Survey: Enterprise Mobility Management Market to More than Double
October 24, 2014
By Tara Seals, TMCnet Contributor
The enterprise today is virtual, porous, and perimeter-less — thanks in large part to the rise in enterprise mobility. As phenomenon like bring your own device (BYOD) and a host of enterprise-class mobile apps make their way into the business world, the ability to work from anywhere can maximize both productivity and employee satisfaction. But IT administrators face a downside to all of this: the need for cost containment.
According to figures from 451 Research (News - Alert), the enterprise mobility management (EMM) market is expected to more than double, growing from $3.8 billion in revenue this year to $9.6 billion in 2018. Overall the market will see a CAGR of 22 percent.
EMM is defined as a set of tools that include mobile device management, mobile application management, mobile email container applications, mobile application platforms, mobile back-end as a service (MBaaS) and mobile virtualization. Any of these functions can be used solo, in parallel, or in a tiered fashion across a mobile environment.
“451 Research sees these as important toolsets adopted by the enterprise, and as critical enablers of future mobile computing,” the firm said.
Along with security, being able to track employee usage and spending for both voice and data plans has become a mandate for administrators. From a telecom expense management (TEM) perspective, there are plenty of pitfalls for enterprises. For instance, keeping tabs of what employees do for work and what they do for personal use on their mobile devices is a complex headache, and costs can quickly spiral out of control. That’s where functions like container apps, which separate personae and make usage easier to track, become invaluable.
Similarly, MDM — which was the first segment of EMM to take off — allows IT staff to set policies for device usage and minutes used.
New functions, like minimizing time wasting with industry-specific mobile apps and unified communications, are also part of the TEM picture. Accordingly, while 43 mobile device management vendors generate the largest proportion of total EMM revenue for now, 451 Research expects an uptick in revenue from all segments, especially from the 38 market participants in the mobile application management segment.
"EMM is moving from tools that control mobility, to instrumental elements that enable productivity for a growing number of mobile-enabled employees," said Chris Hazelton, research director for 451 Research’s enterprise mobility channel. "Mobile apps in the enterprise are growing in importance and are the key to driving business transformation, and EMM will play a key role in putting these apps in the hands of users.”
He added, “As companies move from a reactive to a mobile-first strategy, EMM technologies will be the foundation for any deployment.”