Big businesses expand mobile IT

Survey of large firms finds that plans are in place to increase investment on mobile systems

A survey of large companies has found most plan to increase investment in mobile systems over the next three years, and a third predict they will need fewer offices and less space. The firms also forecast that the proportion of remote staff gaining access to systems through laptops will drop from 96 percent to just over half, as more handheld devices, such as smartphones and PDAs, are deployed.

The research by Coleman Parkes Research was commissioned by Avanade, a global IT systems consultancy formed as a joint venture by Accenture and Microsoft. The findings are published in a report called The Mobile World at Work.

Despite their enthusiasm for mobile systems, many firms did not know what proportion of their IT spending went on mobile systems.

Ian Parkes, director of Coleman Parkes Research, said, "Over half the people we spoke to didn't know how much of their budget was being used for mobile technology. However, in the same breath they were planning to allocate more." Parkes said that in some cases mobile technology is acquired through channels other than the IT department, as a separate expense.

Firms may also face problems in measuring the effect of mobile technology on productivity. The study found some companies could point to easily auditable return-on-investment figures, but others had more difficulty.

However, Steve Butcher, mobility community lead at Avanade, added, "The fact that half of the organisations surveyed believe that mobility has increased their competitive edge suggests that we are gearing up for the next generation of mobile working."

The research also found that many firms were deploying mobile technology to extend their reach – many found their previous IT systems were tying them to particular locations. "Seventy-eight percent admitted this," said Parkes.

Parkes said firms integrating mobile IT into their businesses will face challenges in three areas: data privacy, authentication, and patch and antivirus management.
For the survey, Coleman Parkes Research interviewed 210 CIOs and IT directors across Europe in February and March of this year.