Mobile Devices / Special Skills Needed to Help Firms Tackle Mobile Challenges

Special Skills Needed to Help Firms Tackle Mobile Challenges

By Gina Roos | Posted 2014-06-10

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Mobility Driver

The top reason to adopt a mobile strategy is to allow employee flexibility (51%), followed by productivity gains (47%), support telecommuting/remote work (41%), and a higher need for employee availability (37%).
Reality Check

Regardless of company size, all survey respondents estimate 74% to 81% of their employees work full-time in an office location, and 46% to 58% do not travel.
Skills Gap

The top challenge in the adaptation of mobility solutions is the overall skill level of the general staff, according to 45% of respondents. Other challenges include making systems accessible securely (36%), determining cost/ROI of mobile solutions (33%) and the mobility skill level of IT staff (31%).
Higher Investments

While more than 50% of companies practice some form of BYOD, more than 70% of companies have some level of investment to build-out mobility solutions, regardless of their BYOD strategies.
Needed Upgrades

As requirements grow to support more devices and related traffic, 67% of companies have invested in WiFi networking and 42% have improved their networking infrastructure (cables, routers and switches). Other investments include security (52%), laptop/desktop purchasing (55%) and laptop/desktop support (47%).
Mobile Changes Everything

Among companies that distribute devices to employees, 76% are providing smartphones and 61% are deploying tablets. This implies that many employees are working in a three-device environment.
Standardization Needs

Among companies that provide at least some mobile devices to their employees, 44% said the primary reason was for standardized IT support.
Mobility Policies Lag Behind

Only 30% of companies have a formal mobility policy in place, but 37% are working on it. Only 8% have made any significant workflow changes as a result of mobility.
Security Hurdles

Major security mobility issues include the need for technology improvements (43%), controlling security from a central location (35%) and poor security implementation (31%).
Integration Obstacles for Small Firms

The biggest challenges for small companies are, in order) integrating devices, remote support and balancing needs.
Midsize Firms Must Balance Needs

For midsize companies, challenges include balancing needs, enforcing policies and integrating devices.
Integration Also Difficult for Large Firms

For large companies, the obstacles are integrating devices, multiple OS support and enforcing policies.
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The use of mobile devices in the corporate world will only continue to grow, and companies of all sizes will have to address the need to update business processes, set up policies and improve the skill sets of their workforce to accommodate mobile technologies. That is a key takeaway from CompTIA’s enterprise mobility study. Still, it is a major challenge for many companies. In some cases, the challenges are device-integration issues, a lack of resources, a lack of special skills, and finding a balance between the needs of end users and IT department requirements. Add the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend to the mix, and it further complicates efforts in supporting mobile initiatives, particularly for integration, security and compliance. These are all areas where VARs and IT providers can help businesses implement and optimize mobile solutions and provide operational support. But IT providers that take the time to understand an organization’s business needs and have expertise around regulatory and compliance issues within the organization’s industry will have an advantage. Channel Insider examines key takeaways from the survey of IT and business executives.