white paper mobility on the move and in control idc opinion

W H I T E P AP E R

M o b i l i t y — O n t h e M o v e a n d i n C o n t r o l

Sponsored by: IFS

Anders Ebbesen Anders Elbak

Jason Andersson

September 2012

I D C O P I N I O N

M o b i l i t y M a t t e r s

Mobile ERP solutions are critical for companies as they increase employee

productivity and enable lower costs. More companies find that the opportunities with

mobile ERP lie with mobilizing customer care and sales solutions (CRM) and using

mobility to stay competitive and improve data quality by embracing real-time data

registration.

One in every 10 dollars spent on IT budgets is dedicated to mobile ERP solutions

today, according to a survey IDC carried out with IFS to assess the attitudes

toward using mobility solutions in today's workplace and to identify to what extent

companies have a strategy or plan for mobile ERP solutions. The survey found

that companies dedicate 10.1% of their IT budgets to mobile ERP solutions, and

59% said this rate will increase more than the rest of the IT budget by an average

of 12%.

Over half of enterprises have a plan for mobile ERP solutions. The survey found

that 46% still do not have a plan for mobile solutions, but 14% of these are

earmarking funds specifically for mobile solutions.

The rollout of smartphones and tablets dominates the three-year plans for most

companies. The investigation shows that 55% will focus on rolling out mobile

smart devices, with Apple's iOS devices favored by the majority.

The main barrier to adopting mobile ERP solutions is security concerns. The

survey found that 31% of companies saw security as the main inhibitor, while

10% cited company policy. Only 7% are looking to invest in mobile device

management (MDM), to administer, secure, and control company mobile

devices, in the next three years, which would improve security and policy

management.

Integration costs and work processes are hurdles that need to be overcome. The

survey reveals that 13% of companies are concerned with the cost of integrating

with back-end systems and 12% have not adapted their work processes to

mobile solutions.

Customer care and sales solutions (CRM) are seen as the key functional areas

to mobilize. In the survey, 25% of respondents expect to invest in mobilizing the

customer care and sales force, and 31% identify CRM integration as the killer

mobile app.

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I N T H I S W H I T E P AP E R

This IDC White Paper, sponsored by IFS, explores how companies are embracing

strategies for mobile ERP solutions. It also looks at the types of solutions they have

and what direction their investments in mobility is taking compared with other IT

areas.

The survey was carried out in nine countries with a total of 455 phone interviews and

Web survey responses in a number of industry verticals across Europe, Australia, and

the United States. In the survey, respondents indicated what current mobile

capabilities they provide to their workforce, as well as specific drivers for investing in

mobility solutions.

T A B L E 1

T o t a l N u m b e r o f R e s po n de n t s

Sweden 51

Denmark 50

Norway 50

Poland 50

Germany 50

United Kingdom 50

Australia 50

United States 54

France 50

Total 455

Source: IDC, 2012

Over half of the responding companies (52%) belong to one of five industry verticals:

industrial manufacturing, process manufacturing, retail, construction and contracting,

and service provider. In the Appendix, we present specific country findings

summarizing results by country.

©2012 IDC #IDCWP30U 3

I D C S U R V E Y R E S U L T S

M o b i l i t y i s S t r a t e g i c a l l y I m p o r t a n t

Mobility as a solution has moved from being a voice-centric to a data-centric solution

focusing on smartphones and tablets with access to corporate data, and this is

creating a whole new set of challenges for CIOs and IT managers. As can be seen in

this paper, the use of mobile solutions has established itself as an interface to email

solutions, but is growing steadily as a tool for collaborative solutions, other types of

communications, and push information to mobile workers.

Over half of companies today have a strategy for their mobile ERP solutions. One in

five companies has a strategy that it reviews regularly and includes return on

investment (ROI) follow up in its work. This shows that organizations are preparing for

a mobile workforce and the changes it brings. However, nearly a third of companies

still have no plans at all.

