TMCnet Feature Free eNews Subscription
October 16, 2012

Some 76 Percent of UK-IT Enterprise Decision-Makers Expect to Adopt Mobile Business Apps within the Next Year

By Ed Silverstein, TMCnet Contributor

Some 76 percent of over 300 UK-IT enterprise decision-makers expect to adopt mobile business apps in the next 12 months, according to a new study.

Integralis has released a study which also showed that security, potential loss of data and compliance are top worries when adopting business apps.



The study showed, too, that 58 percent of those questioned, plan to adopt apps related to personal information management over the next year. These include e-mail, calendars and contacts.


Image via Shutterstock

Also, of those surveyed, some 44 percent said they expect to adopt communication apps, such as Webex Skype (News - Alert) and iCloud.

Some 39 percent of those responding plan to offer access to internal apps for functions, such as updating leave calendars. And collaboration tools, such as Dropbox (News - Alert) and Sharepoint, will be deployed by 35 percent.

The study also showed that 30 percent of respondents plan to purchase core mobile business apps over the next year.

It also appears those who are 25-44 years old are more likely than those who are over 45 to use mobile business apps.

“It is important that we are educating and training the next generation of CIOs and CISOs, so that they have the skills and understanding to fully exploit the advances in mobile technology and to adopt new working practices securely,” Neal Lillywhite, managing director, UK at Integralis, said in a company statement.

The survey also showed 28 percent of organizations do not allow apps to be downloaded to mobile devices.

“This could be that the case has yet to be proven or that the organization is still to implement a secure mobile device management strategy,” Alastair Broom, product marketing director at Integralis, speculated in the statement. “A surprising 13 percent of respondents have no policies in place or enforced around mobile business applications being downloaded and used by employees, leaving them vulnerable to breaches, data loss, cybercrime and regulatory admonishment.”

In addition, the study showed that 54 percent of those responding cited “managing security” and 44 percent cited “data protection” and “compliance” as top concerns over more use of mobile business apps. Some 34 percent were concerned about financing the changes and 29 percent were concerned about possible strain on current IT resources.

“Our research findings demonstrate the continuing trend towards BYOD adoption and the demand for the development of mobile business applications,” Broom added. “It also highlights that security and compliance continue to be at the forefront of concerns about employee-owned/shared devices. For companies to be able to exploit the potential benefits of collaborative and remote working, these concerns have to be addressed.”

“We understand the importance of enabling organizations to effectively protect themselves from loss or theft of information, intrusion, downtime and loss of revenue through the misuse of mobile devices,” Broom continued. 

In a related matter, mobile vulnerabilities increased by 93 percent in 2011, and threats targeting the Android operating system are on the rise, according to Symantec's (News - Alert) latest Internet Security Threat Report, cited by TMCnet.




Edited by Brooke Neuman
» More TMCnet Feature Articles
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]
SHARE THIS ARTICLE

LATEST TMCNET ARTICLES

» More TMCnet Feature Articles