Tablets bridge the gap with smartphones
July 3, 2014
Analysis from Frost & Sullivan finds that by 2016, the use of smartphones is expected to decrease from the current levels of 66 per cent to 58 per cent, while tablets are expected to increase from 49 per cent to 56 per cent.
Interestingly, while almost 60 per cent of organisations allow personal devices to be connected to the corporate network, only four out of ten IT decision makers report that their company has a formal bring your own device (BYOD) policy in place.
“Approximately 58 per cent of large enterprises have a formal BYOD policy, while only 20 per cent of small businesses have a standardised policy,” said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Karolina Olszewska. “The most common method of enforcing BYOD policies is through network technology solutions at 67 per cent, followed by mobile device management at 61 per cent.”
The enterprise mobile device landscape is rapidly changing, evidenced by the surprising emergence of Android as the most common (56 per cent) mobile operating system supported for organisation-owned devices. This is followed by iOS (41 per cent), Windows Mobile (30 per cent) and BlackBerry (28 per cent).
While the banking, finance and insurance sector has been the most prominent user of smart phones for business purposes among the verticals surveyed in 2013, in the tablet segment, manufacturing took top honours.
“Overall, 62 per cent of the workforce is traditional, working at office locations. Mobile workers account for 22 per cent and remote workers the remaining 16 per cent,” noted Olszewska. “Although this trend is not expected to change drastically within the next three years, the number of in-office workers is expected to decrease, while remote and mobile workers are expected to increase, signifying greater opportunities for smartphone and tablet makers.”