F I G U R E 1

M o b i l e E R P S t r a t e g y

Q. To what extent do you have a strategy or plan for mobile ERP solutions?

Note: Q1

Number of respondents: 455

Source: IDC, IFS Mobility Survey, 2012

It is worth noting that 14% have earmarked funds for mobile solutions in their budgets

while not having plans on how to use that money.


F I G U R E 2

M o b i l e S o l u t i o n D e c i d i n g P o w e r

Q. Which department has the responsibility for deciding/budgeting and purchasing mobile

solutions?

Note: Q2



IT departments are the main owner of deciding, budgeting, and purchasing mobile

solutions across the board. The integration of voice competences into traditional IT

competences is a critical success factor for these departments.

IDC recommends that companies should develop a mobility plan as an internal

roadmap and discuss this with their vendors. The roadmap should include key

processes and systems to integrate as well as security and device management

solutions.

T o d a y ' s U s e o f M o b i l e E R P

Media tablets are becoming the new desktop and mobile collaboration devices. They

are becoming increasingly popular as the enterprise end-user device of choice for

accessing data on the move and collaborating with colleagues, especially among

executives, professionals, and knowledge workers. Tablets can typically support

voice and videoconferencing, email, IM, and social networking applications — all in

one device. Along with cell phones and smartphones, IDC sees mobile devices

eventually supplanting a sizeable portion of desktop IP phone revenue within the

enterprise, which is remarkable considering the limited exposure the tablet has had in

the market and the lack of specific unified communication features that are available

today.


Apple is the leader in the tablet category, with the iPad having few competitors, but

many are waiting to be launched. The hype around the iPad scrambled companies

that work with mobile management to develop support for device management for the

iPad. With the release of iOS 4 and 5, the features specifically for enterprise IT

improved significantly, making the devices even more interesting for companies to

deploy.

Worldwide media tablet shipments will grow from 19.4 million units in 2010 to more

than 222 million units in 2016, according to IDC's Worldwide and U.S. Media Tablet

2012–2016 Forecast (IDC #235681, June 2012).

Media tablets remain a largely consumer-driven category. While there are a growing

number of people utilizing tablets for work, the vast majority of those tablets were self-

purchased. That is starting to change as more enterprises examine the productivity

gains possible with the rollout of tablets.

According to IDC's Worldwide Smartphone 2012–2016 Forecast Update: June 2012

(IDC #235193), the worldwide smartphone market will reach 686 million units in 2012.

Smartphones will continue to be emphasized by vendors and carriers, and broad

device availability, lower price points, and strong end-user demand will continue to

fuel smartphone growth in the short term. IDC believes that worldwide smartphone

shipments will reach 1,246.0 million units in 2016.

In the survey, IFS and IDC asked respondents about how mobility is impacting the

way they work. The survey shows that of the most common features used on mobile

devices, email was the most popular, followed by collaboration solutions, including

forums, team sites, online meetings and desktop sharing, and other communications

such as instant messaging and voice over IP.


F I G U R E 3

C u r r en t M o b i l e C a p a b i l i t i e s

Q. Which of the following mobile capabilities are available to employees in your organization

today?

Note: Q3



Email has been the core mobile application for a number of years. Collaborative

features look like they will become the next wave of important features to include in

tablets and smartphones.

Over the last few years, collaboration features have increased in popularity on mobile

devices and vendors have increased their investments to provide access to these

features for mobile users. With the growth of tablets, the benefits of collaboration

features increased even more, and IDC expects this to increase over the coming

years.

The focus for future integration into mobile environments lies in enabling better

customer care and customer relationship management by integrating the company

CRM solutions into the mobile solution, making the mobile devices a core component

in companies' business development processes.

Almost a third (29%) of companies use email on their mobile devices today, but

considering the benefits of mobile mail, this is fairly low. Using email on mobile

devices is a global trend, but, based on the survey, many companies are still not

enabling this feature for their employees.


Email is the most used mobile capability across the survey countries, peaking in

France, Denmark, and Germany, with the lowest level reported in the United States.

Australia and the U.K. report the highest number of companies that provide

collaboration solutions for their employees' mobile devices.

