The rise in adoption of bring your own devices (BYOD) and mobile devices are driving staff demand for mobile devices and apps for work, indicating the end of conventional PC era, according to a new report from Rackspace Hosting.
According to the survey, 66% of the UK and US respondents claim that their employees have been demanding more business-level apps, which would be installed on mobile devices to access corporate IT systems.
Released as a third part of a ‘Cloud Computing: State of Play’ report in collaboration with Manchester Business School, Rackspace’s report signals that about 82% of businesses consider mobile software apps and services would soon become standard means, allowing employees access IT systems for work purposes.
About 59% of respondents planned heavy investments in new business apps over 2014.
Rackspace CTO John Engates said the increase in focus on enterprise apps and mobility makes it imperative that CIO’s transition workloads to the cloud so employees can access corporate data from any device, irrespective of geographical location.
"This will help businesses to speed up the development cycle and progress their mobility and app strategy in line with employee demands," Engates said.
According to the report, key focus areas for businesses developing corporate apps are document management, followed by expenses management, customer relationship management and VoIP.
In line with this trend, about 28% of respondents plan to create their own dedicated corporate app store to more tightly distribute and manage business applications.
The report also presses that enabling remote working mobility has been effecting businesses in terms of office space and talent acquisition, with majority of cloud-enabled UK and US businesses agreed that cloud computing and mobility allow employees to work remotely.
Additionally, 71% of surveyed revealed that the adoption of remote working trimmed down office investments by an average of $320,000 a year.
About 55% of respondents reveal that cloud and mobility have also allowed accessing a extensive talent pool, employing staff based in multiple cities, counties or countries.
