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Posts Tagged ‘Zoomerang’

U.S. smartphone users want Wi-Fi service to lower call cost, improve coverage

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
smartphones

Most smartphone users want Wi-fi service to boost coverage

Seventy four percent of smartphone users in the United States are interested in a mobile operator-provided service that uses Wi-Fi to provide lower cost calls, according to a recent MarketTools Zoomerang survey of 420 smartphone owners.

The survey, commissioned by Kineto Wireless, also showed 72 percent of smartphone users are interested in an application that uses Wi-Fi to improve cellular coverage.

Additional highlights from the online survey conducted May 2011 include:

  • Nearly nine out of ten (89%) of respondents have smartphones with Wi-Fi.
  • 77 percent have Wi-Fi at home; 54 percent have it at their place of work.
  • 62 percent of people who own smartphones with Wi-Fi use the Wi-Fi four or more days each week.
  • 30 percent say they use Wi-Fi because it is faster than the cellular network; 19 percent because it is easy to access the internet.
  • 30 percent have smartphones with a Google Android operating system (OS); 26 percent use Apple iPhone OS; and 22 percent use a RIM OS.
  • 44 percent of iPhone owners would “definitely” be interested in an application that could be used to boost mobile coverage; and 47 percent would “definitely” be interested in a Wi-Fi service offering discounted calling.
  • Of T-Mobile subscribers, 55 percent use Wi-Fi on their smartphones four or more days each week or every day, 24 percent because it is easy to access the internet.
  • Of AT&T subscribers, 68 percent of AT&T subscribers use Wi-Fi on their smartphones four or more days each week or every day, 32 percent because it is faster than the cellular network.

“Wi-Fi has become pervasive in the smartphone market, and subscribers are interested in options that help them take better advantage of Wi-Fi for coverage and cheaper calling,” said Steve Shaw, vice president of marketing for Kineto Wireless. “This data helps reiterate the market opportunities for mobile operators.

Kineto says its Smart Wi-Fi Application  can improve service quality and develop subscriber-friendly services that drive mobile data offload.”

T-Mobile is the most aggressive of the US operators with its use of Wi-Fi to reduce churn by addressing in-building coverage and increasing data offload. In October 2010, the company relaunched its Wi-Fi Calling service

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Posted in Internet/New Media, Mobile, smartphones, Telecommunications | No Comments »

Social media adoption by SMBs strongest in Southeast and Great Plains

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

ZoomerangSmall and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) located in the Great Plains and Southeast states of the U.S. are embracing social media at a quicker pace than other areas of the country, according to a recent survey conducted by Zoomerang Online Surveys and Polls.

The survey polled more than 500 SMB decision makers on the adoption of social media for business use and how these social media profiles are managed.

Of those surveyed, businesses located within Great Plains and Southeast states are more likely to have branded social media channels at 30 percent and 28 percent, respectively. Additionally, decision makers for businesses in the Southeast (28 percent) and Great Plains (22 percent) regions are among the most active via social media on behalf of their businesses.

“Less-populated areas or cities with a strong small business presence are relying more and more on cost-effective mass-communication tools for business news, customer support and acquisition, as well as networking,” said Alex Terry, General Manager of Zoomerang. “For people immersed in technology driven cultures, such as Silicon Valley, this data may come as a surprise, but I believe they can learn from less-technology enriched regions.”

Northeast, Mid-Atlantic adoption is slower

Among the regions slower to adopt social media are the Northeast (New England and New York) and the Mid-Atlantic regions.

Additionally, the survey found that 15 percent of those surveyed have issued internal social media policies. At the same time, another 6 percent plan to create a social media employee policy and 8 percent are evaluating the need for one.

“Considering the recent social media gaffes, businesses need to proactively evaluate their social media needs and practices,” Terry said. “For many smaller businesses, a social media policy may not be required. Instead simple education on the potential repercussions of ill-informed tweets or updates will deter most situations.”

Aside from negatively reflecting upon the brand, social media blunders can significantly hurt brands and have resulted in employee termination. Of the decision makers surveyed, 6 percent indicated that they have fired an employee for misuse of social media.

So, folks, watch what you do on Facebook and Twitter and other social media outlets, especially at work.

Here’s an Inforgraphic on the survey findings.

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Posted in Facebook, Internet/New Media, Marketing, social media, Studies, surveys, reports, Twitter | No Comments »

IT taking on more roles in SMBs, but they shun the cloud

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

ZoomerangSAN FRANCISCO – A recent survey of more than 500 decision makers shows that the IT role within small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) is evolving to include business development and day-to-day operations responsibilities.

The survey, conducted by Zoomerang Online Surveys and Polls, provides a glimpse of how IT is managed among SMBs and offers a snapshot of cloud computing awareness and adoption.

According to the survey, of the 78 percent indicating they have in-house support, 79 percent said that the role of IT is involved in other areas of the business, including operations, business development and sales. Of the 22 percent outsourcing support to vendors, 52 percent cited cost as the primary reason.

“More often than not, the IT role within a small or midsized business may be fulfilled by the most technology savvy employee, requiring them to juggle multiple responsibilities on top of keeping the company’s technology up and running,” said Alex Terry, general manager of Zoomerang.

“With limited resources, businesses are looking to every employee to contribute and as a result, the IT role is gradually shifting from one of support to one of support and revenue generation.”

Following a traditional path of conservative investment in technology, SMBs have been slow to adopt new technologies, such as cloud computing. The survey found that only 10 percent of SMBs have deployed cloud technologies and 72 percent of respondents don’t understand or are not familiar with the technology.

“These numbers are quite staggering given that cloud vendors are investing huge amounts of money in marketing to showcase the benefits of cloud computing,” Terry said. “This research points to the need for cloud vendors to instead educate business owners on what cloud computing means and how it is relevant to SMBs.”

Of the businesses currently without cloud computing technologies, only 2 percent plan to deploy cloud-based solutions this year, with an additional 20 percent still weighing the cost and benefits of various solutions.

For more information on the survey and its results, see: www.zoomerang.com/blog/2011/05/02/cloud-computing-and-role-it-professionals-smbs to view the report in its entirety.

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