I n v e s t i n g i n M o b i l e E R P

On average companies dedicate a tenth of their IT budgets to mobile solutions. Other

focus areas are virtualization and cloud deployments, as well as collaboration, both of

which can benefit a mobile workforce.


T A B L E 2

M o b i l e S o l u t i o n I T S p en d a s P o r t i o n o f T o t a l I T B u d g e t

Q.: In your view what portion of your company's total IT budget is dedicated to mobile solutions today?

Sweden Denmark Norway Poland Germany U.K. Australia U.S. France Total/Average

Average 7.9% 8.5% 11.7% 12.4% 8.1% 10.6% 12.4% 9.6% 8.3% 10.1%

Minimum 0.5% 0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.0% 0.3% 0.0%

Maximum 40.0% 50.0% 100.0% 80.0% 30.0% 70.0% 75.0% 30.0% 25.0% 100.0%

No. of respondents 38 45 44 37 37 44 44 54 5 348

Note: Q4. Number of respondents: 348



Poland and Australia report the highest share of IT budgets dedicated to mobile

solutions, peaking at 12.4%, followed by Norway and the U.K., all of which report

averages above the survey total average, while mobility-strong countries such as

Sweden and Denmark report investments below the survey average of IT budgets

dedicated to mobility.

Of the Nordic countries, Norway reports the highest number of companies that

support collaboration solutions on mobile devices, while Sweden and Denmark are

either on or below the survey average. This can be one explanation for the higher rate

of mobility investments in Norway compared with its neighboring countries.

The two top mobility-investing countries, Poland and Australia, differ in their current

mobile capabilities focus. As with other countries, both these countries prioritize

email, but Poland is using push information more than any other surveyed country

and is significantly higher than the survey average. Australia, however, focuses

mainly on collaboration solutions, and more so than any of the surveyed countries.

M a i n M o b i l i t y I n h i b i t o r s

Mobility solutions are not easy to implement, control, and administer, and the survey

highlights that there are many inhibitors that hinder the deployment of solutions that

benefit from the qualities of the mobile device and tablets.

The number 1 inhibitor by far, when asked to identify the top three obstacles for

investing in and using mobile solutions, was security aspects. Security concerns were

selected by most respondents as their first and second top concern. Of the survey

companies only France indicated that company policy was a bigger main inhibitor,

followed by security aspects at number 2.

In general the countries are fairly homogenous in their views on what hinders them to

invest in and deploy mobility solutions. Poland has the greatest variety in terms of the

top concern, selecting mobile network infrastructure and work process not adapted to

mobile solutions after security concerns.

Many companies report that they have not adapted their company policy to mobile

working. This is an area in which many corporate CIOs and IT managers must focus

their efforts. IT policies without clear support for mobile working are not future proof

as more IT investments move to virtual solutions, cloud, and mobility.

Compared with concerns around security of mobile solutions, cost is not a major

inhibitor for companies investing in mobile solutions, but it is in the top three concerns

mentioned.

Taking all of the responses into account (first, second, and third mentioned

obstacles), security was the largest inhibitor, as mentioned above. Cost followed

security as a major obstacle, and vendors need to simplify how to integrate mobility

solutions into existing back-end systems.


F I G U R E 4

O b s t a c l e s t o G o i n g M o b i l e

Q. What are the top 3 obstacles to investing in and using mobile solutions in your company?

Note: Q7

Number of respondents: 455 (multiple answers)


Overall, the third most picked concern (first, second, and third mentioned obstacles)

was the lack of mobile solution adaption of current work processes. This is reflected

as well in that companies have not adapted their policies to mobile working. This is a

major challenge for company CIOs in the near future and will have a direct impact on

the company's ability to compete, provide customer support, and recruit talent.

I n c r e a s i n g M o b i l i t y I n v e s t m e n t s D r i v e n b y

E m p l o y e e P r o d u c t i v i t y a n d L o w e r C o s t s

Globally the main driver across the board is the belief that mobile solutions will offer

increased employee productivity and lower costs. There are of course costs involved

in supporting a mobile workforce but some companies are able to work out a quick

ROI based on cost savings on telecom expenses. For example, incorporating a UC

client in mobile devices enables employees to contact their customers or business

associates overseas without incurring costly international charges. There are also

fixed/mobile convergence (FMC) solutions that allow users to roam seamlessly from

the mobile networks to their corporate WiFi, thereby reducing mobile charges.

