The rise of mobile communications is one of the major game changes in technology. The amount of time spent on mobile apps has surpassed web browsing on a computer. There are 5.3 billion mobile subscribers (77% of the world population) and mobile devices have overtaken computers on Wi-Fi networks. Given these numbers, how are enterprise IT departments supporting their mobile users?
Forrester’s TJ Keitt tackles this question with his report, Does Your IT Department Support The Needs Of The Mobile Workforce? The data suggests that IT still has a way to go to meet worker expectations. They asked 4,985 information workers as part of the research. They found that on one hand, that the efforts that IT departments are helping to outfit employees with laptops are paying off: 51 percent of US information workers report using one during a workday.
On the other hand, both those who primarily use laptops and those who don't say that IT falls short in delivering computing and mobile device choices that best fit where and how they work. As part of this response while the majority of employees purchase the smartphone they use for work and foot the entire service bill, few are happy with this proposition. They would like for IT to providing a subsidy so they can acquire a device of their choice. I agree with this.
They also found that the workforce is becoming more mobile as only 45% of the US information workforce works solely from a corporate office. The provision of laptops has been significantly the past few years to accommodate these workers. Forrester divides the 55% who work outside the office into four groups: hypermobile professionals (29%) who have an office but work from anywhere, part-time telecommuter (11%), connected consultants (10%) and remote-based technicians (6%).
Currently these groups get different levels of support. With Hypermobile professionals 69% use a smartphone at work and 36% have to pay for the phone and the service themselves. With part-time telecommuter 29% use a smartphone at work and 49% have to pay for the phone and the service themselves. With connected consultants 43% use a smartphone at work and 42% have to pay for the phone and the service themselves. With remote-based technicians 37% use a smartphone at work and 59% have to pay for the phone and the service themselves.
While we are talking about smart phones rather than all mobile devices, it is still interesting to see how low these numbers are. It also seems that the higher paid employees are less likely to have to pay for their smart phone but then they are more likely to set or influence policies. I would guess that over 90% of these workers own some type of mobile phone.
The workers who have to pay for their smartphones themselves feel under supported and I can see why. I think that enterprise IT needs to read the papers, listen to TV, and understand the mobile revolution is only growing. There is much more in the report, including data on laptops and collaborative technologies.
IT now a days are really having difficulties in this kind of issue.In Finland now a days their are many of IT services that encountering different kind of issue in mobile but always in end it always solve.I am really glad that you shared it thanks.
Posted by: Pirjo Kankaanpää | December 20, 2012 at 02:57 AM