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1 Inquiry Insights: Enterprise Mobility, Q by Michele Pelino with Ellen Daley and Madiha Ashour Executive Summary Each year, Forrester receives more than 20,000 inquiries on a variety of topics that provide insight into the key issues and challenges facing our clients. During the past two years, the number of enterprise mobility inquiries increased nearly 55%, jumping from 360-plus inquiries in 2007 to 550-plus inquiries in In the past year, we have seen a spike in the number of inquiries focused on mobile network architecture, new types of mobile devices, and deploying vertically focused mobile applications that address the needs of workers in certain industries (e.g., retail, transportation, and healthcare). The roles of individuals asking these questions include not only IT infrastructure executives but also marketing and business process professionals, as enterprise mobility solutions are often implemented across multiple organizational business units. Enterprise mobility momentum Jumps in 2008 Forrester fields thousands of inquiries each year from clients in a variety of roles, including CIOs, enterprise architects, vendor strategists, and marketing professionals. These inquiries provide insight into the broad range of issues and challenges that clients supporting many different types of emerging technologies and solutions face. Since 2002, Forrester has fielded more than 1,500 inquiries on the topic of enterprise mobility. Forrester defines enterprise mobility as the ability for an enterprise to communicate with suppliers, partners, employees, assets, and customers irrespective of location. Technologies that support enterprise mobility include wireless networks, mobile applications, middleware, devices, security, and management. 1 Forrester tracks increased interest in the enterprise mobility arena through inquiries received from clients. In 2008, we received more than 550 enterprise mobility inquiries a 55% increase compared with 2007 (see Figure 1). What are these inquiries about? Mobile network infrastructure, mobile devices, and a variety of mobile applications. Why all these mobility inquiries now? The promise of mobility to improve productivity in the economic downturn. During difficult economic times, CEOs and business unit leaders tell us they want to enhance the productivity of all workers, and mobility solutions can help achieve this goal. For example, traveling account mangers can quickly respond to a prospect s questions using mobile to shorten the sales cycle time, and field service technicians can increase the number of installation calls made in a day by gathering real-time scheduling updates and cancellations through mobile scheduling applications. Headquarters Forrester Research, Inc., 400 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA USA Tel: Fax:

2 2 More availability of various wireless networks and enterprise mobility solutions. In 2008, Forrester received an influx of inquiries from firms trying to determine when and how to deploy equipment using the n standard to extend the reach and throughput of devices. These enterprises are asking which vendors are developing products using the n standard, as well as the implications of using this new network technology. Companies are also asking for guidance on which mobile device management solutions to use for administering the growing number and variety of mobile devices in their corporations. A fragmented and confusing mobile device landscape. The number of workers who are on the road, working in remote locations, or working away from their desks is increasing rapidly. These workers use a variety of corporate-sanctioned and personally chosen devices to stay in touch with the office. Corporate IT organizations are tasked with developing overarching mobility strategies to address questions from employees using many devices and mobile applications, as well as with establishing security policies to address concerns over deploying confidential information over these mobile devices. What do we see in our inquiries? Mobile apps top the list. Questions about mobile applications accounted for 23% of all enterprise mobility inquiries in The majority of these application inquiries (55%) were focused on vertical applications, including fleet management solutions in the transportation industry that enable more efficient, real-time routing of vehicles. 2 Today, and calendaring mobile applications are mainstream in most enterprises, so many companies are broadening their mobile application initiatives to address the needs of particular types of workers in their industry (e.g., retail, healthcare, oil and gas, and financial services). For example, hospitals with home healthcare nurses look for solutions that enable nurses to access and update patients electronic medical records remotely at the point of care to shorten billing cycle timelines and improve quality of care. Forrester s take: We expect continued growth in the number of mobile application inquiries during the coming year. Where do we expect increased demand for these apps? Primarily among mobile task workers such as those who use direct store delivery solutions in the retail industry or pipeline integrity applications to monitor the flow of oil in the petroleum industry. We also expect more inquiries concerning which users (e.g., information workers or task workers) should have access to mobile applications and how to cost-effectively deploy and maintain these applications over various devices. 3 Interest in wireless network infrastructure for a host of reasons. Approximately 21% of all enterprise mobility inquiries in 2008 were focused on campus wireless and wireless network infrastructure issues. Clients asked Forrester for clarification on the benefits, challenges, and deployment road maps for various wide-area wireless network technologies, such as WiMAX

3 3 and 3G/4G. As companies of all sizes struggle to implement wireless network solutions to support their business initiatives, a key question we receive is when n technology should be deployed and how quickly access points should be updated with n equipment. Firms are also trying to determine which technology or combination of technologies can support their current and future wireless network requirements and how to integrate these networks to support fixed-mobile convergence (FMC). Forrester s take: Within the next 12 to 18 months, we expect the n standard to be approved. This standard will expand the reach and throughput of compatible wireless network equipment and devices. Most companies will gradually replace access points using the standard and are interested in understanding which vendors are deploying equipment using the standard. To address this requirement, wireless local area network (WLAN) equipment vendors such as Aruba Networks and Cisco Systems must clearly identify the technical and functional implications of transitioning to n, the integration requirements, and the product road maps, and they must clearly articulate the return on investment (ROI) of an upgrade. Clients also want to know how to secure data deployed over these networks. We believe that addressing security issues is particularly important in the deteriorating economic environment due to the value of proprietary corporate information and employee data among identity thieves. Concerns over mobile device support and platform standardization. Approximately 20% of enterprise mobility inquiries in 2008 focused on mobile devices, operating systems, and device management processes. Most of the questions focused on comparing the benefits and challenges of using specific devices or operating systems. The most commonly used mobile operating systems used in North America are BlackBerry and Windows Mobile, while European enterprises often support Symbian, as well. Following the iphone 3G launch in 2008, many enterprise IT organizations are being pressured by senior executives to provide support for this mobile device. Forrester s take: The mobile device landscape is extremely fragmented within enterprises and includes BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian OS, and now iphone smartphones. During the next few years, we expect that most enterprises will support two or three operating systems to address a variety of enterprise user application requirements and geographic network specifications, so they must ultimately support at least two to three diverse platforms. We believe that the iphone 3G is ready for prime time because it supports Microsoft ActiveSync, push , contacts, and calendar and can be remotely wiped if lost of stolen. As a result, enterprises must carefully weigh the iphone benefits (e.g., hardware design, Internet browser capabilities, and usability) against the challenges (e.g., battery removal process and shorter battery life) before determining whether to support iphone devices in the corporation. Marketing strategy executives must document how their device management solutions address corporate requirements for selecting, managing, and maintaining mobile devices, as well as ensuring device security.

