Businesses slow to adopt mobile device management software: Telsyte

Most Australian enterprises don’t manage apps and data on their smartphones and tablets using mobile device management software, according to a Telsyte report.

The analyst firm estimated that only 10 per cent of enterprises use dedicated MDM software. Telsyte this year surveyed 250 Australian enterprise CIOs and IT managers.

While BlackBerry and Nokia Symbian devices have been managed in the past, the same is not true for the iPhone and devices running Android and Windows Phone 7, Telsyte analyst Rodney Gedda said.

“Implementing MDM to manage the device will allow businesses to maintain control of their data whether the smartphone is owned by the company or the individual,” Gedda said in a statement. “This is particularly relevant as more people bring their own device to the workplace.”

Businesses have also been slow to embrace BYOD, Gedda said. The analyst said 52 per cent of businesses surveyed “are still purchasing mobile handsets and services for people to use for work, with the remainder allowing BYOD. This has allowed more consumer-oriented devices like the iPhone and Android-based devices to garner a greater share of the business smartphone market.”

Nearly 40 per cent of businesses named the iPhone as their preferred brand of smartphone, Telsyte found. Android smartphones are also growing in adoption, it said.

“Despite its low penetration right now, CIOs are also looking to support Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform which is set to provide an alternative to iOS and Android,” Gedda said. The impending release of Windows 8 provides another option, he said.

On tablets, Telsyte found that 46 per cent of enterprises allow the use of a business-supplied tablet for work. The Apple iPad accounts for 90 per cent of the business tablet market, and Android devices make up the rest. The BlackBerry PlayBook represents only 1 per cent of the market, Telsyte said.

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