Demand for feaures such as VoIP and sales force automation on mobile devices is creating a major support headache for IT departments, according to a survey released by Coleman Parkes, on behalf of Mformation. Despite the rapid spread of these applications, the survey found that mobile operators weren’t helping to relieve any pressure off the IT department.
Roughly two-thirds of businesses would happily ditch their network providers if they could find a supplier that provided mobile device management services to help them support their applications.
More than three-quarters of organizations questioned said device management is becoming a serious issue because it is critical to underpinning successful mobilization initiatives in the enterprise, said Matt Bancroft, vice president, Mformation.
Most firms have already taken action internally by upping security, improving training, and hammering out usage policies. But more than 9 in 10 also believed that their mobile operator had a critical role to play in helping them manage their devices.
While enterprises are investing in policies and procedures for staff using mobile devices, they currently do not have the tools to manage them. There is a significant demand for mobile network providers to step in, said Bancroft.
IT departments are looking for support to improve device and network security and for a fast response to any device problems. Meeting the twin demands of using the latest technology without blowing a hole in the support budget was also important.
However, mobile operators are falling short. Six in 10 of the companies in the survey took a dim view of their current operator device management support.
The survey’s findings were based on interviews with 200 CIOs at UK, European, and US companies.
