Mobile workers to reach 1.3 billion by 2015 – report

According to a new report commissioned by ClickSoftware Technologies, the number of mobile workers across the globe will reach 1.3 billion by 2015 but indications show that companies are not ready to tap this trend.

Forty-six percent of CIOs surveyed believe current corporate strategy does not deliver on the “mobile dream”. However, 74 percent of CIOs believe mobile customer service is important for the companies.

IDG Connect surveyed respondents from CIOs in the U.K., France and Germany and findings of the survey reveal that BYOD has played a significant role in increasing the number of mobile workers.

Much of the growth in this space has been driven by BYOD as users frustrated with the pace of their own IT departments have configured personal devices to make them more productive in the workplace.

Of the CIOs surveyed, 75 agreed their workforce brings one or more devices to work. Twenty five percent said they bring one device to work.

CIOs are challenged to define effective strategies for mobile computing. This challenge becomes even bigger in areas with a highly distributed workforce as the dependence on high-quality mobile customer service is more.

Less than half of the workforce in this group was found to be using a smartphone or rugged device as part of their corporate IT provision.

Sixty-six percent of CIOs find it easy to ensure quality and service standards are maintained in the field. Eighty percent in the retail sector in contrast to 30 percent of CIOs in the public sector find it easy to maintain quality and standards.

“CIOs understand the challenge and need to incorporate an enterprise mobility platform into their business strategy, but don’t know where to start,” said Dr Moshe BenBassat, chairman and CEO of ClickSoftware. “The technology and users are moving so quickly, but control needs to be regained by the CIO.”

Dr BenBassat advises CIOs to adopt a new approach that provides end-to-end support for the back office through to the mobile worker, regardless of the devices used.