BUSINESS APPLICATIONS AND TABLET ADOPTIONdocs.media.bitpipe.com/io_11x/io_115447/item...Business-applicatio… · IT professionals reported the most impactful option would be making

© 2014 Dimensional Research.All Rights Reserved. www.dimensionalresearch.com

IntroductionMobile devices are rapidly proliferating in small and mid-sized organizations, driven largely by users who want to extend the convenience experienced in their personal lives to the workplace. IT departments are working to respond positively to this trend and support business needs in a responsible and secure manner. But mobile devices have been limited in their ability to increase productivity in work environments because business-critical Windows applications do not work on tablets.

The following report, sponsored by NComputing, is based on a global survey of 300 IT professionals who are responsible for corporate desktops and mobile devices. Each participant worked at a company with 100 to 2,000 employees, including employees who use tablets for work-related tasks. The goal of the survey, conducted in January 2014, was to understand current trends and challenges adopting tablets in small and mid-sized companies.

Key Findings• Tabletadoptionforbusinesspurposesgainingtraction

- 75% have employees that use tablets for work, although only 10% say more than half of employees use tablets

- 97% say anytime, anywhere access to data and applications make employees more effective - 83% believe making business applications and data available on smartphones and tablets would have high or medium business impact

• ITfacesdifficultiesdeliveringdesktopapplicationfunctionalityontablets - 86% face challenges giving mobile employees access to Windows applications on their tablets - 41% struggle with compatibility between Windows applications and mobile devices

• ITprofessionalsareconcernedwhenemployeesusepersonaltabletsforwork - 56% of companies worldwide have employees who are using personal tablets for work, and, in North America this increases to 64%

- 75% are worried about the security of business data on personal tablets - 49% say it is difficult or time consuming for IT to manage - 43% have user privacy concerns

Detailed FindingsTablet adoption for business purposes gaining traction Participants were asked what percentage of employees at their company used business tablets. In order to proceed with the survey, participants were required to have employees who used tablets for business purposes.

Among all survey takers who attempted to complete the survey, the majority (75%) did have employees who used tablets for work. However, tablet adoption is typically limited to a small percentage of employees. Over half of

BUSINESS APPLICATIONS AND TABLET ADOPTION:A SURVEY OF IT PROFESSIONALS AT SMALL AND MID-SIZED ORGANIZATIONS

Dimensional Research | March 2014

Sponsored by



www.dimensionalresearch.com © 2014 Dimensional Research.All Rights Reserved. Page 2

IT professionals at small and mid-sized companies (52%) report that less than one quarter of their employees use tablets, while only 10% of participants say that more than half of their employees use tablets.

It is important to note that the 300 participants who completed the entire survey included only those who indicated that their employees did use tablets. The 25% who indicated that they did not have tablets did not answer any of the other questions presented in this report.

Anytime, anywhere access makes employees more effectiveUnsurprisingly, IT professionals overwhelmingly (97%) report that anywhere, anytime access to business applications and data make their employees more effective. However, not all employees are created equally. More interesting is that a significant number of IT professionals (43%) believe that anytime, anywhere access helps all mobile employees be effective, not just some of them.

Mobile access to applications and data would have significant business impactSurvey participants were asked to rate the business impact of a set of four possible IT initiatives on mobility. IT professionals were very positive about the potential impact of all initiatives. The majority ranked each option presented as high or medium business impact.

None (not included in rest of survey)

25%

Less than 10% 29%

10% -‐ 25% 23%

25% -‐ 50% 14%

50% -‐ 75% 7%

More than 75% 3%

What percentage of your employees use tablets for work purposes?

No 3%

All mobile employees

43%

Some mobile

employees 54%

Yes 97%

Do employees do their jobs more effec3vely when they have access to business applica3ons and data from anywhere, at any 3me?




IT professionals reported the most impactful option would be making business applications and data available on mobile devices, with 83% reporting this as having either a high (36%) or medium (47%) business impact.

Tablet users want more access to business applications and dataIT professionals are getting requests for additional business applications and data. About two-thirds, 63%, reported getting these requests.

As more employees get access to tablets, these employee requests increase. At companies where more than half of employees use tablets for work, a remarkable 89% report that employees are asking to get more work capabilities on their tablets.

23%

28%

29%

36%

42%

44%

46%

47%

22%

22%

22%

14%

12%

5%

3%

2%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Implemen3ng a formal BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy

Providing tablets to all mobile employees

Standardizing on a single mobile plaLorm

Making business applica3ons and data available on smartphones and tablets

What impact would each of the following technology ini4a4ves have in helping your employees be more produc4ve?

High impact

Medium impact

Low impact

No impact

Yes 63%

No 37%

Have employees requested addi2onal access to business applica2ons or data from tablets beyond what they have today?




