FRAMINGHAM, MA--(Marketwired - Sep 24, 2015) - IDG Enterprise -- the leading enterprise technology media company composed of CIO, Computerworld, CSO, DEMO, InfoWorld, ITworld and Network World -- announces the release of the 2015 IDG Enterprise Building the Mobile Enterprise survey which provides a comprehensive view of the mobile business landscape, with 64% of organizations placing mobile as a critical/high priority on their business technology agenda (Click to Tweet). Additional study highlights include areas of investment, business drivers, and vendor requirements.
Mobile Shaping the Enterprise, Investments Increasing
As mobile products and services continue to change the way companies do business, organizations continue to focus on ways it can enhance their business. Communication among employees (68%) and customers (62%) are key business drivers for adopting mobile technology along with the benefit mobile brings with increased speed of decision-making (60%). To accommodate the mobile workforce and realize the benefits of adoption, investments in mobility solutions are remaining strong. Within the next 12 months, enterprise organizations (1,000+ employees) are focusing their top investments in key mobile initiatives, including Wi-Fi network capability, tablets and smartphones, as well as enterprise mobility management.
The positive growth around investments is underscored by a relatively collaborative purchase process across organizations; however, IT almost always initiates the purchase of mobility solutions and services either as the sole initiator or with input from the business side (View Infographic). Across all mobile products and solutions IT executives have the most involvement in the purchase process and have the highest involvement than any other group when it comes to authorizing mobile tech purchases (66%). With 85% increasing spending in at least one area of enterprise mobility, organizations are gradually mobilizing their IT portfolio especially around apps that increase productivity -- such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Sales Force Automation (SFA), and Enterprise Resource Management (ERP).
"No matter the size or industry, executive teams clearly understand mobile's role in today's business technology environment. Nearly half of organizations are predicting a budget increase for Wi-Fi network capability as increased bandwidth will enhance their overall mobile strategy," said Brian Glynn, chief revenue officer of IDG Enterprise. "Vendors that can meet organizations' expectations across multiple evaluation factors will be successful in partnering with them to mobilize a greater portion of the IT portfolio."
Obstacles Facing the Mobile Enterprise Portfolio
Organizations recognize the opportunity mobile presents, but as with most technologies, companies of all sizes face challenges. Security is ranked as the number one mobility challenge (54%) with budget coming in a close second (46%). These are followed by access and usability (27%), ability to demonstrate ROI (26%), and legacy issues (26%). To address security concerns, organizations are seeking security solutions and many are turning to mobile device management (MDM) systems to secure their mobile data. Seventy-four percent have implemented MDM or have plans to, and with more than a quarter (26%) in the researching phase, there is opportunity for vendors to get their solutions in front of IT buyers.
Mobile Vendors Face Multiple Evaluation Factors
With mobile at the forefront of IT decision-makers business technology agenda, multiple factors are being used in the vendor evaluation process. Companies have the highest focus on integration with infrastructure and applications (85%), and vendors' ability to meet security requirements (83%) and ease of use (83%) following close behind. With security issues ranked overall as the top enterprise mobility challenge, it is not surprising that a vendor's ability to meet security requirements ranks highly among evaluation factors and even more understandable that organizations within more regulated industries like finance and healthcare value it as the most critical factor (96% and 92%, respectively) when evaluating vendors.
To discuss opportunities for receiving additional data, please contact Sue Yanovitch at syanovitch@idgenterprise.com.
About the IDG Enterprise 2015 Building the Mobile Enterprise Survey
IDG Enterprise's 2015 Building the Mobile Enterprise Survey was conducted online among the audiences of six IDG Enterprise brands -- CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, ITworld and Network World -- via pop-up and email invitations with the objective of understanding of how mobile products and services change how companies do business, the top mobile priorities in business, and how roles and responsibilities evolve due to emerging tech. Results in this report are based on 510 respondents who must have reported personal involvement in the purchase process for mobile technology at their organization.
About IDG Enterprise
IDG Enterprise, an International Data Group (IDG) company, brings together the leading editorial brands (CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, ITworld and Network World) to serve the information needs of our technology and security-focused audiences. As the premier high-tech B2B media, data and services company, we leverage the strengths of our premium owned and operated brands, while simultaneously harnessing their collective reach and audience affinity. We provide market leadership and converged marketing solutions for our customers to engage IT and security decision-makers across our portfolio of award-winning websites, events, magazines, products and services. IDG's DEMO conferences provide a platform for today's most innovative and eye-opening technologies to publically launch their solutions.
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