Cloud mobile device management
Top Two Areas of Application Investment
Mobile-device management apps (47%) topped the list of categories respondents said they are considering or planning to purchase. Business analytics/big data apps came in second (43%).
Other Key App Investments
A significant percentage of respondents are considering or planning investments in database/master data management apps and marketing/sales apps, both at 41%.
Top Areas Where Cloud Is Being Used
52% have deployed mobile-device management in the cloud. The next top two areas are CRM/contact centers (49%) and business analytics/big data (42%).
Less Use of the Cloud
A smaller percentage of respondents is leveraging the cloud for finance apps (22%), governance/risk management (27%) and database/master data management (29%).
Critical Application Features
Regardless of whether an app is deployed on-premise or in the cloud, ease of use, customer service, implementation, security and integration are the leading concerns.
Making the Decision
70% of line-of-business (LOB) professionals said they are very close to making a purchasing decision before contacting the vendor; 55% of IT pros said the same.
The Ultimate Decision Maker
While both LOB and IT professionals prefer a free trial, 80% of LOB pros said the final purchase decisions rest with them, versus 55% of IT pros claiming the same.
Application Vendor Landscape
Microsoft, Oracle and IBM are the most widely used providers, but in terms of consideration for future purchases, Salesforce, Oracle and IBM lead the way.
Top Information Resources
Peers, technology content sites and vendor Websites were cited as the top three by both IT and LOB pros.