Mobile Computing Reaches Critical Mass in the Workplace

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Mobile enterprise

Just about everybody has at least one device. More than three-quarters (76.8%) of IT professionals noted an increase in employees using mobile devices over the past 12 months, and less than 2% noted a decrease.

Even with rise of mobile computing, most employees remain tethered to a cubicle. Only about one in seven employees (14.4%) have a truly flexible, shared work culture, such as hot desks or remote working.

The majority of employees extend the reach of the office using personal devices. In fact, 58.7% of IT professionals said their company has already fully embraced employee BYOD or implemented new policies to support it.

Mobility-related spending comes in many different forms: 71% of respondents saw a rise in WiFi spending in the past 12 months while 65% saw an increase in tablet spending in the same period.

Work now follows us everywhere. More than half (51%) of respondents reported an increase of 25% or more in working from home, hotels and other WiFi-enabled areas.

IT organizations now take mobile security seriously: 73.4% assessed mobile security requirements based on the devices’ security features or the employees’ mobile work requirements. Only 13.3% responded that security concerns have stopped them from allowing mobile work capabilities.

Networks are open for business. More than two-thirds (68%) provide clear self-service on-boarding instructions based on device type or allow users to connect to the office network independently. Only a small number of company IT departments (17.3%) require employees to have manual IT intervention.

IT organizations understand the value of mobility. More than half (55.5%) encourage mobile working or have no policy on the use of personal devices in the workplace. A minority (12.4%) discouraged personal device usage.

Mobile computing has become a right. About 70% of IT professionals feel pressure to deliver improvements in mobile working.

Executives view mobile computing as a productivity enhancement. In fact, 76.6% reported that these business leaders have shown more interest in mobile technologies than ever. Less than 5% indicated that C-level executives do not show any interest in mobility in the workplace.

The mobile opportunity hits the road. Approximately 45.5% said they have seen an increase in budget and more than one-fifth (22.6%) indicated they have received more than a 10% increase to fund mobility projects.