By Dan Berthiaume

mobile device management

In some world regions, ABI says smartphones and media tablet penetration will grow to as high as 85% of all employees and 95% of corporate-liable employees by 2016. Increased stickiness with existing customers is another reason driving suppliers to offer mobility management services.

The way ABI sees the enterprise mobility market unfolding in the next five years, fast movers on the provider side will reap the rewards. Businesses are expected to quickly consolidate their enterprise mobility services around one or two suppliers that can handle most or all of their needs for enterprise mobility, as well management of all mobile systems and endpoints, which include notebooks, PCs, and appliances.

Take Advantage of Vendor Consolidation

This behavior on the part of enterprise mobility users is expected to create consolidation among vendors, which produces a mixed bag of positive and negative results for MSPs serving SMBs. On the negative side, consolidation will create a smaller pool of larger competitors who can offer more services and put more money into promotions and client recruitment and retention.

However, as MSPs and SMBs are both well aware, large vendors typically do not offer SMBs the kind of scale, cost or personalized attention a smaller business needs. While ABI advises that the “untapped” nature of the SMB enterprise mobility market means providers who can serve both small and large clients will come out the winners, in reality there will probably be two groups of winners: big software vendors and consultants serving large companies, and MSPs who act as intermediaries between the “big boys” and SMBs.

Tap In Today

Rather than waiting around for vendor consolidation or enterprise mobility market growth, MSPs should tap into the SMB enterprise mobility market today. Don’t be afraid to start small by managing mobile services for an SMB who may only have a few mobile points on its network. By starting small and building trust slowly, MSPs will put themselves in a prime spot to bring SMBs up to speed when they are finally ready to launch full-fledged enterprise mobility rollouts.