Europe’s largest organisations will not be truly mobile until at least 2010, research claims.
A survey of 210 European CIOs from IT consultancy Avanade says a third (35 per cent) expect to operate in fewer physical locations and with less office space.
But the Mobile at Work study says the planned investment in mobile technologies is spread over the next three years at least.
More than half (53 per cent) said they plan to spend more on mobile technology within three years, with half again planning to spend at least five per cent of the overall budget. The primary benefit will be improved efficiency and productivity.
At present, almost all companies use laptops while 66 per cent use PDAs, 43 per cent use BlackBerry devices, 36 per cent use smart phones and 25 per cent use 3G phones. A further 42 per cent have implemented Voice over IP and 41 per cent desktop video conferencing.
WiFi was rated as the most useful business technology.
‘It is heartening to see that companies recognise the tangible benefits brought by mobile-enabling a workforce,’ said Avande European chief technology officer Richard Hall. ‘Clearly by 2010, employees will have the freedom to perform at optimum levels regardless of their location.
‘Our experience tells us that the choice of platform will become more important than the device being used, but this is just one of many decisions facing companies looking to creating a productive environment for mobile workers.’
The research covered companies across sectors including pharmaceutical, telecoms, financial services and petro-chemical.
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