How Big of a Year Will 2014 Be for Enterprise Mobility?

BY Editor

Although Apple is often cited as one of the key reasons for the growth of BYOD in the enterprise, many analysts believe that the company hasn’t done enough to specifically focus on the enterprise market. As a result, competitors like Samsung have been the ones to really pick up the slack in that department.

2013 turned out to be a very interesting year for enterprise mobility. As Apple settled into a role that was reminiscent of Blackberry a decade ago and Samsung picked up the innovation torch, mobile application platform acquisitions significantly intensified. At the same time, device management for multiple platforms became more of a commodity. Finally, the concept of bring your own device (BYOD) gained even more acceptance across a wide range of enterprises.

Thanks to the momentum built during 2013, it stands to reason that the next twelve months are going to be quite significant for enterprise mobility. To get a better idea of what the upcoming year has in store for mobility throughout the enterprise, let’s dive into some likely predictions:

The Windows Phone Will Fully Establish Itself

Even though it’s not expected to outperform Samsung or Apple in the mobile market, 2014 should be the year when Microsoft carves out a solid position for their phone and its OS. The big advantage Microsoft has in terms of acquiring new users is so many members of the enterprise already use Windows on a daily basis.

Wearable Technology Will Become More Mainstream

While Google Glass is already quite popular among the tech elite, it’s far from being technology that you expect to see lots of people using in public settings like Starbucks or the subway. And while only time will tell how much mainstream acceptance smart eyewear will gain, the upcoming year should be significant for a different type of wearable technology within the enterprise. Specifically, headsets with advanced functionality will allow wearers to exert more control over their phones without the need to occupy their hands.

Increased Integration with Different Devices

Although smartphones and tablets do play a major role in enterprise mobility, they are really just a starting point for organisations that want to make the most of this opportunity. With hardware like barcode printers and RFID devices, enterprises can unlock all kinds of new mobility possibilities. Now that mobility has become a requirement for staying competitive in the market, expect to see more companies pursuing deeper mobility integrations throughout the course of 2014.

Mobile Application Development Platforms Will Consolidate

There are already some major players within this area. However, the current state of mobile platforms is still relatively fragmented. And since interest and utilisation of these platforms only continues to grow, 2014 should be an ideal opportunity for at least one larger player to enter the space and lead a trend of consolidation.

Access Management Will Be a Priority

Spreading mobility within the enterprise presents some unique challenges. One of those challenges is finding the right balance between access management and usability. It’s not really practical for enterprises to expect their employees to type long passwords with various capitalisation schemes and symbols into their phones on a daily basis. At the same time, it’s obviously vital for businesses to protect their sensitive data and resources. This is why it’s likely that many enterprises will have their eye on using technology like GPS for access management purposes.

Ensuring the Usage of Official Apps

Just about every enterprise would prefer for their employees to only use officially sanctioned applications. But because many of these apps are lacking in both functionality and design, it’s fairly common for employees to circumvent IT’s wishes by using other apps that better serve their needs.

Since people are only going to become more aware of the fact that their options don’t need to be limited, enterprises will need to respond by pushing for the improvement of the apps they expect employees to use. The two ways this can best be accomplished is by focusing on what functionality employees need, as well as emphasising the importance of great design in B2E apps.

While there’s always the possibility of a few significant events or trends coming completely out of left field, chances are that most of the major news in 2014 related to enterprise mobility will revolve around one or more of the subjects covered above.

Ralph Macdonald is a business analyst. In addition to his work, he’s also very passionate about promoting causes that help get better technology in underprivileged schools.