4 4 Growing interest in understanding the profile of emerging mobile worker segments. Many enterprises view mobility as a strategic initiative that enhances worker productivity and flexibility, and as a result, they believe it is imperative to define a holistic strategy to support the mobility needs of various user segments in the corporation. In 2008, approximately 10% of all enterprise mobility inquiries focused on user segmentation and overall trends driving demand for enterprise mobility. Forrester s take: Forrester believes that three key mobile worker segments exist and will grow in firms: 1) mobile information workers who spend a significant amount of time on the road; 2) mobile task workers who are away from their desks most of the day and use mobile applications to complete specific work-related activities; and 3) mobile wannabes who are non-mobile workers, such as executive assistants and human resource personnel, but who want to use their personal mobile devices in a work setting. Growth will come from the mobile wannabe segment. Mobile wannabes will use a light version of mobile applications and services such as , calendaring, and access to corporate portals. Application developers need to create easy-to-use versions of these applications to appeal to mobile wannabes who have a consumer mindset and are not willing to spend time in application training sessions. Marketing and vendor strategy executives influence enterprise mobility decisions. A wide array of individuals representing user, vendor, and marketing organizational roles are asking questions about enterprise mobility (see Figure 2). IT infrastructure and operations executives are the leading user role making enterprise mobility inquiry requests in 2008, accounting for 82 inquiries. However, if we look at enterprise mobility inquiry requests from 2002 through 2008, enterprise architects lead the user role category, making 182 enterprise mobility inquiry requests during this time frame. Although they are certainly not dominant, we are seeing an increase in queries from marketing and business executives, including technology product management, and the business process and applications roles. Forrester s take: The purchasing decision-makers for mobility products are primarily IT executives (e.g., CIOs, enterprise architects, and IT infrastructure and operations) today, as well as individuals making their personal device choice. However, business decision-makers often influence the mobile purchasing decision-making process, as well. Given the range of employee roles participating in the mobility decision-making process, vendors must be role-focused in their marketing activities. For example, to address the needs of enterprise architects, collateral materials must address the technology specifications and identify network architectural issues associated with deploying wireless networks and issues, such as choosing a platform for mobile middleware to broker all mobile applications enterprisewide. Further, because mobile application interest is on the rise, it is important to create nontechnical messages that point to the business benefits of mobile applications and the time frame for ROI.

5 5 Figure 1 Enterprise Mobility Inquiries By Topic, 2002 To 2008 Number of inquiries Campus wireless/network infrastructure Contracts/pricing/SLAs Mobility strategy/fmc Devices/licensing models Enterprise applications/vertical applications Mobile operator positioning Overall trends/user segmentation Security Other Source: Enterprise mobility-related inquiries from 2002 to Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

6 6 Figure 2 Role-Based Segmentation Of Enterprise Mobility Inquiries, 2002 To Enterprise mobility inquiries for user roles, 2002 to 2008 Number of inquiries by user role 100 CIO Application development and program management 80 Enterprise architecture IT infrastructure and operations Information and knowledge management 60 Security and risk Sourcing and vendor management Business process and applications Enterprise mobility inquiries for vendor and marketing roles, 2002 to Number of inquiries by vendor and marketing roles Market research Vendor strategy Direct marketing Technology product management and marketing Marketing leadership Interactive marketing Customer experience ebusiness Source: Enterprise mobility-related inquiries from 2002 to 2008 Note: In 2008, 150 inquiries had an unidentified or other role and are not included in the above graphs Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

7 7 Endnotes 1 For insight and analysis of the trends and factors driving demand for enterprise mobility among corporations in North America and Europe, see the July 11, 2008, Demand Insights: Enterprise Mobility 2008 report. 2 The count for each inquiry represents a single request from a client, except for application inquiries. For those inquiries, we noticed that clients in earlier years asked about one application, whereas more recently, they were asking about multiple applications. To accurately represent the application inquiries, we counted inquiries for each specific type of application as separate inquiries, even though separate clients were not asking. This means that firms that were asking about applications were asking about multiple applications across the firm, rather than just a point application, implying more widespread usage of mobility in the firms that were asking. 3 For a detailed description and profile of the mobility requirements of the mobile wannabes segment, see the October 9, 2008, Enterprise Mobile User Forecast: Mobile Wannabes Are The Fastest-Growing Segment report. Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology. Forrester works with professionals in 19 key roles at major companies providing proprietary research, consumer insight, consulting, events, and peer-to-peer executive programs. For more than 25 years, Forrester has been making IT, marketing, and technology industry leaders successful every day. For more information, visit , Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Information is based on best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. Forrester, Technographics, Forrester Wave, RoleView, TechRadar, and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. To purchase reprints of this document, please clientsupport@forrester.com. For additional information, go to