European mobile workforce set to grow

Some countries will see number of mobile workers increase by 10 per cent by 2014

Cost control, visibility and security remain the biggest barriers to mobility

The size of Europe's mobile workforce will grow by an average of five per cent over the next three years, but companies still face challenges when deploying mobile solutions to staff, according to a recent survey by analyst firm IDC.

The Netherlands and Sweden, as well as large companies in the finance and retail sectors, will see the highest growth in mobile workers of between five and 10 per cent.

Nicholas McQuire, research director of enterprise mobility for IDC, said: “Increased workforce mobility and the popularisation of mobile technologies are raising awareness of the benefits mobility can deliver across many aspects of businesses.

“However, most of these benefits cannot be fully realised because so many businesses lack centralised cost control, visibility, and efficient security and management mechanisms for mobility across their ICT environments.”

Although most respondents predicted a stable spending environment across fixed and mobile services throughout 2011, those working in media and transport expect to see significant spend increases in mobile data.

Business continuity (BC) and customer service were highlighted as areas that benefited the most from mobile working in 2010, with BC receiving the highest response from the media, transport, utilities and public sectors.

Almost across the board, countries and sectors foresee an upsurge in company-issued devices for mobile workforces over the next three years.

Most respondents were sceptical of the trend towards "‘bring your own" technologies in the workplace, as they feel that they should be provided with technology. Firms in the UK, along with Sweden and Italy, were the most sceptical of BYO technology.