News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 24, 2014) - As Canadian companies and employees are becoming more connected, a BMO Bank of Montreal survey released today found that more than half of Canadian employees (57 per cent) are now relying on mobile technology - such as a smart phone or tablet - in order to do their job effectively.

The survey, conducted by Pollara, also revealed that Canadian business owners are personally becoming more reliant on mobile technology, with two-thirds (64 per cent) reporting they use mobile technology to run their organization. Further:

• Thirty per cent of business decision makers report they could not do their job without their mobile device
• Still, one-in-ten (10 per cent) business owners do not rely on a mobile device at all

"Organizations across Canada are experiencing a transformational shift in the way business is conducted, which includes the adoption of - and increased reliance on - mobile devices," said Steve Murphy, Head, Canadian Commercial Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal. "Mobile technology not only provides business owners with the convenience and flexibility to run their business from anywhere, but advancements in mobile technology also provide greater access to information and allow employees to perform their job in a timely manner."

Businesses Split on BYOD: Bring Your Own Device

The survey found a near-even split on whether companies provide mobile devices to their employees or encourage employees to bring their own device:

• Thirty-nine per cent of business owners provide their employees with all or most of their mobile devices
• Thirty-eight per cent of organizations report their employees use personal devices at work

Companies weigh the considerations of upfront investment in equipment, security concerns and compatibility issues before deciding whether employees should be provided a company device or whether they should bring their own.

Regional Differences

• Business owners in Ontario and B.C. are the most reliant on mobile devices to run their company (69 per cent and 68 per cent, respectively)
• Half (50 per cent) of the companies in Quebec provide mobile devices to their employees, compared to one-third (33 per cent) of those in the Prairies
• Companies in the Prairies and B.C. were the most likely to bring their own device to work (47 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively)

		Total	Atlantic	QC	ON	Prairies	AB	B.C.
Business Owners Rely on Mobile Devices to Run Business		64%	62%	62%	69%	54%	59%	68%
Employees Reliance on Mobile Devices to do their Job		57%	57%	61%	59%	52%	51%	52%
Company provides all devices		39%	39%	50%	38%	33%	39%	29%
Employees use personal devices		38%	35%	32%	40%	47%	36%	44%

Results cited above come from a Pollara telephone survey with 500 Canadian business owners, conducted between August 11^th and 28^th, 2014. The margin of error for this survey is +/- 4.4 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

About BMO Financial Group

Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified financial services organization based in North America. The bank offers a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers. BMO Financial Group had more than $586 billion in total assets and approximately 47,000 employees at July 31, 2014.