CompTIA: Mobile Not Yet Reached Full Potential

IT trade association CompTIA has released a new study that found mobile devices in the workplace are not being used to their full potential. According to CompTIA, the possibilities available to enterprise users with smartphones and tablets are hampered by a fundamental lack of resources, personnel and education in creating an effective mobile workforce.

In its Third Annual Trends in Enterprise Mobility study, CompTIA surveyed 400 business and IT executives in the United States, 76 percent of which are deploying smartphones and 61 percent are deploying tablets. The survey found 70 percent of organizations have some level of investment to build out mobility solutions within their companies, with mobile devices being the top investment item. But while deployment rates are fairly high, the actual handling and setup of mobile work devices is creating a major drag in mobile’s potential for the workforce.

Both small and midsized businesses are the biggest victims of the increasing drain on corporate resources, with small firms in particular lacking the particular blend of skill specialization, existing infrastructure and bandwidth to run their mobile networks. Midsize businesses typically do not have the manpower to maintain both their end user and IT department needs, according to the survey.

For large companies with plenty of both resources and employees, the complexity of mobile integration is the reigning challenge in maintaining a viable mobile workforce. And with only 30 percent of all companies instituting a formal mobile policy, businesses are both unprepared and underequipped to handle so many devices on their networks.

“Mobile devices get used heavily in employees’ personal lives, but there are enterprise aspects such as encryption, proper security settings and enterprise apps that require further and ongoing education,” said Seth Robinson, director, Technology Analysis at CompTIA, in the report.

CompTIA noted the issue of mobility becomes even more complex because employees are using both their mobile devices and their traditional desktop PCs, compounding the number of devices per person. And while initial expectations were that desktop towers would go the way of the dinosaur with the advent of mobile, the prediction has turned out to be completely inaccurate.

“The new norm is quickly becoming one employee, three devices,” Robinson said. “PCs, smartphones and tablets will all remain major components in the workplace for some time.”

Similar to what’s happening with software-defined networking (SDN), many companies want to implement mobile devices into their daily workflow but don’t possess the knowledge or means to make that vision a reality. For many companies, this means mobile devices are being deployed but underutilized, or are being used incorrectly. If enterprise users are to truly utilize their mobile devices to their full potential, a major upgrade in training and resource management will be needed to give the industry a much-needed shot in the arm.