BlackBerrys have long been the go-to smartphone for folks in the enterprise, but it looks like RIM's grip on the title of king of the workplace may be starting to slip. According to a survey completed by iPass for its Mobile Workforce Report, 45 percent of the total 2,300 workers polled said that they used an iPhone for their business needs in 2011, a jump from 31.1 percent in 2010. BlackBerry fell from the top spot in 2010 to second place with a 32.2 percent share of the workers polled. Meanwhile, Android saw its usage nearly double in 2010, going from 11.3 percent up to 21.3 percent in 2011, enough to finish in third place. Rounding out the pack is Symbian at 7.4 percent, Windows Mobile at 5.5 percent, and "Other" at 2.1 percent.
Overall smartphone usage has also grown considerably, reports iPass, as 95 percent of mobile workers have a smartphone and 91 percent use their smartphones for work. These high numbers are thanks in part to the fact that many employers are adopting BYOS (bring your own smartphone) policies. iPass says that 42 percent of employees use their own smartphones for work, a figure that's up from 34 percent last year. It's not all good news, though, as the report shows that being connected all the time has led one in three workers to lose sleep over work and to one in four employees getting less than six hours of sleep per night.
We've seen both Android and iOS capture quite a bit of the consumer market, so it makes sense to see that the both platforms are also beginning to take control of the enterprise side of things, especially as more and more employers let their employees use their own smartphones for work rather than issuing company-specific devices. It'll be interesting to see how these figures look going forward; Android and iOS are gaining more enterprise support and business-friendly features, but RIM is also hard at work on BBX, which could cause regular folks and employers to give BlackBerry another look. Do any of you use a smartphone in your line of work? If so, which OS is it running?
iPhone Captures Top Smartphone Spot in the Enterprise According to New iPass Mobile Workforce Report
Business smartphone usage climbs to 91 percent of mobile employees – productivity and sleepless nights set to rise
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., November 16, 2011 –iPass Inc. (NASDAQ: IPAS), a leading provider of mobility services for enterprises and service providers, today published its quarterly Mobile Workforce Report, which found that iPhone has unseated BlackBerry as the top smartphone among mobile employees with 45 percent market share, and overall business smartphone usage has increased to 91 percent.
The findings come as mobility in the workforce expands within enterprises and business smartphone usage rises. Today 95 percent of mobile employees have smartphones, up from 85 percent in 2010, with 91 percent using their smartphone for work – a 26 percent rise compared to 2010. This is due in part to the adoption of “bring your own device” policies by enterprises. Currently 42 percent of mobile employees use individually-liable smartphones for work, up from 34 percent last year. The report also found that this expansion within enterprises has also reduced the median age of a mobile employee to 41 – indicating that mobile employees are no longer only business travelers; they are every knowledge worker with a smartphone.
“Today’s mobile employees are critical to the success of every enterprise, contributing 240 more work hours a year than their non-mobile counterparts. Connectivity is essential because work is no longer where you go but what you do,” said Evan Kaplan, president and CEO of iPass. “While increasing iPhone usage in the workplace was inevitable, this is the tipping point when the iPhone has overcome the Blackberry on its traditional enterprise turf, and business smartphones are in the hands of nearly every knowledge worker.”
Smartphone Attachment
The Mobile Workforce Report also found the saturation of mobile devices has led to a hyperconnected workforce that is sacrificing sleep and exercise for their jobs. One in three mobile employees claimed that they sleep less due to work and one in four mobile employees sleeps less than six hours a night. More than half reported that they exercise erratically or not at all — 60 percent attributed lack of exercise to work. The report also found that mobile employees are emotionally attached to their smartphones – 59 percent would feel disoriented, distraught or lonely if they were without a smartphone for even a week.
Other findings include:
Mobile employees waste only about 28 minutes on technology distractions. The top two most time consuming technology distractions are work-related – first work email, second technical issues and third social media.
BlackBerry market share declined slightly from 35 percent in 2010 to 32 percent today, while Android nearly doubled market share year over year, growing into the number three spot (surpassing Nokia/Symbian) with 21 percent market share.
Tablet ownership has grown to 44 percent of mobile employees, up from 33 percent in second quarter of 2011.
Mobile employees describe themselves as highly proficient when it comes to technology (69 percent), compared to 6 percent who rated themselves as fairly proficient or non-proficient. As a result the majority of mobile employees only contact IT as a last resort (81 percent).
About the Report
The iPass Mobile Workforce Report is published quarterly and based on a survey of more than 2,300 mobile enterprise employees at 1,100 enterprises worldwide between September 27 and October 26, 2011. The iPass Mobile Workforce Report can be found at http://mobile-workforce-project.ipass.com.
About iPass Inc.
iPass helps enterprises and service providers ensure their employees and customers will be well connected. Founded in 1996, iPass (NASDAQ: IPAS) delivers the world’s largest commercial-grade Wi-Fi network and most trusted connectivity platform. With over 600,000 connection venues, iPass gives its customers always-on, frictionless connectivity anywhere in the world – easily, quickly, securely and cost effectively. Additional information is available at www.iPass.com or on Smarter Connections, the iPass blog.