The U.S., Sweden, and Norway are the most optimistic about the mobile solution's

ability to increase productivity and lower costs. These countries also report the

highest usage of collaboration solutions on mobile devices. Their experience is clearly

leading them to believe that there is much to gain from moving to mobile solutions.


F I G U R E 5

M o b i l i t y D r i v e r s

Q. What are the top 3 drivers for mobile investments in your company?

Note: Q6



Secondly, mobility is seen as a way to stay competitive in the industry that the

company is active in. The combination of more efficient staff and lower costs can lead

to a better competitive situation, until the whole industry uses the same type of

solutions, then other drivers will be key.

Australia and the U.S. are most positive in their view of mobility as a competitive

advantage. France is a mature mobile market where companies do not feel that

mobility is a key competitive factor.

The third top area that drives investments in mobility solutions according to our

survey is the possibility of entering real-time data into office systems to improve data

quality. The industry is very innovative as to how companies can benefit from using

mobile devices. This includes all industries, from the services industry, such as

restaurants, to healthcare, where doctors and nurses use media tablets to access

medical journals, to the transportation industry dispatching information using push

technology to mobile devices across the globe. The automobile industry is

increasingly integrating mobile solutions into cars and trucks to enable voice control,

better hands-free solutions, and direct connection to the Internet for passengers.

Not many companies view mobile solutions as a means to expand geographically, nor

do they view them as a way to enter into new go-to-market models. Rather the view is

that mobility solutions will enable them to build better business practices, stay

competitive, and benefit from real-time data entry.


Some mobility solutions are an HR challenge as well. It is interesting to note that even

if mobile devices have penetrated the lives of most end users today, one in 10

companies still believe that a mobile solution will enable them to attract and retain

talent. The possibility of allowing employees to use whatever device they want ("bring

your own device," or BYOD) is a growing concern for many IT departments and

solutions that support these are gaining traction.

On average, one in every 10 dollars spent on IT goes to mobility solutions today.

This, however, looks like it will increase in the near future. On average the increase

will be about 12%, but Poland and the U.S. are more bullish about future investments

in mobile technology.

In general, companies in Poland are split between keeping the same level of

investments and increasing them, and companies in the U.S. are more convinced that

they will increase in the next three years but they both report the same level of

increase.

France has the highest number of respondents indicating that they will lower their

investments in mobile solutions. France also had the highest number of respondents

selecting company policy as their main inhibitor. These results indicate that

companies here are fairly satisfied with their current solutions and that their focus is

now mainly internal.


F I G U R E 6

M o b i l e I T S p en d C h an g e s

Q. Will your investments in mobile solutions as a portion of your total IT budget in the next

three years …

Note: Q5



Companies based in the U.K. are the most likely to keep current investment levels,

while other countries are more likely to invest more than before.

Mobility implementations are not one-time solutions. They must evolve over time to

take advantage of new developments. Integration opportunities will also develop over

time as support systems are upgraded and new features added. Cloud and

virtualization solutions will in addition enable a whole range of new possibilities for

users of mobile devices.

Increase 59%

Decrease 5%

Stay the same 28%

Don't know 8%


F I G U R E 7

M o b i l e F u n c t i o n a l A r e a F o c u s i n t h e S h o r t T e r m

Q. For your future mobile investments, what are the top 3 functional areas where you expect

to invest?

Note: Q8



Investments in the near future are going into improving employee productivity as well

as improving sales and customer care to secure competitive advantage. Our survey

found that customer care/sales with integration to the company's CRM system are the

key focus of investment in the future. Ensuring a competitive advantage and enabling

an even more productive workforce that gets access to correct data, even when they

are on the move, is a critical success factor in the future and a major focus for

mobility solutions.

Nearly one in five companies will focus their investments on enabling mobile solutions

for field service management. This is particularly clear in Poland, France, and the

U.S.

