As organizations enter 2010, it is no longer sufficient to simply provide mobile devices to employees and expect concrete business value to somehow magically appear. With the emergence of new mobile platforms, the infiltration of individual-liable devices into the workplace and the rapid growth of mobile applications, IT and operations departments are under intense pressure to support the business benefits of enterprise mobility without threatening the security of enterprise data and infrastructure. For channel partners, understanding this is key to helping business customers roll out and maintain a comprehensive mobility program.
Top Pressures. Over the past year, the top pressures driving organizations to adopt and support enterprise mobility have changed markedly. The Aberdeen Group March 2009 report, “More Mobility — Less Budget: Enterprise Strategies in the Current Economic Downturn,” found the drive to increase activity was the top pressure. Just three quarters later in its December 2009 benchmark report, “Enterprise Mobile Strategies 2010: More Mobility, Same Budget,” Aberdeen Group found the economic pressure to increase productivity placed a distant third compared with the challenges of propagating mobile device use throughout the organization and the drive for increased operational efficiency. (See Figure 1: Top Pressures for Implementing Mobility Management.)
This change over the prior nine months is a clear indicator that mobility is maturing from its role as a vague general productivity tool to a core driver of operational efficiency and streamlined business processes, an essential element of a well-integrated IT infrastructure strategy.
The study also found that IT organizations were struggling with the influx of new mobile platforms entering the organization, as well as the proliferation of employee-owned devices being used for business purposes.
