IDC Finds Australian CIOs Preparing for the Mobility Integration Challenge with Security Top of Mind

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05 Mar 2013

Sydney, Australia, March 5, 2013 – Australian CIOs are beginning to realise the challenge that mobility means for their organisations. The empire of the CIO no longer starts with the datacentre and ends with the desktop. Today the third platform means an exploding device ecosystem that sees CIOs integrating the mobility phenomenon into their IT strategies.

It is this integration that is viewed as a key challenge for end users across Australia, as systems, processes and software is updated to integrate mobility into organisational structures. Consequently the enterprise mobility services market in Australia is gaining momentum. IDC research reveals the allure of mobility and it exerts influence on important business parameters such as new business growth, effective customer engagement and workforce productivity improvements.

IDC's latest report on the enterprise mobility services market in Australia (Doc#AU2577402V, "Scaling the Precipice of Innovation by Embracing Mobility") analyses the impact of mobility on the existing IT environment and how it will influence both CIOs as well as service providers to re-define their enterprise mobility services portfolio.

IDC's “Australia Managed Services Study 2012” revealed that an overwhelming 75% of organisations stated mobility technologies would be part of their managed services engagements in the next 18 months. Progressive enterprises are also exploring mobility solutions to improve service delivery efficiency or workforce management with the objective of reducing operation costs and improving staff productivity. Some of the key areas that are expected to drive enterprise productivity improvements are mobile integration with email, unified messaging, corporate applications, location based services, sales force automation, and billing and payment functionality.

Though mobility brings immense opportunities, the complexities of deployment and integration cannot be trivialised. Dealing with multiple operating systems, providing secure access to enterprise data, developing and integrating mobile enterprise applications across multi-form devices are just a few of the many challenges that the IT organisations are grappling with.

Based on this, most Australian organisations will need third party assistance with integration of mobile data exchanges, synchronisation and management to internal business analytics, e-commerce, and social platforms. Another significant shift taking place is the rising adoption of Bring Your Own Device (See Doc# AU3054103V, "BYOD in Australia: Perceptions and Policies and on Smartphones, Tablets and Laptops"). This coupled with access to corporate networks, has only complicated the security issues surrounding mobility, and thus it’s not surprising that security is the number 1 requirement for organisations over the next 18 months.

"Enterprise mobility solutions are increasingly becoming a part of enterprises' IT road maps to enable a more richer customer engagement platform as well as increase speed of responsiveness by giving frontline staff anywhere and everywhere access to corporate applications and information that will bring touch points closer to customers. BYOD is further exacerbating this shift by acting like a catalyst for adoption" says Raj Mudaliar, Senior Analyst, IT services, IDC Australia.

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About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries worldwide. For more than 48 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com or www.idc.com.au.

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