There are some regional differences to investments outside of the focus on investing

in enabling mobile access to CRM solutions. Germany shows interest in mobile

warehouse management, while Poland is also looking at field service management.

Sweden, the U.K., Australia, and Norway show a wide spread of interest besides

CRM, which indicates that they are prepared to invest in many mobile areas.

S t r a t e g i c D i r e c t i o n o f M o b i l e E R P

I n v e s t m e n t s i n t h e N e x t T h r e e Y e a r s

Mobility solutions are an area that will continue to be the focus for many companies.

The BYOD concept will shift some investments away from deploying devices to


implementing systems to administer and secure privately owned devices so they will

be safe to use for corporate data.

That said, the main focus of companies' mobile solution investments will still mainly

be to roll out smartphone devices and tablets, followed by supporting enterprise apps

for smartphones and tablets.

F I G U R E 8

S t r a t e g i c D i r e c t i o n o f M o b i l e I T I n v e s t m en t

Q. Related to mobile solutions, which area do you expect to be the focus of your investments

in the next three years?

Note: Q9



Mobile device management (MDM) will be a key functionality for mobility solutions to

handle security, policy, and integration to back-office systems. Without a clear MDM

solution it will be near impossible to secure a mobile device and enable full or partial

wipe in case of theft or loss of device. These MDM solutions can be hosted or

premises based and they enable a company to maintain and develop a policy for

application, usage, and if necessary create a company specific app store. It is worth

noting that only 7% said MDM will be the focus of their strategic investment in the

next three years. It could be that this area is a target for outsourcing instead of direct

investments as many telecom providers today offer MDM as a service practice to limit

the direct investments necessary.

Rollout of smartphones

35%

Rollout of tablets30%

Enterprise apps for smartphones and

tablets15%

Mobile device management

7%

New distribution models (e.g. cloud)

5%

Others, please specify:

4%

Offline solutions (access to

information without access to network)

3%Private (corporate)

app store1%


Looking specifically at the rollout of devices such as smartphones and tablets,

companies show a clear preference for iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad

ahead of Android and Windows 8 based devices.

Even with the launch of devices with larger screens using Android, most

organizations still focus on Apple's iPhone. It is also interesting to note that

BlackBerry maintains a large share in the survey. Globally, according to IDC's

Worldwide Smartphone 2012–2016 Forecast Update: June 2012 (IDC #235193),

Research In Motion (which developed the BlackBerry) has a market share of 6.4%.

F I G U R E 9

D e v i c e R o l l o O u t F o c u s

Q. Related to mobile solutions, which area do you expect to be the focus of your investment in

the next three years; if roll out of tablets or roll out of smartphones, which one …

Note: Q9

Number of respondents: 178 (smartphones), 118 (tablets)


IT department investments are also focusing on cloud solutions in general and offer

opportunities for a mobile workforce to gain access to desktop environments as if they

were on traditional computers or laptops. Our survey found that new distribution

models such as cloud are the focus of about 5 in every 100 companies' investments

in mobility solutions. With smartphones and tablet devices, access to corporate data

via virtual desktops and cloud-based applications employee productivity as well as

support for BYOD can become even more pervasive. The concept of a private

iPad66%

Androidtablets

19%

Win

do

ws 8 tab

lets

14%

iPhone52%

BlackBerry24%

Android20%

Window

s phone

4%

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

Tablets

Smartphones


corporate app store is still in its very early stages for investments today. Distribution

models for private or corporate apps will rely on other methods in the near future.

F I G U R E 1 0

M o b i l e K i l l e r A p p l i c a t i o n

Q. If you could choose one "killer mobile application" that would significantly impact your

business, what type of application would that be?

Note: Q10



Companies are very clear on where they want mobility apps to go, namely in the

same way as their near-term investments. The focus for future integration into mobile

environments lies in enabling better customer care and customer relationship

management by integrating the company CRM solutions into the mobile solution,

making the mobile devices a core component in companies' business development

processes. One in every four responses will focus on integrating CRM applications

into a mobile solution using current budgets and this is also the killer app that almost

three out of 10 are saying they would want as a killer mobile app.

