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European businesses are overspending by at least 50% a year through unmanaged online connectivity charges from business travellers making international trips – resulting in a loss of at least £2.4 billion, a study out today claims.
Corporate travellers from Europe made 65.1 million international business trips with an average spend on essential connectivity per trip per traveller of £73.91 when travelling within Europe, £128.73 when travelling to the US and £138.56 to Asia in 2012.
This means a minimum of £4.8 billion was spent merely to get online, according to research by US mobile services provider iPass.
In contrast, enabling business travellers with a global Wi-Fi network would produce savings of at least 50%, equivalent to £2.4 billion a year, the company’s Wi-Fi cost index report shows.
EMEA vie president Rene Hendrikse said: “Mobile working has become ingrained in the fabric of many businesses, yet even in today’s cost-cutting environment, businesses are wasting money unnecessarily by failing to manage connectivity services and costs for their business travellers when working abroad.
“Business travellers expect connectivity across multiple devices, wherever they go, in order to work productively. Failure to see connectivity as an essential part of business travel is badly bruising business’ wallets.”
The index outlines the actual costs of connectivity for business travellers and the impact of unchecked mobile data roaming costs.
When roaming, the average business traveler will use 3G/4G 40% of the time within the EU, and 30% of the time outside the EU; the rest of the time using Wi-Fi.
The average spend on Wi-Fi day passes is £22.30 within the EU, £18.51 in the US, and £27.96 in Asia per traveller, per trip, while the average spend on data roaming within Europe was £51.36, and in US/Asia, £109.69 per traveller per trip. In Europe, the average per MB cost for data usage is £0.37, and in the US and Asia, £1.43.
The typical daily MB usage by a business traveler is between 2720 MB and 5754 MB, from a range of tasks including checking email, web browsing, Skype calls, WebEx, and downloading files such as presentations and PDFs. The typical business trip lasts four days.
Hendrikse added: “Enterprises are being stung by a lack of advance planning around how to enable mobile workers with high-bandwidth connectivity.
“Merely incorporating data roaming charges or bills from one-off Wi-Fi access into departmental expenses means that the true extent of the cost of mobility is often hidden.
“Access to connectivity is undeniably vital for productivity; in this environment it’s more critical than ever for businesses to look for ways to make the mobile working experience more productive for staff, and more cost effective. Providing access to a global network of wireless hotspots is one key way to help.”