Extending Windows applications to tablets creates challenges for ITIT professionals do face issues when fulfilling these employee requests for more applications on their tablets. The majority of participants (86%) report that they face challenges. The greatest challenge reported was simply that Windows applications are not compatible (41%) followed by an increase in help desk calls (36%) and poor user experience (34%).

Participants took the time to report a wide range of other issues faced when delivering greater access to applications on tablets. The most frequent complaint was that traditional desktop virtualization technologies used to give access to applications and data (i.e. VDI) often do not work on mobile devices or have severe performance issues.

Despite BYOD, device ownership is a mix of employee and organization-owned Bring your own device (BYOD) is a hot topic at all companies these days. Survey participants were asked who owns the tablets that their employees use for work purposes. The results showed that ownership is very mixed. While 44% of IT professionals did say that their companies owned the devices, 15% said employees own them all. And, 41% report a mix of employee- and company-owned tablets.

14%

7%

22%

34%

36%

41%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

This is not challenging

Other

No resources to re-‐write applica>ons for mobile

Poor user experience when accessing Windows apps from tablets

Increased help desk calls

Windows applica>ons are not compa>ble with mobile devices

Do you face any challenges in giving mobile employees access to their Windows applica9ons on their tablets?

Our company owns them 44%

Some are owned by our company and some are owned by

employees 41%

Employees own them 15%

Who owns the tablets that employees use for work purposes?




There was a significant difference in ownership of tablets when comparing North America and Europe. BYOD seems to be more of a North American phenomenon, with only 36% of companies owning all tablets used by employees. In contrast, company ownership of tablets is much higher in Europe, with 59% of participants saying that their companies own the tablets.

IT professionals worried about use of personal tablets at workWhen asked if employee use of personal tablets was worrisome, IT professionals consistently agreed that this was an issue. The vast majority, 91%, did report concerns. Security was the most frequently reported issue (75%), followed by time needed for IT to manage personal devices (49%), and user privacy concerns (43%).

Tablets use both on-premise and cloud file shares to access documentsThe most effective way to access work documents on tablets is through file-sharing services, and the participants in our study report wide use of these technologies. While public cloud file sharing services, such as Box, Dropbox,

11%

15%

30%

49%

59%

36%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Europe

North America

Who owns the tablets that employees use for work purposes? (By region)

Employees own them

Some are owned by our company and some are owned by employees

Our company owns them

9%

2%

9%

14%

43%

49%

75%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

I have no concerns

Other

User adop<on

Cost prohibi<ve

User privacy concerns

Difficult or <me consuming for IT to manage

Security of business data

Do you have any concerns about employees having access to business applica5ons and data on their personal tablets?




and others, are used extensively by participants (76%), on-premise solutions, including Windows file shares and SharePoint, are also common (49%).

Survey Methodology and Participant DemographicsIn January 2014, IT professionals with responsibility for their company’s desktops and mobile devices were invited to participate in an online survey. A total of 300 individuals completed the survey. All of the 300 participants supported employees that used tablets for work purposes. All worked for companies with 100 to 2,000 employees and had responsibility for corporate desktops. Participants represented a wide range of IT functions, industries, and geographies.

IT administrator

24%

Desktop engineer 16%

IT manager 37%

IT execu<ve 19%

Consultant 4%

IT Func(on

100 – 1,000 employees

59%

1,000 – 2,000 employees

41%

Company Size

North America 47%

Europe 39%

Asia Pacific 14%

Loca%on

9%

2%

2%

3%

3%

3%

4%

5%

6%

6%

8%

9%

10%

14%

16%

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18%

Other

Government – Federal

U<li<es

Educa<on – K-‐12

Non-‐profit

Energy and U<li<es

Transporta<on

Government – State and local

Educa<on – Post-‐secondary

Retail

Finance

Healthcare

Services

Technology

Manufacturing

Industry

14%

49%

76%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

No file storage services

On-‐premise file shares

Cloud file shares

Types of file storage services used by tablets for work




About Dimensional ResearchDimensional Research® provides practical marketing research to help technology companies make their customers more successful. Our researchers are experts in the people, processes, and technology of corporate IT and understand how corporate IT organizations operate. We partner with our clients to deliver actionable information that reduces risks, increases customer satisfaction, and grows the business. For more information visit www.dimensionalresearch.com.

About NComputingNComputing, Inc. is a leader in client virtualization solutions. Removing the barriers through a unique formula of simplicity, performance, and value, NComputing’s integrated solutions serve global enterprise and mid-market companies in key verticals, such as education, healthcare, and government. With over 20 million daily users in 140 countries, the company is fueling the adoption of desktop virtualization faster than any other in the world. To learn more, visit http://www.ncomputing.com.

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BUSINESS APPLICATIONS AND TABLET ADOPTIONdocs.media.bitpipe.com/io_11x/io_115447/item...Business-applicatio… · IT professionals reported the most impactful option would be making