Mobile Expert Interview Series: Aberdeen Group's Andrew Borg

I was fortunate to have had the opportunity last week to interview Andrew Borg, senior research analyst for Wireless & Mobility at the Aberdeen Group (Twitter @mobileaberdeen). We discussed research they had recently conducted on the subject of enterprise mobility. 

Andrew Borg



Here are some of the findings from their research:

1) Mobility is a core strategic imperative for the enterprise. It is well past the point of early adopters. Less than 2% of Aberdeen’s survey respondents say they have NO intention of adopting mobility. It is now a given. There are new and increasing pressures on the corporation to accommodate mobility.

2) In 2011 enterprise mobility is not a nice to have, but a business requirement.

3) Security for mobile devices, mobile applications and mobile content is a big concern for the enterprise. As important as having secure mobile devices and apps are, it is even more important to have secure data. For this reason, Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solutions will be increasingly important for all enterprises. Managing the entire data lifecycle on the mobile device becomes critical. Enterprises cannot effectively manage data security until they have an EMM in place that they can use to build and enforce an enterprise security policy. Some of the EMM vendors Aberdeen is following are; Sybase’s Afaria, BoxTone, Zenprise, Good Technology and MobileIron.

Aberdeen studies the behaviors of the best-in-class as well as the industry average and laggards. Aberdeen found that best-in-class companies are 1.6 times more likely to have implemented EMM solutions than all other repondents. 2011 is expected to be the year of EMM, with the management of mobility becoming a core IT function in 2011.

4) The costs of a single mobile data compliance lapse, according to a recent Aberdeen survey, at the low end is estimated at $140,000, and at the high end over $1 million.

5) Today, when properly configured Apple iOS 4.2 is virtually equivalent in security to the BlackBerry system. Android remains behind, but Aberdeen believes they will catch up.

6) Aberdeen believes that SAP/Sybase’s Afaria product is a very powerful and complete EMM, but they cannot sit on their hands as there are many competitors rising up to challenge them on pricing, business models and functionality.

7) IT organizations are much more open to having third parties manage IT systems today than in the past. Systems integrators will play an increasingly important role in implementing, supporting and maintaining enterprise mobility solutions in the future.

8) Andrew believes the acquisition of Sybase by SAP was brilliant. If SAP executes it will be a market changer.

9) 62% of best in class (top performers) are deploying tablets. This is the fastest adoption of new technologies Aberdeen has seen. 2011 will be a banner year for tablets. iPads are ahead of the pack, but competition is coming on quickly and strong.

10) The secret to the iPad’s success is the large number of applications. This will help the iPad maintain its current momentum in the tablet market.

11) There is a huge security need for tablets. 76% of best-in-class companies using iPads are not securing them today. Unsecured tablets will become a big issue in 2011, as they are too oftenbeing used for business purposes without being properly secured.

Aberdeen Group conducts their research in a methodical and scientific manner. They get their information by surveying end-users directly, and focus on the business value of technology adoption. They document the best practices of best-in-class companies, as well as the processes, technologies, and services needed by the industry average and laggards. Companies are ranked based upon their overall business performance.

I want to thank Andrew for taking the time to share Aberdeen Group’s insights with us.

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Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
Phone +1 208-991-4410
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.