Excluding the others category, companies in the U.S. are looking for CRM integration

or BI integration as the killer app. No other country in the survey leans so strongly

toward BI integration.

Germany and Norway would pick a product catalogue app if they got to choose a

killer app after CRM integration, but Sweden, Denmark, Poland, the U.K., and

Travel expense management app

(e.g. registration and management

approval)

3%

Time reporting app (e.g. registration and

management approval)

5%Product catalogue

app (e.g. find product details, customer,

supplier, and contract data

7%

Approvals & authorization (e.g.

for requisitions, purchase orders,

supplier invoices, and

purchase requisitions)

10%

Business intelligence (KPI and reporting)

13%Other: please specify

31%

CRM app (e.g. sales reps can manage

accounts, contracts, activities, and opportunities)

31%


Australia would prefer an approvals and authorization app for requisitions, purchase

orders, supplier invoices, and purchase requisitions.

C O N C L U S I O N

M o b i l i t y M a t t e r s a n d I n v e s t m e n t s a r e

I n c r e a s i n g

Mobility solutions are evolving, and their focus is changing from voice centric to a

business enabler. Companies are looking to increase their investments in mobility

solutions and their focus is clearly on business enabling apps, such as access to

customer relationship management systems, but also for the growing area of

collaborative solutions and other communications such as instant messaging.

Email remains the most used capability on smartphones and tablets, used by one in

three organizations. Today almost one in six companies uses mobile devices to

enable collaboration solutions and other communication on mobile devices.

For the future, companies will be investing more than currently as a portion of their IT

budget and focus is on integrations that create value, such as business development,

customer care, and improving employee efficiency.

IDC recommends that companies take a strategic look at the opportunities that

mobility can offer in terms of increasing competitive advantage by reducing cost or

increasing employee efficiency or improving the business processes.

The main obstacle for using mobile solutions are security, but investments in

solutions that can secure a mobile workforce such as mobile device management are

still no higher than the top four, indicating that there is a need to grow understanding

about how to secure mobile devices and tablets.

IDC recommends, in collaboration with mobility solution vendors, also discussing the

use of mobile device management as a service or deploying on-premises to secure

their mobile solutions and users' devices.

Devices with iOS as their operating system dominate the rollout plans in our survey.

IDC recommends a strategy where companies focus on two or three mobile operating

systems and not on the type of devices they support. BYOD is a way to allow users to

use privately funded devices for work, and a good MDM solution will support BYOD

users.

A P P E N D I X : C O U N T R Y / R E G I O N S U M M A R I E S

A u s t r a l i a

The majority of Australian companies have a plan for their mobility solutions, but 36%

have no plan at all. 14% of Australian companies have allocated a budget for mobile

solutions but don't have a plan. However, they allocate 12.4%, which, together with

Poland, is the highest portion of the IT budget allocated to mobile solutions of the

surveyed countries, driven by the belief that mobility increases employee productivity

and lower costs, and inhibited by the concerns around security. The focus of

investments in future in Australia will be the rollout of tablets, which 38% of


companies will focus on, followed by mobile device management, which 17% will

devote time and effort to. This is the highest level of investment in MDM solutions of

the surveyed companies.

18% of companies have launched collaboration solutions on their mobile platforms,

which is the highest of the surveyed countries together with the U.K. 8% support two-

way "actionable" business transactions and capture business data, while 27% of

companies support email.

Australia is focusing on providing mobile access to CRM solutions as well as project

management tools and mobilizing business intelligence solutions.

F r a n c e

Six out of 10 (66%) French companies do not have a plan for mobile solutions, but

22% have allocated funds for a mobile solution. They allocate on average 8.3% of

their IT budgets to mobile solutions and 39% of them support email access on mobile

devices. In addition, 18% have implemented mobile solutions for other

communication types, such as email and voice over IP.

30% of French organizations said they will keep mobile solution investment levels the

same, which is the highest of the surveyed countries. 16% say they will lower their

investments, which is also the highest in the survey, but they claim that what drives

investments in this area is increased employee productivity and lower costs.

