The Mobile-first Impact on Enterprise Mobility: Three Giants Focus on EMM

Enterprise mobility management has grown by leaps and bounds in recent times, and the increased popularity is a direct consequence of the penetration and reach of smartphones, which has had a massive impact. With companies across the world employing Bring Your Own Device or BYOD systems to make the most of their workforce’s smartphones and to harness as much IT capability as they can, the IT structure of corporate organizations are undergoing a sea change.

tatistics back this up, as this article from the Nasdaq GlobeNewswire shows.

It cites a report published by Transparency Market Research, according to which “the global enterprise mobility market, which in 2014 stood at US$86.36 bn, is anticipated to reach a valuation of US$510.39 bn by the end of 2022. If the figures hold true, the global market for enterprise mobility will exhibit an incredible CAGR of 24.7% between 2015 and 2022.”

From $86 billion to $510 billion in the space of just eight years is colossal. And according to the same study, while laptops were still favorites in terms of device in 2014, smartphones are rapidly gaining ground. “Based on device, the global enterprise mobility market is segmented into laptops, tablets, and smartphones. In 2014, laptops emerged in the market as the most preferred device. However, the demand for smartphones is also anticipated to increase substantially during the report’s forecast period.”

Mobile manufacturers are shifting focus to EMM

For further proof that the enterprise mobility industry is being driven by mobile devices such as smartphones, just take a look at smartphone manufacturers. The first example of this shift in focus, somewhat surprisingly, is Blackberry.

Blackberry’s smartphones initially gained popularity due to their very corporate-oriented features before achieving mass-proliferation due to BBM. The company couldn’t really keep pace with Android and Apple and the technological innovations that the war between the two brought about, and slowly sidled away from the limelight.

One would think that this was the end of the Blackberry fairy-tale, but it really wasn’t so. While they may have given up the smartphone ghost, they have first-mover advantage in the EMM scene, as this Tech Target article recounts, “BlackBerry was an early innovator in the smartphone market, until Apple took the industry by storm. Despite heavy competition and a declining device business, the company never went away; it just changed its focus. BlackBerry’s eyes are now on the huge opportunity in enterprise mobility management (EMM). BlackBerry enterprise mobility management is, in fact, a market leader, with a competitive suite of products.”

Apple and Google are in the fray too

You might argue that Blackberry can’t be classified as a legitimate smartphone manufacturer anymore, and that’s true. Take a look at Apple then, a hands-down, dominant smartphone manufacturer. The giant is venturing into the enterprise mobility space as well. First, this piece from the Financial Times, which talks about Apple’s plans to go into EMM with a partnership with Deloitte, with an aim to capitalize on the space left vacant by none other than Blackberry. The article quotes CEO Tim Cook, who says, “The real opportunity for us is expanding how [mobile] devices are used, so that they are used for more than email, browsing, messaging and calendaring, and really getting at how people work.”

The article expands on the partnership and how it will all come together too — “As part of the deal, Deloitte will create a “first-of-its-kind” practice focused on Apple products staffed by more than 5,000 strategic advisers, to deploy iPhones and iPads in situations from inventory management to retail stores. The two companies will also create a new consulting unit, EnterpriseNext, to help Deloitte clients more rapidly prototype custom services across more than 20 industries.”

According to Mobile Business Insights, Apple have also “started rolling out is its Device Enrollment Program. Organizations with an eye for enterprise mobility can use the service to purchase, deploy and manage Apple devices in bulk with a single platform.”

Then there is Apple’s arch nemesis, Google, another firm that has ventured into the EMM space. Google have rebranded their enterprise and cloud ventures to G Suite, and are coming out all guns blazing, as TechCrunch reports. They too have collaborated with a big name in research — Accenture — to achieve their EMM-centric goals. According to this CBR article, “Accenture and Google have partnered to develop cloud solutions designed to help clients enhance business performance. Under the alliance, Accenture will advise enterprise clients on improving the value of Google technologies within their organizations. The companies will target several industries such as retail, healthcare, consumer products, energy, finance, and others.

The solutions will integrate products from across Google Cloud including Android, apps, analytics, augmented reality, big data, Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning. Dedicated resources will be offered from Accenture and Google with expertise in cloud solutions architecture, mobility and app development in order to allow large enterprise clients in accessing the solutions.”

According to a press release published on PR Newswire, LG have created a new phone that targets enterprise mobility as its primary market. Here’s what the release says: “LG Electronics today announced the enterprise offering of the latest flagship V series smartphone. The new V20 leverages the new Android Nougat operating system and will feature an enterprise-grade, IT-compliant and secure solution for IT decision-makers and enterprise mobility managers.”

The release goes on to list the phone’s enterprise-rich features, and adds further credence to the statement that smartphone makers are making enterprise mobility one of their biggest priorities.

All this makes for powerful basis for businesses to take advantage of enterprise mobility services before it really goes big. Take a look at our enterprise mobility solutions and see how your company can harness the powerful tools of this ever-growing digital approach to corporate IT infrastructure.

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