U.K. and U.S. companies are focusing more on mobile app strategies in the cloud than traditional PC app strategies as bring your own device (BYOD) take-up widens, according to research among 1,300 companies.
The study has found that 60 percent of U.K. companies say their employees are demanding more business-level apps which they can install on mobile devices to access corporate IT systems.
The survey was undertaken by IT research firm Vanson Bourne on behalf of cloud provider Rackspace Hosting and the Manchester Business School. It found that over three quarters (77 percent) of businesses think that mobile software applications and services will soon become the standard means through which employees access IT systems for work purposes.
In line with this trend, 55 percent said say they will invest more heavily in new business apps over the next year. The key focus areas for businesses developing corporate apps are document management (60 percent), diary management (44 percent), customer relationship management (44 percent) and expenses management (39 percent).
Additionally, 21 percent of respondents have plans to develop their own dedicated corporate app store to more tightly distribute and manage business applications.
“This increased focus on enterprise apps and mobility makes it imperative that CIOs transition workloads to the cloud so employees can access corporate data from any device, irrespective of geographical location,” said John Engates, Rackspace CTO.
Dr Brian Nicholson of Manchester Business School said, “Staff are demanding the same consumer app experience in the workplace from their laptops, smartphones and tablets. With our reliance on the PC declining the onus is on the businesses to deliver their IT services in a format that enables staff to access corporate cloud apps from any device or location.”
Over half of the survey respondents (59 percent) said that the move towards remote working, with the help of the cloud, reduced office expenditure on space and other costs by an average of £102,000 a year.
Additionally, cloud working and mobility enabled 44 percent of respondents to access a broader talent pool, employing staff based in different cities, counties or countries.
