According to IDC, the mobile worker population in the U.S. alone will grow at a steady rate over the next five years, increasing from 96.2 million in 2015 to 105.4 million mobile workers in 2020. By the end of 2020, IDC expects mobile workers will account for nearly three-quarters (72.3 percent) of the total U.S. workforce.
Mobility is just one factor impacting business productivity. A decentralized, often global workforce; telecommuting; the consumerization of IT, BYOD; increased collaboration with external partners, suppliers, and vendors on business networks; and a data-driven economy are all challenging organizations and their IT professionals.
Keeping both employees and IT productive can require evaluation of a spectrum of variables—ranging from user experiences, device choice, and collaboration tools to device provisioning, manageability, performance, and availability.
Security is both critical and challenging for end users and IT.
A study by Dell found that 82 percent of remote workers require additional security measures from IT. At the same time, 92 percent of business users feel additional security measures negatively impact their productivity.