Mobile Worker Outfits Car as Virtual Office Space

Published on November 19, 2012 - By Mike Sullivan

Texting while driving can be dangerous – and can even get you pulled over in some cities. But a man in Germany took remote work to a whole new level.

According to The Associated Press, German police say they nabbed a driver who had wired his Ford station wagon with an entire mobile office, creating the equivalent of a virtual office space.

“Built on a wooden frame on his passenger seat they found a laptop on a docking station tilted for easy driver access, a printer, router, wireless internet stick, WLAN antenna, and an inverter to power it all,” the AP reports. “A navigation system and cell phone mounted to the windshield completed the array.”

If this doesn’t show the mobile workforce trend is catching on, what does? As business center owners and operators are well aware, mobile workers are on the rise. But hard statistics drive the point home. By 2015, the world’s mobile worker population will reach 1.3 billion, representing 37.2 percent of the total workforce, according to IDC.

“Despite recent market turmoil, mobility continues to be a critical part of the global workforce and we expect to see healthy growth in the number of mobile workers,” said Stacy Crook, senior research analyst for IDC’s Mobile Enterprise Research program. “Our forecast shows that the worldwide mobile worker population will increase from just over 1 billion in 2010 to more than 1.3 billion by 2015.”

What’s more, Forrester Research estimates 66% of information workers in North America and Europe already work remotely. Over time, Forrester predicts this trend will have profound implications for everything from the location and design of offices, to IT’s provisioning of technology, to how business leaders marshal expertise.

Is your business center ready to accommodate the demands of the mobile workforce? With a mobile workforce working from remote locations, business centers should expect more foot traffic – but business centers that market their serviced office space as mobile worker friendly will lead the charge.

Many mobile workers may be yet unaware of the availability of day offices and meeting rooms. Savvy business centers are commuting the message to large corporations and entrepreneurs alike. How do you do this?

For starters, be sure to include language on your website – preferably an entire webpage – dedicated to marketing your services to mobile workers. Use keywords like “mobile workers” on those web pages so you will come up in the Google search results. Show mobile workers that you understand their needs by listing services that appeal to their pain points. Treat the mobile workforce as a niche – a niche that’s worth plenty as business evolves.

Image source: Saarland State Police, Germany