Aside from the obvious capital expenditure for the new technology, as well as the installation of people with the know-how to instruct employees on the new technology, GPRS has implications on organization, and communication, beyond the costs and figures. In essence, GPRS changes how the workforce communicates with one another, and how the organization communicates with its publics.
Employee Connectivity
The application of GPRS on an organizational setting will increase employee connectivity. Employees no longer have to be confined to their desktops or work tables to access their e-mail or the corporate Intranet. GPRS-enabled devices give the employees the capability to respond to the e-mail messages, coordinate work and meeting schedules, or gather information from the computer data base. This access extends to the employees homes, and thus improves the reach of communication from members of the same organization or corporation.
The implication of GPRS will not only be on the work design of the employee but on the quality of life of the employee as well. In one way, GPRS eliminates the need to be face-to-face to be able to communicate, and the need to be at a certain place at a certain interval of time to receive information that may be timely and relevant to your performance. The relevance of GPRS is most evident in the employees on the field, who no longer have to return to the office to be able to access customer or product information, but can instead turn to their GPRS-enabled devices.
Mobile Office
The opportunities offered by GPRS technology further the development of the 'mobile office' wherein employees have permanent access to the company database without having to be in the office, and thus employees need not be within the confines of the office to perform their duties. In the end, GPRS will provide for more flexible, and immediate communication, that not only helps in conserving time, but also helps make the business process more efficient.
Communicating to your Publics
The existence of GPRS also implies that sooner or later, consumers and interested publics will be looking for information on organizations, or will be looking to buy products and services offered by the organization. If mobile Internet should take off, then being accessible on the Internet is of great importance to organizations. Furthermore, the fact that people will access their products and services, as well as company information, through a new distribution channel will move organizations to reconsider their communication strategy towards their publics. Organizations will have to prepare to give relevant, high-quality information to their publics through the new channel paved by GPRS.
