Mobile Workforce Strategies

Monday, June 11th, 2012 Gina Luk, Sr. Analyst, Strategy Analytics

While mobile devices continue to grow thinner, worldwide business smartphone shipment volumes and usage continue to grow thicker. According to Strategy Analytics’ Mobile Workforce Strategies (MWS) service, 216 million business smartphones will ship globally in 2012, up from 174 million in 2011. Mobile knowledge workers such as executives, salespeople and consultants are increasingly dependent on their smartphones to be as reachable and productive as possible regardless of location.

A recent Strategy Analytics survey confirms that the smartphone wave has risen to the level that more mobile workers are using smartphones than simple mobile phones. This rise in smartphone adoption by individual workers, largely due to the Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) trend, is driving organizations to expand support for connectivity, applications and management. By supporting employees who want to use the mobile device of their own choosing, organizations can expect workers to be both more productive and content.

At the same time, our survey shows that organizations are recognizing the need to develop mobility strategies that focus less on merely providing or paying for devices and more on ensuring secure and reliable access to corporate networks, applications and data. Greater reliance on device, application and security management software and services to enforce corporate policies will help organizations better balance the benefits and risks of BYOD.

For more research and insights about enterprise mobility and the mobile workforce, please refer to our Mobile Worker Strategies.

Tags: Android, iPhone, Reports, smartphone