Smartphones in the US Enterprise: Benefits, Considerations & Challenges in Mobilizing Corporate Work Forces

Mobile US workers will increase at an unprecedented rate over the next 3 to 5 years, surpassing over 100 million workers in that timeframe. Today millions of workers access corporate applications and databases with their personal mobile devices, some of which are sanctioned and supported by their organization’s enterprise, and many of which are not. Primary research reveals that organizations are in a reactive state, feeling pressured to initiate a corporate workforce strategy. Knowing what questions to ask is the first of many hurdles IT managers face.

Organizations looking to mobilize enterprise applications should thoroughly evaluate several high-level decisions well ahead of extending enterprise applications to personal-liable devices:

• What mobile operating system is recommended by the information technology department?
• Is this mobile OS preference consistent with the base of mobile devices currently installed among the employee population?
• Should the organization deploy individual mobile enterprise “apps” or provide enterprise access through a mobile browser?
• Will the company impose corporate policy relative to the employee-owned applications and smartphone services?
• Does the OS of choice pass the litmus test for corporate security policy?

Interviewed enterprise managers confirmed that the answers to these and other questions can impact enterprise resources and budgets, weaving unintentional demands through the mobile application lifecycle.

This report on Smartphones in the US Enterprise: Benefits, Considerations & Challenges in Mobilizing Corporate Workforces presents the context and key decision points for organizations at, or even beyond, the crossroad of enterprise mobility planning:

• Mobile Enterprise Appropriateness of top US mobile operating systems.
• Application Platform Selection and productivity each enable.
• Mobile Enterprise Application Platform Assessment of market leaders and new entrants.
• Mobile Device Management Landscape and associated key technology alignments.

Discussions of these enabling technologies would not exist if it were not for a larger force: infiltration of consumer smartphones and changing personal productivity habits in the enterprise. Through numerous conversations, we uncovered usage trends among verticals, unaddressed pain points, cautious curiosity regarding the convergence of cloud computing with mobile enterprise applications, and enterprise managers’ future mobility wish lists.