Unlike other survey countries, French organizations have the largest number of

respondents (34%) who claim that company policy is the biggest inhibitor to using

mobile ERP solutions, followed by security (20%) and that solutions are expensive to

integrate with back-end systems (18%).

In the next three years, French companies will focus their investments on enterprise

apps on smartphones, new distribution models such as cloud, and offline access to

information. Unlike most other countries in the survey, there are very few plans to roll

out smartphones, and no plans to roll out tablets. France has the highest number of

companies (36%) claiming they will roll out BlackBerry devices.

French companies want to improve mobile access to their CRM applications and this

is the killer app (excluding others) for French organizations as well.

G e r m a n y

58% of German organizations have a plan for mobile ERP solutions which they

review regularly, but only 8% include ROI calculations, which is the lowest of the

surveyed countries.

German companies dedicate 8.1% of their IT budget to mobility solutions. 8% of

German companies support business data capturing, while 34% support email access

on mobile devices.

For future investments, German companies look to integrate their customer care and

sales solutions with mobile platforms, followed by mobilizing warehouse management

and project management. The main concern against moving into mobile solutions is

security, but only 2% are looking to invest in mobile device management in the next

three years.


On average they plan to increase their investments in mobile ERP solutions by 14%,

and driving their investments is increased employee productivity and lower costs.

Looking to the future, in the next three years, German organizations are very

smartphone and tablet oriented with 34% planning to invest in the rollout of tablets,

followed by 20% who will roll out smartphones and 18% who will release enterprise

apps for smartphones and tablets. For tablets, Germany seems to exclusively trust

Apple, and this is the only country in the survey with that clear bias for the iPad.

P o l a n d

About half (46%) of Polish companies have a strategy for mobile ERP solutions, but

only 14% include a return on investment (ROI) follow up. 20% currently support push

information to mobile workers, and 17% support other types of communication such

as instant messaging on mobiles devices as well as collaboration solutions. 9% have

released support for two-way actionable business transactions and 27% give

employees access to email on a mobile device.

Polish organizations dedicate 12.4% of their IT budget to mobility solutions, which is

the highest of the surveyed countries together with Australia. This is driven mainly by

the belief that it will enable increased employee efficiency and lower costs, followed

by improved data quality thanks to real-time data registration. The functional areas

Polish companies plan to invest in are customer care and sales (CRM solutions)

followed by mobile solutions for warehouse management and field service

management.

In Poland, 41% of companies say they will increase the mobile portions of their IT

budget, on average by 20%, which is the highest increase (which they share with

companies in the U.S.). The main inhibitors to mobile solutions in Poland are security

(30%) and mobile network infrastructure (15%), which is the highest of all surveyed

countries.

In the next three years, half (50%) of Polish companies will focus on rolling out

smartphones and 17% on rolling out tablets followed by enterprise apps for

smartphones and tablets. Polish companies show no interest in Windows-based

smartphones, but rely almost equally on iPhone (32%), Android (27%), and

BlackBerry (41%).

S c a n d i n a v i a

Four in 10 companies in Sweden and Norway have a plan that is reviewed regularly

and 6 in 10 have a plan with or without a return on investment. After Germany,

Norway is the country in the survey with the most companies that have a plan which

they review regularly. After France, Denmark has the lowest number of companies

with a plan for mobility at all.

Norway leads the Scandinavian companies in terms of how much of their IT budgets

are dedicated to mobile solutions, with 11.7%, while Denmark and Sweden report

below 9%. Sweden has the lowest allocation of the surveyed countries with 7.9% of

their IT budgets allocated to mobile solutions.

Companies in Sweden and Norway view mobility as key to increasing employee

productivity and lowering costs, while in Denmark they also believe it can be used to


improve data quality through real-time data registration (the highest of all surveyed

countries).

With current plans, Scandinavian countries are focused on the rollout of smartphones

and tablets and very few look at delivering mobile device management. But all see

security as the main inhibitor, which is interesting, as they are complementary to each

other.

CRM is the focus of investment and it is also where Scandinavian countries would like

to see a killer app.

