continuous risk assessments to improve the security, confidentiality and integrity of your data.

5.     Custom analytics and reporting — Obtain near real-time clarity and pinpoint accuracy for strategic financial decisions from customized granular reports.

6.     Decreased admin time and cost —Instead of tracking tickets, use a platform instead to monitor your travel patterns and provision users automatically as work is completed. Find maximum cost control, increase agility and free up valuable time and resources.

How can businesses future proof corporate mobility management?

As a technology-enabled business, your company relies on tech that works the way your team works, and increasingly that means tech that’s location-independent.  In this environment, a mobility management platform with built-in automation is vital. It’s the smartest and easiest way to provide your workforce with the devices and features they need, while optimizing cost and operational overhead for the business.

And as employees move around, and their requests for devices, apps and platforms continue to evolve, a focus on corporate mobility management will put you in a position to respond confidently, “No problem.”

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