TMCnet News
IDC Forecasts U.S. Mobile Worker Population to Surpass 105 Million by 2020According to a new forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC), the U.S. mobile worker population will grow at a steady rate over the next five years, increasing from 96.2 million in 2015 to 105.4 million mobile workers in 2020. By the end of the forecast period, IDC (News - Alert) expects mobile workers will account for nearly three quarters (72.3%) of the total U.S. workforce. Key drivers behind the growth in the U.S. mobile worker population include the increasing affordability of smartphones and tablets combined with the growing acceptance of corporate bring your own device (BYOD) programs. In addition, innovations in mobile technology such as biometric readers, wearables, voice control, near-field communications (NFC), and augmented reality are enabling workers in completely new ways, increasing productivity by enhancing communications and business workflows. In a recent IDC survey, 69.1% of enterprise mobility stakeholders polled saw a reduction in opex or capex costs as a result of implementing BYOD programs. "Mobility has become synonymous with productivity both inside and outside the workplace, and the mass adoption of mobile technology in the United States has cultivated an environment where workers expect to leverage mobile technology at work," said Bryan Bassett, research analyst, obile Enterprise Device Solutions at IDC. "This expectation will be supplemented by new solutions specifically intended to manage the challenges associated with the growing needs of the mobile workforce." Key findings from IDC's mobile worker forecast include:
IDC defines office-based mobile workers as those whose primary workplace is an office environment, including both corporate and home locations. This category includes mobile professionals, occasionally mobile workers, mobile non-travelers, and telecommuters. Non-office-based mobile workers are those whose primary workplace is on location or in the field, not in an office environment. The two types of non-office-based mobile workers are mobile field workers and mobile on-location workers. The IDC study, U.S. Mobile Worker Forecast, 2015-2020 (Doc #256194), forecasts the U.S. mobile worker population by segment across industry verticals and analyzes trends and drivers in mobile adoption. It includes office-based mobile worker and non-office-based mobile worker segments for the United States and tracks segment growth across major industry verticals as defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
About IDC All product and company names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150623005073/en/ |