U n i t e d K i n g d o m

Just over half (52%) of organizations in the U.K. have a plan for mobility solutions

which they review regularly, with 16% of these including ROI calculations. The

capabilities they have released to their mobile workforce include process transforming

which enables new business scenarios (7%) and capturing business data (15%). 18%

of U.K. companies support collaboration solutions on mobile devices and 27% allow

corporate email on them.

U.K. companies are fairly satisfied with their current investment levels. 47% say they

will keep current levels, which is the highest in the survey. They dedicate 10.6% of

their IT budgets to mobile ERP solutions. Increased employee productivity and

lowered costs drive their investments in mobile ERP solutions.

U.K. companies that say they will increase their mobility budgets (39%) will do so on

average by 9% and they are most likely to invest in customer care and sales (CRM)

solutions.

In the next three years, 41% will focus their investments on rolling out tablets, of

which 53% will be iPads, 29% Android based, and 18% Windows 8 tablets. 30% will

focus their future investments on rolling out smartphones, of which 43% will be

BlackBerrys, 29% iPhone, 21% Android, and 7% Windows based.

U.K. companies are very clear on investing in CRM solutions, and their view of the

killer app is the same, with CRM applications considered by most a killer app for

mobile devices.

U n i t e d S t a t e s

In the survey the U.S. had the highest number of respondents with a mobile ERP plan

that is regularly followed up (72%) and the highest number of companies that include

ROI calculations (35%). They dedicate 9.6% of their IT budget to mobility solutions

and deliver more advanced mobile applications than any other surveyed country with

8% using process transforming capabilities, 8% using two-way "actionable" business

transactions, and 14% business data capturing. 20% of respondents provide access

to email, the lowest of the responding countries.

The U.S. has the highest number of companies planning to increase their IT budget

share for mobile solutions, and the highest average increase (20%) together with

Poland. The investments are mainly driven by increased employee productivity and

lower costs, followed by the thought that it will keep them competitive in their industry.

Their focus is clearly on customer care/sales solutions (CRM) followed by mobilizing

project management and field service management.


In the next three years 39% will focus on investing in enterprise apps for smartphones

and tablets, 24% will roll out tablets, of which 85% will be iPads, and 15% Android

based. The main inhibitor for U.S. companies to invest in mobility is security, which

was cited by 59% of respondents. 11% said they would be investing in mobile device

management, which is the second highest response rate for this area in the survey

(Australia was higher).

Similar to other countries in the survey, U.S. companies consider customer

relationship management as the killer mobile app, but also mobilizing business

intelligence systems, with both receiving the highest response rates of all surveyed

countries.

M e t h o d o l o g y

IDC carried out a survey with IFS to assess the attitudes toward using mobility

solutions in today's workplace and to identify to what extent companies have a

strategy or plan for mobile ERP solutions. The survey targeted CIOs and IT managers

who were decision makers for mobile solutions, budgets, and strategies in nine

countries. The survey was carried out by telephone interviews and over the Web.

F I G U R E 1 1

S u r v e y R e s po n d e n t s



Sweden51

Denmark50

Norway50

Poland50

Germany50

United Kingdom

50

Australia50

United States54

France50

Respondents per country


F I G U R E 1 2

S u r v e y R e s po n d e n t s b y V e r t i c a l I n du s t r y



C o p y r i g h t N o t i c e

External Publication of IDC Information and Data — Any IDC information that is to be

used in advertising, press releases, or promotional materials requires prior written

approval from the appropriate IDC Vice President or Country Manager. A draft of the

proposed document should accompany any such request. IDC reserves the right to

deny approval of external usage for any reason.

Copyright 2012 IDC. Reproduction without written permission is completely forbidden.

Industrial manufacturing

16%

Process manufacturing

14%

Retail 12%

Construction & contracting 10%

Service provider 9%

Automotive 6%

High-tech 5%

Energy & utilities 3%

Oil & gas 3%

Aerospace & defense 2%

Asset intensive 1% Other 19%

Survey respondents per vertical

white paper mobility on the move and in control idc opinion

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