SMB owners speak up about mobile trends!

LOS ANGELES, USA: Will our mobile devices outnumber us? The answer is likely to be "yes" according to projections found in a new Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update.

The report projects that by the end of this year, there will be more mobile-connected devices than there are people on earth, and by 2017 there will be nearly 1.4 mobile devices per capita.

A recent survey commissioned by eVoice, a virtual phone number service for small businesses from j2 Global, Inc., suggests that small business owners are driving this device domination.

According to the survey, more than one in three small business owners (36 percent) use three or more mobile devices to run their business.

"According to the survey, 75 percent of respondents won't share their personal mobile phone number with staff, 81 percent with partners or investors and 82 percent with vendors, reinforcing small businesses owners' desire to filter their personal phone numbers for business contacts."

A virtual phone system enables small business owners to do just that. With a virtual phone system, small businesses can keep their personal number private by having calls to their business number routed to a home, office or cell phone during specific times of the day.

Overall, the survey results seem to underscore the need for small businesses to stay productive and competitive. They also appear to highlight small business preferences and pain points for mobility and mobile technologies. Other interesting findings from the survey include:

* An Apple a day: 40 percent of respondents prefer doing business on the iPhone, iPad or iPad mini.

* Who Shares More?: Of the respondents, women are 8 percent more likely than men to share their personal mobile phone number.

* The Business of Texting: Texting is on the rise for small businesses, as 58 percent of respondents text for business at least once a month.

* Voicemail - Over, and Out?: Only 33 percent of survey respondents still listen to voicemail from business contacts.

* No Time for Mystery: Only 18 percent of respondents will listen to voicemail from an unknown number.

* "You're Fired": 20 percent of men who responded said they would fire a full-time employee to cut their monthly cell phone bill by 50 percent.

"In an increasingly mobile work world, small businesses are finding themselves juggling multiple devices and maneuvering the grey area between their personal and professional lives," says Mike Pugh, j2 Global VP, marketing.

"With virtual phone systems like eVoice, small businesses are able to stay connected no matter the device they're using and can do business anytime, anywhere while keeping personal contact information private," added Pugh.