Siemens comments on Mobile Security

SECURITY IS BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO ENTERPRISE MOBILITY

Though lack of a mobility strategy is not helping either

According to new research conducted by Fujitsu Siemens Computers, security concerns continue to be the biggest mobility challenge for nearly two thirds of UK businesses.

Other issues high on the list of corporate agendas are inappropriate mobile usage by employees (30%), training requirements (27%) and recurring user problems (26%).

The research suggests that, although almost three-quarters (73%) of UK businesses say they have embarked upon piecemeal mobility roll-out projects, over half (54%) of those surveyed admit to not currently having a formal mobile strategy in place within their organisation.

Of those surveyed, only 14% cited the ability to let their employees work at home as the main driver for embarking on a mobility roll-out. Conversely, “working at home” was also most often described (62% of all surveyed) as one of the main benefits of being mobile.

Besides working from home, other main benefits of mobility solutions that were cited by UK businesses included the ability to enable staff to access business applications whilst with clients (51%) and having permanent access to the work server (50%). Only 18% of businesses saw the ability to access wireless hotspots as a key benefit.

The key issue of reliability is the one of the most critical considerations when selecting a mobile technology for 62% of UK decision-makers. This is followed by total cost of ownership (39%), value for money (35%) and network compatibility (32%). Significantly, only 17% of respondents said that price featured as one of their main purchasing criteria.

“It seems that UK companies have ambitious business goals for rolling out mobile technology," commented Garry Owen, Head of Product Marketing at Fujitsu Siemens Computers. "Yet many are still attacking mobility on a piecemeal basis. By addressing any potential barriers such as security and reliability head-on, UK businesses will be better placed to roll-out a successful mobility solution that will realise the needs of both customers and employees alike.”

The most popular corporate mobile gadgets, used by 97% of companies, are notebooks. Sixty-eight per cent use handhelds, 44% have email-push products and 18% use tablet PCs.

For the survey, 1,044 interviews were undertaken across the UK, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Germany and France, while 209 IT decision makers were polled in the UK.