WIRELESS AND MOBILE NEWS

A new RingCentral's study reveals that the Smartphone has become an integral part of daily life and is having a dramatic impact on personal life and users would rather give up their morning cup of coffee than their Smartphones. Their study found:

• Smartphones and having intimate relationships tied (40%) for being the number one thing respondents cannot live without.
• The majority (79%) of respondents cite the Smartphone as the phone they used the most to conduct business, as compared to an office phone or home phone.
• Smartphones are also encroaching on computers as well, with 34% of respondents using the Smartphone more than the computer for business. In fact, 7% don't even take their laptop when they travel for business if they have their Smartphone. Is this the beginning of a coming dramatic shift?

In addition to ranking Smartphones as important as intimate relations, survey respondents would rather give up their morning cup of joe than their Smartphone. Only seventeen percent (17%) ranked morning coffee as the one thing they cannot live without, while a mere two percent (2%) responded that they cannot live without checking social networking sites.

Mobile work tools provide workers with access to enhanced productivity. The ability to effectively conduct business from anywhere, at anytime and with anyone has become critical.

Nearly half (48%) of the survey respondents reported that two-thirds of their phone communications are via a Smartphone. Also 79% of the respondents reported that they use the Smartphone as their primary business phone.

Years ago, laptops ushered in a new era of working remotely. Today, cloud based systems and Smartphones have dramatically fueled this trend by providing access to tools once only available in a physical office. With the increasing demand for at-your-fingertips technology, the nature of work has changed and is no longer dependent on location, which has increased the demand for professional business communication systems that are designed for a fully mobile workplace.

While Smartphones have not replaced the PC, they are making major inroads: 34% of survey respondents reported using the Smartphone more than a PC or laptop computer for business. At the same time, the survey also shows that Smartphones are fast replacing on-premise phone systems as the primary business phone.

"This survey demonstrates the critical role Smartphones play in business. The passion business professionals have for these devices reflects a major shift in the way we work, and the new reality is that businesses do not have to choose between mobility and professionalism," said Vlad Shmunis, CEO of RingCentral. "RingCentral is designed to meet the needs of today's professional--delivering the power of a complete business phone system for the Mobile world. The best part is that businesses do not need to spend a single dollar in capital expenditure to have anywhere, anytime world class communications."

About the Study

RingCentral conducted this study from March 12, 2010 to March 16, 2010. Almost 400 customers answered an email survey. For more information on the survey or the complete results, visit http://blog.ringcentral.com/2010/04/smartphones-changing-the-way-business-professionals-work-and-live.html.