Server Message Block (SMB) mobile worker numbers are expected to reach over 298 million by 2016, according to the Techaisle Research’s mobile workforce forecast.
According to the report, among the total workers, one-fourth are expected to be from the mid-market segment, and about 150 million are expected to be telecommuting and over 120 million travelling on business.
The number of cloud users is anticipated by the report to increase from below 140 million in 2012 to over 200 million in 2016, and one among four SMB employees is expected to be working from home by the end of the forecast period.
Problems expected to arise with the increase in number of mobile workers include cost of solutions that support mobile workers, security from theft and data privacy, mobile data pricing, transaction security and mobile device pricing.
Over 147 million SMB mobile employees are expected to belong to the Asia Pacific Region, accounting for about half of the global share.
China and India are expected to hold over 60% of Asia Pacific Region’s total share, due to business growth, new business formation and a rise in mobile device density.
In 2012, North America led the global adoption of SMB mobility with with 30 million SMB mobile workers.
The EMEA region is expected to experience higher growth than North America during the forecasted period.
