A study conducted by Kelton Research reveals that employees are growing frustrated with their IT department’s inability to support mobile device types and to nominate mobile applications that will help them be the most productive in the workplace.
The study was conducted on behalf of Sybase, an industry leader in enterprise and mobile software, and included 500 US and UK participants. The survey revealed enterprise mobile technology does need to be re-examined if businesses are to have employees reach their full ability.
Both employees and employers understand that mobile technology and software needs to conform to high security standards, but feel as though they’re compromising too much of their work potential in this pursuit.
“Since not all mobile apps come with the same level of required security, IT managers must consider different application deployment and management strategies,” said Dereck Daymond, Managing Director of Sybase for Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia.
The study revealed one in two employees would prefer to choose the mobile device they use at work instead of the company deciding for them.
Of those who have company phones, only 44 per cent believe they have the right applications on their device to perform their duties as well as they can from a computer.
As employers focus on maintaining enterprise security, almost half (45%) of employees would happily use an employer-provided marketplace for downloading applications that meet company approval. Evidence there is support for an App Store Volume Purchasing Program for Businesses, which is a new platform that simplifies offering and purchasing custom BtoB apps by third party developers.
“This latest survey is a wake-up call for enterprises to broaden and accelerate their enterprise mobility strategies,” continued Daymond.
Also revealed by the study is workplace IT departments aren’t well equipped to manage employee mobile devices, with only 29% claiming they’re generally good at doing so. Worse yet, a meagre 27 per cent spoke highly of their IT team’s ability to troubleshoot mobile applications and programs.
“Employees are beginning to have a much greater understanding of mobility, resulting in greater expectations from IT. We’re seeing more demand for mobile-focused methods of productivity, such as being able to use a variety of devices in the workplace, or being able to gain access to corporate applications through an app store environment.”
The overall consensus for nominating a work phone of their choice is so strong that 71 per cent are willing to sacrifice another workplace fringe. 58% were happy to do with free coffee, 39% would sacrifice free food and 30% were fine with buying their own office supplies. 26% would also give up paid parking and 20% would write off a vacation day.
This study contradicts one undertaken earlier by Sybase that claims 90 per cent of IT managers would implement more relevant mobile applications this year, with 21 per cent to introduce over 20 applications into their organisation.
