Mobile Helix, the enterprise application and data security expert, today announced the findings of an independent CIO survey of 300 IT decision makers in the UK and US exploring challenges and barriers to mobilising enterprise applications.
Despite a clear understanding of the benefits and drivers from the end-user community, companies have not mobilised many applications and a large percentage are delaying full deployment of enterprise apps on mobile devices due to concerns around cost, complexity and security.
The survey found that there are a range of factors impeding the deployment and adoption of enterprise applications on mobile devices, most commonly: 65% of CIOs blamed delays on development costs, 63% cited security concerns and 48% were worried about increased cost of support and maintenance.
The survey showed that there is compelling end-user demand for sensitive corporate data and apps to be available on mobile devices; 87% of CIOs said their employees want more access to enterprise data and applications on their mobile devices. It also provided evidence that enterprises recognise the efficiency gains that mobile can deliver; CIOs expect there would be a 36% increase in productivity across the business if key enterprise applications were mobilised.
Matt Bancroft, co-founder and COO for Mobile Helix, said: "Users expect critical data and applications to be available on any device and in any context, both in mobile and fixed environments, in the way that is most familiar and convenient to them.
"CIOs understand the obvious benefits of empowering employees and making them more productive, yet only a small proportion of enterprise apps and critical data are currently mobilised," he said.
"We all want apps and data to be available to employees when they need them using the tools that are available at that time. Companies need to bridge app silos in the enterprise and ensure applications work in both fixed and mobile to deliver a seamless converged "app" experience," he added.
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The survey found that 81% of CIOs believe that the cost of developing or re-engineering enterprise applications for use on mobile devices is currently too high because of the highly fragmented and complex nature of the mobile market.
When looking at native apps development specifically, only a third of respondents (32%) felt they had the necessary skills to develop native apps. Almost half (47%) of companies that had developed a native app said they would have reservations about doing so again due to the time, cost and complexity involved.
"The current approach to mobility is limiting the market – enterprises are now looking for solutions which will allow them to develop and deliver apps to their employees simply and cost effectively." Bancroft concludes.
"Companies already have the infrastructure and skills to mobilise, deliver and support enterprise applications in a cost-effective way, while still ensuring enterprise-grade security. Every device platform on the market today has a high performance, HTLM5-compliant engine. By taking this HTML5 browser-based approach, corporate IT can build a unified applications platform that extends across devices of all shapes and sizes, without compromise in functionality, performance, or security."
