OCBC BANK TELECOMMUTING TECHNOLOGY
Singapore - OCBC employees will now be able to telecommute more easily with access their corporate emails through the iPhone 3G, all paid for on the company's dime. This is the first of such corporate plans in Singapore's banking industry that revolve around the iPhone 3G.
Having access to real-time information on the go is becoming increasingly important, says Peter Koh who is head of technology infrastructure, group operations & technology of OCBC Bank. And with the iPhone's rising popularity, Koh says the bank thought it would be a good idea to leverage it as an office email device as well.
Doing so would also allow employees who already own other web mobile devices to merge into one singular device for their voice calling, web browsing and corporate email use.
Under the initiative, employees in the bank's Singapore, Malaysia, China and overseas branches will have to pay for the device and cost of the voice plan. However, the company will pick up the cost of the data plan, which is directly routed to the bank. Through this, employees will be able access their office email and sync their contacts, notes and calendar and carry out online banking transactions while on the move.
"Our employees can continue to enjoy the features and contents available on their iPhone without the need to carry another device in order to access office email," says Koh.
Furthermore, Koh says this is a win-win initiative for the bank and employees, as "the iPhone's subscription charges are lower than that for the BlackBerrry (by more than 50%)".
While Koh says the idea of using the iPhone for office emails was first brought up before the device was launched in Singapore, the company had to check its feasibility and compatibility with the office email systems to ensure data security. So far, Koh says the bank has received positive interest from employees and has received three application submissions within the first week of its launch.
